Metro Sports Report

Marion tops Saints in Metro tourney

Brady Donohue pitched six strong innings Monday night as the Marion  Indians topped Xavier, 5-1, in the first round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament at Ken Charipar Field.

Washington defeated Jefferson, 12-0, in six innings in the other first-round game at Xavier.

Xavier and Jefferson will meet in a consolation game at Xavier Tuesday at 5 p.m., followed by the winners bracket semifinal game between Marion and Washington at 7 p.m.

Linn-Mar trimmed Mount Vernon, 4-3, in eight innings and Prairie defeated Kennedy, 6-2, in the first-round games at Prairie on Monday. Kennedy and Mount Vernon meet in a losers bracket game at 5 p.m. at Prairie Tuesday, then Prairie will face Linn-Mar in the winners bracket semifinal at 7 p.m.

The final round is Wednesday with the championship and consolation games to be played at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The fifth and seventh-place games are slated for Xavier.

Iowa Valley League starts Sunday

The Iowa Valley League season will begin this Sunday, May 28 with doubleheaders at Norway, Watkins and Walford.

The Metro Sports Report will be providing extensive coverage again this season.

The season runs through July 30 and will be followed by the annual IABA state tournament that runs two weeks in August.

Six-time defending IVL champion Red Top, which also claimed the IABA state title in 2016, will again be joined in the league by teams from Fairfax, Norway, Walford, Watkins and Williamsburg.

Most of the the games are played as Sunday doubleheaders. There also are also Saturday twinbills planned for June 10 when Walford hosts Norway and the annual holiday doubleheader on July 8 with Norway playing at Watkins.

No. 2 Kirkwood stunned twice at nationals

CLINTON, Miss. - The Kirkwood softball team suffered two stunning defeats at the national tournament Thursday and is now facing a long, sad bus ride home from Mississippi.

Coach Joe Yegge's second-ranked Eagles lost to 11th-ranked Cowley County, 4-3, in the winners bracket semifinals Thursday and immediately had to play  again in the losers bracket.

Perhaps still shaken, the Eagles promptly lost to Illinois Central, 6-0, and were eliminated from the tournament with two losses in three games.

Kirkwood ripped Illinois Central, 9-0, n five innings in March, but the rematch went to Illinois Central in a stunner.

Kirkwood finished the season with a 55-6 record. Cowley County advanced to the winners bracket semifinals at 45-15, and Illinois Central stayed alive in the losers bracket at 27-23.

No. 2 Eagles roll at national tourney

CLINTON, Miss. - The second-ranked Kirkwood softball team brought their potent bats to the national tournament on Wednesday.

The Eagles scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning and dumped Oakland Community College, 12-3, in five innings in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II tournament at Traceway Park.

Kirkwood (55-4) will face Cowley County (44-15) in the winners bracket quarterfinals Thursday at 3:30.

Taylor Nearad, the 2016 Junior College National Player of the Year, belted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning to get things started. Morgan Frost had a two-run single in the first inning and Chaise Light collected a two-run double for the early 6-0 lead.

Laken Berthume, the starting pitcher for Oakland, got only one out in the first inning before being chased from the game.

Kirkwood scored three runs in the third inning for a 9-3 advantage and scored three more times in the fourth to make it 12-3. The game ended after the top of the fifth due to the mercy rule.