Metro Sports Report

Mauer ejected as Kernels tumble

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. - For six and 1/2 innings Thursday night, the second game of the Midwest League Championship Series between the Cedar Rapids Kernels and West Michigan Whitecaps was exactly the kind of low-scoring pitchers duel that Kernels fans have come to expect in the postseason.

Kernels starting pitcher Sam Gibbons had held the Whitecaps scoreless until that point and Cedar Rapids had managed just one run.

By the time the seventh inning ended, the Whitecaps owned a 4-1 lead, Gibbons was finished for the night and Kernels Manager Jake Mauer was in the clubhouse after being ejected by plate umpire Richard Genera.

The Whitecaps held onto that lead to the pleasure of 3,336 home-town fans enjoying their final game of the season at Fifth Third Ballpark and knotted the championship series at 1-1. The two teams now pack up and head to Cedar Rapids for Game 3 Saturday and the rest of the best-of-5 series.

New MWL boss says league in good shape

COMSTOCK PARK, Mich. - After serving as the general counsel for the Midwest League for more than 20 years, Richard Nussbaum is now completing his first year as president of the league. In January, he took over for George Spelius, who retired after running the league since 1987.

Nussbaum, who played baseball at Notre Dame in the early 1970s, thinks the Midwest League has enjoyed a good season and continues to prosper.

"I’m not sure it could have gone any better,” he said Thursday prior to the second game of the MWL championship series between Cedar Rapids and West Michigan. “Probably fewer rainouts for some of the clubs.

“We had great attendance league-wide. We continue to draw about 10 percent of the entire fan base of all of minor league baseball across the country. Ten percent of those fans come to MWL games, which I think is remarkable.

“We’ve had great play on the field," he said. "We have two teams in the championship that have worked real hard to get there and played really pretty well throughout the entire season. The facilities are good, the fans are great. I’m very happy with the way the first year went.”

No. 4 Cougars whip No. 1 Cedar Falls

It was said about Yankees baseball legend Joe DiMaggio that his greatness lay in making the difficult look easy.

The same could be said of the nearly flawless performance by the Kennedy volleyball girls on their home court Tuesday night as they took down Class 5A top-ranked and undefeated Cedar Falls in three sets.

“We got our butts kicked,” Tigers coach Matt Johnson said succinctly.

Johnson has a squad of tall and strong big hitters that came into the match unblemished at 13-0, having lost only five sets all season. Moreover, Cedar Falls had beaten Kennedy twice Saturday (2-0 and 2-1) in the Osage Invitational.

Summed up Cougars coach Michelle Goodall of the weekend contests, “They kicked our butts.”

What a difference three days and a third match make. This time around it was no contest.

Nick Perkins fired by Marion board

Nick Perkins made an emotional plea to the Marion school board Monday to keep his job as an assistant football coach at Marion High School, but the board voted unanimously at its meeting to officially terminate his position.

Perkins, 44, was removed from the football program two weeks ago based on allegations that he made inappropriate comments in the locker room during halftime of Marion's game against Mount Vernon at Thomas Park Field on Aug. 28.

Tony Perkins, Marion's head coach and Nick's older brother, was suspended for one game following the incident but was reinstated last week. Nick Perkins wanted to be reinstated as well, but the board followed the administration's recommendation and voted for termination.