Metro Sports Report

Kernels catcher Brian Navaretto steps on the plate after hitting his first home run of the season Friday night off the left field foul pole. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist).

Kernels stumble against Snappers, 13-7

Fri - 24 Jul Written by S.D. Buhr

Baseball is a challenging game at any professional level, but it gets much tougher when you give up five unearned runs in the first inning before anyone on your team gets their hands on a bat.

That was the hole the Cedar Rapids Kernels dug themselves into Friday night as the Beloit Snappers struck for a five-spot in the opening stanza en route to a 13-7 thumping of the Kernels in front of 3,347 fans on “Minions Night” at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

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Hannah Towns is welcomed at home plate after belting a solo home run for Jefferson in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday against Johnston in the semifinals of the Class 5A state softball tournament. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion).

No. 3 J-Hawks nipped by No. 2 Johnston

Thu - 23 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

FORT DODGE - Erin Kuba dreamed about big situations like this when she was growing up in Palo across the street from the city ballpark.

State softball tournament, playing the defending champions, 1-0 ballgame, runners on second and third, two outs, time running out. A key base hit and her team probably wins the game.

"Yeah, I like being in that situation," she said Thursday evening.

Unfortunately, the dream did not have a happy ending. Kuba popped up, the inning ended and her team ended up losing by one run instead of winning by a run.

The third-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks were trimmed by second-ranked Johnston, 2-1, in the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament Thursday at Harlan Rogers Park in a snappy 80-minute contest.

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Kernels center fielder Tanner English slaps hands with Jake Mauer after leading off the fifth inning against Wisconsin with a home run over the left field fence Thursday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist).

Red-hot English powers Kernels

Thu - 23 Jul Written by S.D. Buhr

Cedar Rapids Kernels center fielder Tanner English entered this week with just two home runs on the season, but he’s showing his power this week, even if it’s not what his coaches are asking him to do.

English hit his third home run in the past four games Thursday night, contributing to the Kernels’ 6-5 win over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, as 2,457 fans saw the locals complete a sweep of their three game series with the Rattlers at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

English nearly didn’t get the chance to use his bat Thursday.

He dove for a line drive off the bat of Wisconsin’s Greg McCall in the top of the first inning, came up short and crashed face-first in the left-center field turf. After taking several minutes to get the bleeding around his nose stopped, English returned to center field.

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Kennedy pitcher Sammy Lizarraga and catcher Matt Berst celebrate after the Cougars walloped Cedar Falls, 18-1, in the Class 4A substate finals Wednesday night at Kennedy. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist).

Cougars rock Tigers in substate final

Wed - 22 Jul Written by Mike Condon

Believe it or not, there was actually a little suspense in Wednesday night's Class 4A substate final between Kennedy and Cedar Falls.

It lasted about all of 15 minutes.

The Cougars survived a first-inning case of the jitters to keep the visiting Tigers off the scoreboard.

From that point on, it was all Kennedy. The Cougars scored four runs in each of the first two innings, then added 10 in the third en route to an 18-1, four-inning win over a pitching-strapped Cedar Falls squad at Herkelman Field, earning a second straight trip to state.

Coach Bret Hoyer's team (29-11) got the No. 2 seed and will meet No. 7 seed Davenport North (19-14) in a state quarterfinal game at 5 p.m. next Wednesday at Principal Park in Des Moines. This will be the Cougars' 13th trip to state in Hoyer's 23 years as Kennedy head coach. They won a state title in 2010.

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Prairie third baseman Cooper Reittinger (left) and shortstop Cal Clark catch Iowa City West's Kevin DeLaney in a rundown during Wednesday night's Class 4A substate finals at Prairie. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion).

Prairie stopped in substate finals

Wed - 22 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

The most successful season in school history ended a step too soon for the Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball team Wednesday night.

The Hawks ran into one of the hottest clubs in America and lost to Iowa City West, 5-2, in the Class 4A substate finals before an overflow crowd at the Prairie diamond.

Prairie smashed the school record with 31 victories this year and captured the first Mississippi Valley Conference title in school history, but the Hawks played the wrong dang club on the wrong night Wednesday.

Iowa City West, which dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Prairie earlier in the year, has won 19 of its last 21 games and is sizzling right now.

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