Metro Sports Report

Prairie nips Waterloo West in regional

The Cedar Rapids Prairie softball team had a spirited battle with Waterloo West this season before topping the Wahawks for the Mississippi Division title in the Mississippi Valley Conference by two games.

They had another spirited battle Saturday night and the Prairie Hawks won again.

Prairie trimmed Waterloo West, 4-3, in the Class 5A regional semifinals at the Prairie diamond.

Prairie (27-11) will meet third-ranked Jefferson (34-7) in the regional finals Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Jefferson, with the winner advancing to the Class 5A state tournament in Fort Dodge.

Natalie Halvorson got the victory for Prairie Saturday night. She collected five strikeouts and allowed two earned runs.

No.3 J-Hawks reach regional finals

Hannah Towns belted a home run Saturday night as the third-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks topped Dubuque Senior, 8-3, in the Class 5A regional semifinals at Larry Niemeyer Field at Jefferson.

Jefferson (34-7) will host Cedar Rapids Prairie (27-11) in the regional finals Tuesday at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Class 5A state tournament in Fort Dodge.

Erin Kuba went 2-for-2 with two RBIs for the J-Hawks Saturday night. Avery Guy also was 2-for-2.

All-state catcher Maddie Hansen had an RBI double.

Jefferson and Prairie split a doubleheader this season. The winner of their rubber match will make the state tournament.

Lizarraga stars as Cougars sweep Saints

Sammy Lizarraga tossed a five-hit shutout Saturday afternoon as the eighth-ranked Kennedy Cougars topped Xavier, 4-0, in the first game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Herkelman Field.

Kennedy won the second game, 10-3.

Lizarraga struck out seven batters and walked two in the shutout. He threw 104 pitches, including 75 for strikes.

Zach Daniels went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs for Kennedy. Bryce Church was 2-for-3 with two doubles.

Lions advance to 5A regional finals

The Linn-Mar Lions trimmed Waterloo East, 5-2, Saturday night in the Class 5A regional semifinals at the Linn-Mar softball field.

The Lions (24-17) will face Davenport West (17-18) in the regional finals Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Kennedy High School field, with the winner advancing to the Class 5A state tournament in Des Moines.

Davenport West upset No. 10 Kennedy, 4-0, in the regional semifinals Saturday.

Maddy Ryan tossed a three-hitter for Linn-Mar in the victory over Waterloo East.

Linn-Mar trailed, 1-0, in the fourth inning when Morgan Braughton tied the game with an RBI single. Ellison Ollinger and Ryan had back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning to give Linn-Mar the lead.