Metro Sports Report

J-Hawks jump to No.2 in baseball poll

The Jefferson J-Hawks jumped two spots to No. 2 in the Class 4A baseball rankings Monday by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Waukee replaced Johnston as the No. 1 team in the poll.

Cedar Rapids Prairie climbed three spots to No. 5 this week. The Kennedy Cougars are ranked No. 8 and the Linn-Mar Lions are No. 9.

In last week's poll, Linn-Mar was No. 7, Prairie No. 8 and Kennedy No. 9.

Westphal hopes to keep beating the odds

Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Luke Westphal has already beaten the odds by getting this far in his pro baseball career.

Not many guys get a shot at pro ball after playing in college at the NCAA Division III level, and not many guys get a shot at organized pro ball after spending two years in an Independent League.

Westphal has been there and done that. Now the 26-year-old lefty is hoping to beat the odds again by having a successful career in the Minnesota Twins organization after a late start.

He made his first appearance for the Kernels Friday night during what turned out to be a 4-3 loss in 10 innings to Quad Cities before 4,031 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Olson, Good toss shutouts for J-Hawks

The Jefferson J-Hawks have a star pitcher named Alyssa and they also have a star pitcher named Alissa, but don't be confused.

No matter how you spell their names, it spells victory.

Alyssa Olson tossed a four-hit shutout as Jefferson blanked Kennedy, 2-0, in the first game of their Metro showdown at the Kennedy field Thursday night, then Alissa Good followed with another four-hit shutout in a 9-0 victory.

Corcino lifts Kernels by Bandits

The Cedar Rapids Kernels staggered slightly coming out of the gate in their first game of the second half of their Midwest League season Thursday night, but they utilized some late-inning heroics to top the River Bandits, 4-3, on Edgar Corcino’s game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth.

Through five innings, the home crowd of 2,700 paying customers had little to cheer about other than another outstanding pitching performance by Kernels starter Felix Jorge. Thursday marked the 10th consecutive start in which Jorge finished at least six innings.