Metro Sports Report

Maddie Hansen wins Metro Spotlight Award

Cedar Rapids Jefferson junior Maddie Hansen is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Hansen is an all-star catcher for the sixth-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks (34-6), who will face No.3 Southeast Polk (28-9) in the first round of the Class 5A state softball tournament Tuesday morning at 11:30 in Fort Dodge.

Hansen has enjoyed a fabulous career for Jefferson with an entire full year to go. She has a career batting average of .448 since she began playing as an eighth grader with 16 home runs and 163 RBIs in 144 games.

Hansen is hitting .455 this season with 14 doubles, seven homers and 46 RBIs despite being pitched very carefully. She led Class 5A in RBIs last year when she drove in 69 runs while hitting .500 with seven home runs.

Hansen was named first team all-state last year as a sophomore when she helped Jefferson place fifth at the state tournament. She hit .426 as a freshman in 2012 and batted .354 as an eighth grader in 2011.

Quinn Cannoy wins Metro Spotlight Award

Marion senior Quinn Cannoy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Cannoy pitched a two-hit shutout Friday night when the Indians blanked Dubuque Wahlert, 4-0, in the opening round of the Class 3A district tournament.

Marion (23-15) will face Western Dubuque (18-19) in the district finals Monday at 7 p.m. in Epworth.

Cannoy, a four-sport athlete, has fashioned a 7-2 record and 1.34 ERA for Marion this season. He has 73 strikeouts in 67.2 innings, and opponents are batting only .180 against him.

Cannoy is batting .333 with three home runs and 31 RBIs. He is 9-for-9 in stolen bases.

Cannoy caught 34 passes for 604 yards and eight touchdowns for the Marion football team last fall. He averaged 8.5 points for the basketball team and placed fourth in the 110 meter high hurdles at the Class 3A state track meet.

Cannoy has committed to Coe College for football and track.

Surging Kernels are in playoff hunt

It's okay to start using the "P" word around the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

Playoffs.

The Kernels are still six games under .500 with a 46-52 overall record, but the Midwest League believes in second chances and the home team is hot and playing good baseball.

Cedar Rapids won for the ninth time in its last 10 games Saturday night with a 4-3 victory over Fort Wayne before 5,090 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The victory lifted the Kernels to 15-13 for the second half of the Midwest League campaign, putting them in the thick of playoff contention.

No.3 Kennedy escapes Pleasant Valley

Kennedy junior Mitchell Gaffey was feeling a little down on himself after getting picked off second base in the fifth inning of a tie ballgame Friday night, but he was a happy fellow after he scored the winning run in extra innings.

Gaffey raced home on an infield grounder with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning as the third-ranked Cougars escaped an upset bid by Pleasant Valley, 3-2, in the tense opening round of the Class 4A substate tournament at Kennedy.

The Cougars (30-6) draw a second-round bye and will host Davenport West or Bettendorf in the substate finals Wednesday night.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer used Gaffey, who has good speed, as a courtesy runner Friday night, so his entire job was to do a good job on the base paths. He got caught napping in the fifth inning of a 2-2 game, but came through when it counted. Sammy Lizarraga led off the bottom of