Metro Sports Report

Jefferson's Savannah Fowler fouls off a pitch during the J-Hawks win over Kennedy on Thursday night. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Fowler makes it back to spark J-Hawks

Thu - 03 Jul Written by Tom Fruehling

Jefferson’s Savannah Fowler is finally getting to savor her senior softball season.

She’s been on the team since the eighth grade, but this was to be her first year as a starter. The last two she was used exclusively as a fleet-footed pinch runner.

But in the third game of the season she was smacked on the left side of the face by a thrown ball as she was beating out a hit at first base. The spindly, spunky outfielder still finished both games of the doubleheader before going to the hospital to find her jaw was broken in two places.

Her mouth has been wired shut until she returned to the lineup this past weekend.

And on the J-Hawks’ Senior Night Thursday she collected a hit in each game and drove in a run to help Jefferson (30-5, 21-3 MVC) sweep Kennedy, 5-0 and 7-0.

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After hitting a triple, Washington's Trey Leonard tags up after an out on a fly ball to center and slides home in the Warriors' 7-3 win Thursday night over Linn-Mar. (MSR photo by Margaret O'Banion).

Lions hope 'laugher' will get them going

Thu - 03 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

The Linn-Mar baseball team has gone through a rough year with tight losses, injuries and all-state catcher Brandt Ollinger leaving for travel ball, but the Lions finally got to laugh a little Thursday night.

Linn-Mar belted Washington, 17-2, in four innings in the second game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at the Linn-Mar Complex to wash away some of the frustration.

Washington took the first game, 7-3, for a much-needed victory of its own.

Linn-Mar sent 12 men to the plate and scored seven runs in the first inning of the nightcap, then sent 13 men to the plate and scored seven more times in the second for a 14-1 bulge.

"We'll take it," said Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner after his club won by the 15-run rule in the bottom of the fourth. "We need wins at this point to get our confidence up.

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Sellers joining Kennedy girls basketball

Wed - 02 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

M'Caela "Lela" Sellers, a talented 5-foot-11 guard from Minnesota, is moving to Cedar Rapids with her family and will join the Kennedy girls basketball team this season, according to the director of her AAU program and other sources.

Sellers will be a junior at Kennedy this year.

"She's very athletic. Great scoring ability," said Bill Larson, the director of the North Tartan AAU basketball program. "She's getting strong Division I looks."

Larson described Sellers as an off-guard who can handle the ball, shoot, slash to the basket and play strong defense.

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Marion junior David Kuhn raised his record to 5-1 Wednesday with a victory against Maquoketa. (Photo by Ken Gilchrist)

Kuhn, Cannoy help Indians sweep Maquoketa

Wed - 02 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

Marion High School pitcher David Kuhn had an ERA that was higher than his GPA last year, so he dedicated himself to baseball this winter, took lessons from a college coach and matured on the mound this season.

The results have been dramatic.

Kuhn has tossed two no-hitters this season, and although he was not in peak form Wednesday night he pitched a complete game as Marion clipped Maquoketa, 7-5, in the nightcap of a Wamac Conference twinbill at Marion.

Quinn Cannoy pitched a strong game in a 2-1 victory in the opener as Marion swept the doubleheader, raising its records to 14-10 overall and 11-7 in league contests.

Kuhn, a junior, has a 5-1 record and 2.21 ERA this season. That compares favorably to last year's numbers, when he was 1-4 with a 6.15 ERA.

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Burdi shows his form, but Kernels fall

Thu - 03 Jul Written by Metro Sports Report

APPLETON, Wis. - Nick Burdi can breathe a little easier now after making his second appearance for the Cedar Rapids Kernels Thursday night.

Burdi pitched a scoreless inning in relief for the Kernels and struck out three batters, a far cry from his first appearance last week for Cedar Rapids when he walked four straight batters and helped blow a 4-0 lead.

Wisconsin defeated the Kernels, 5-3, Thursday despite the encouraging work by Burdi, a second-round draft pick this year who got a $1.2 million bonus from the Minnesota Twins.

Kernels starter Ryan Eades (5-8) gave up five runs in five innings and the Kernels were not able to recover.

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