Metro Sports Report

Blake Hargens wins Metro Spotlight Award

Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Blake Hargens is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Hargens has a sparkling 6-0 record and 1.36 ERA for the Kennedy baseball team. He has allowed only seven earned runs in 36 innings and has collected 32 strikeouts.

Hargens leads the Mississippi Valley Conference in victories and is tied for the most wins in the state in Class 4A. Tanner Wauhob has a 6-2 record for Sioux City West.

Hargens tossed a five-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts in a 15-0 victory over Cedar Falls. He also tossed a one-hitter for six innings with eight strikeouts against Iowa City High.

Kennedy has one of the top pitching staffs in the state with a team ERA of 1.75.

The third-ranked Cougars (20-3) host top-ranked Dubuque Hempstead (26-2) in a showdown for the Valley Division lead in the Mississippi Valley Conference at 5 p.m. Monday at Herkelman Field. Both teams are 16-2 in the Valley Division.

Katie Sommer wins Metro Spotlight Award

Linn-Mar senior Katie Sommer is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Sommer is one of the top softball players in the state as the leadoff hitter, catalyst and shortstop for the Lions.

She ranks first in the Mississippi Valley Conference in batting average (.593), first in runs scored (46), first in stolen bases (46), second in hits (54) and second in on-base percentage (.657).

Sommer ranks in the top-4 in all five of those categories in Class 5A and ranks in the top-10 in all five categories in the state.

Sommer, a first team all-state pick in 2013, was injured Thursday night when she was hit in the head by an errant throw in a fluke accident on defense. She did not play in the Linn-Mar tournament this past weekend, but hopes to return to action this week for the Lions (20-12).

Sommer is also an accomplished basketball player. She and her twin sister, Kristie, plan to play both sports at Wartburg College.

Cougars stay 3rd in baseball poll

The Kennedy Cougars stayed in the No. 3 spot in the Class 4A baseball rankings Monday by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Dubuque Hempstead remained in the No. 1 position in Class 4A. The showdown between Hempstead and Kennedy, scheduled for Monday night at Kennedy, was postponed and tentatively rescheduled for July 14.

No other Metro teams are ranked again this week.

Haar has grand time as Kernels win

Kernels third baseman Bryan Haar socked a three-run homer in the first inning and belted a grand slam in the second Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but it began raining and the umpires interrupted the game in the fourth inning before it was an official contest.

Haar wasn't sure if his grand feat would count or not if the game had been called off.

"Guys brought it up, jokingly: 'Oh, good game, it's not going to count,'" he said, smiling. "It was a good game, though."

It was a very good game.