Metro Sports Report

Jefferson baseball field damaged by storm

The Jefferson High School baseball field in southwest Cedar Rapids was heavily damaged late Monday night when a severe storm packing heavy winds tore through the facility and local neighborhoods.

"They're confirming it was a tornado," Jefferson baseball coach Kyle Rodenkirk said Tuesday afternoon at the field.

A thick wooden light pole that was stationed down the left-field line was snapped in half and thrown onto the field, smashing the lights and leaving shards of glass in left field.

Three other light poles on the first-base side and in right field were damaged, although not toppled over. The outfield fence in right field was knocked over, bleachers were damaged and a portable batting cage was tossed onto Rockford Road SW and crumpled.

Chris Deam, Jefferson's athletic director, was not prepared to put a price tag on the damage, but it easily could be tens of thousands of dollars. He said the field is covered by insurance through Cedar Rapids Community Schools.

Neuhaus boosts Kennedy pitching staff

Sawyer Neuhaus was not an overnight sensation in the Kennedy youth baseball program when he was growing up, unlike some of the other players on the varsity this year.

He began playing in the Hiawatha Kids League before joining the Junior Cougars, then played for Junior Cougar Green teams before joining the upper level Gold squad with guys like Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga.

Now he's an important member of the all-junior starting rotation for the Kennedy Cougars, who are ranked No.2 in the state in Class 4A.

J-Hawks sweep Lions on emotional day

It was a long, emotional day Tuesday for the Jefferson softball players and coaches.

They spent the early part of the day helping clean up storm damage in the neighborhood near their hallowed diamond where many of those very neighbors have spent countless hours following the J-Hawks over the years.

Then Jefferson faced the prospect of going on the road for a doubleheader against a strong Linn-Mar team at night. And when the key moments presented themselves, the J-Hawks showed the same resolve they had earlier in the day with parts of their neighborhood in ruins.

Erin Kuba broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out single in the fifth inning of the opener and Jefferson tacked on eight more runs to win 10-1.

The nightcap belonged to junior catcher Maddie Hansen. Her bases-clearing double capped a five-run sixth inning as Jefferson (16-4, 11-3 MVC) rallied to gain the sweep with a 5-2 victory.

Garcia tops all-MVC soccer team

Olivia Garcia of Linn-Mar has been named the Athlete of the Year on the Mississippi Valley Conference all-star soccer team in the Valley Division, as selected by MVC coaches.

Jensen Sevening, Claire Larson and Rylie Frese joined Garcia as first-team selections in the Valley Division from Linn-Mar.

Meleah Baloch, Andrew Reutzel and Hannah Kousheh of Prairie were first-team picks in the Valley Division. Elizabeth Bailey and Marisa Berutti of Xavier made the Valley first team, along with Hannah Schroeder and Annee Cooper of Washington.

Steve Dickinson and his assistants were named the Staff of the Year in the Valley Division.

Sydney Hayden, Kaela Dickerman and Jordan Holmes of Kennedy were first-team selections in the Mississippi Division.