Metro Sports Report

Nelson named turf manager at Prospect Meadows

Blake Nelson has been hearing the joke on a regular basis now that  he’s the new turf manager at Prospect Meadows.

Why does a sports complex that has artificial turf on all the fields  need a turf manager? Even Nelson has to chuckle about that one.

“I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve heard it,” he said. “Why do they need a turf manager? It’s maintenance free, right?”

First of all, only the infields on the eight fields at Prospect  Meadows will have field turf. All of the outfields will have grass,  which needs a lot of tender care.

Secondly, artificial turfs do require a certain amount of maintenance  to keep them in pristine condition. Those infields are expensive and  they need to last a good long time.

Nelson, 26, began his duties at Prospect Meadows on April 8. The new  facility, located north of Marion, will be opening in late May and  there’s still plenty of work to do.

Peters wins Blue Boy title with eagle

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Dawson Peters of Kirkwood showed a real flair for the dramatic on Saturday.

Peters carded an eagle-2 on the first hole of a three-way playoff to claim medalist honors at the Blue Boy Invitational at The Rail Golf Course in Springfield, Ill.

Peters, Ben Epperly of Kirkwood and Peyton Keeffer of the University of Dubuque finished the 36-hole event in a three-way tie at 149 before Peters quickly ended the suspense.

The third-ranked Kirkwood Eagles won the championship by 16 shots with Peters, Epperly, Will Babcock, George Kalpakas and James Morgan all finishing in the top-7 in the standings. Kalpakas played as an individual and did not count in the team score.

KCC baseball sweeps Ellsworth again

IOWA FALLS - The Kirkwood Eagles flexed their muscles Saturday and swept Ellsworth, 7-2 and 17-4, in an ICCAC conference doubleheader in Iowa Falls.

Kirkwood won all four games in the series, raising its records to 25-14 overall and 12-8 in the conference. The Eagles are tied for fourth place in the ICCAC, but are just one game out of second place.

Kal Youngquist belted a home run, scored twice and drove in four runs in the 7-2 victory in the opener. Joel Vaske was 3-for-4. Zion Pettigrew had two hits and scored twice. Taylor Jackson also scored twice.

Cameron Leff (4-1) pitched five shutout innings for the victory. He allowed only one hit, with six strikeouts and three walks.

No. 5 Eagles sweep Iowa Lakes

ESTHERVILLE - The Kirkwood softball team enjoyed its 10-2 victory over Iowa Lakes in the first game of their doubleheader Saturday, so the Eagles came right back and won 10-2 in the nightcap.

Both games ended after the sixth inning due to the mercy rule.

The pair of 10-2 triumphs lifted the fifth-ranked Eagles to 36-11 overall and 15-3 in the ICCAC conference. Iowa Lakes fell to 14-26 overall and 5-13 in the league.

Lauren Kuch belted two home runs and drove in three runs in the first game. Rachel Stewart had three RBIs. Shelby Hulsebus had two hits and Sydney Albaugh drove in two runs. London Jackson swatted her 15th home run.

Erin Hocker (18-6) pitched a complete game in the opener with nine strikeouts.

Taleah Smith went 3-for-4 with a home run, scored three times and had two RBIs in the second game. Lauren Klaahsen was 3-for-3 with two RBIs. Jayme Finn hit a home run and drove in two runs. Hulsebus scored twice. Autum Barthelman had three stolen bases.