Metro Sports Report

No.5 Saints, No.9 Lions knocked out

The Xavier Saints and Linn-Mar Lions were both upset in the semifinals of the regional softball tournament Saturday night at home.

The Saints, ranked No.5 in Class 4A, were blanked by Clear Creek-Amana, 2-0, on a three-hit shutout by Lexi Kinnaird.

The Lions, ranked No.9 in Class 5A, were upended by Dubuque Senior, 2-0, on a three-hit shutout by A.D. Medinger.

Cedar Rapids Prairie's game in the Class 5A playoffs against No.7 Pleasant Valley was suspended by rain in the second inning with the Hawks leading, 2-0. It will be resumed Monday at 6 p.m. at Prairie.

Slegers twirls victory for Kernels

CLINTON - Aaron Slegers was brilliant Saturday night, sending the Cedar Rapids Kernels to a 5-1 victory over the Clinton LumberKings before 1,237 fans at Ashford University Field in Clinton.

The Kernels raised their record to 41-51 with their fourth straight victory.

Slegers went all seven innings in the rain-shortened game. The contest was also delayed 44 minutes at the start of the night, but it was worth the wait for the Kernels.

Slegers (6-6) allowed just two hits and one run. He struck out seven and walked one, letting just three LumberKings reach base.

Hoyer nets No. 650 as Cougars sweep

There were no brass bands, no parades, no big celebration.

Even if Kennedy baseball coach Bret Hoyer had known about his latest milestones, he'd want to keep it as quiet as possible anyway.

There have been thousands of high school baseball coaches in Iowa over the years and Hoyer is now solidly in the top-25 of all time.

The third-ranked Cougars swept Waterloo West, 10-0 and 4-0, Friday night to give Hoyer his 650th victory in 25 years as a head coach.

He's tied for 23rd all-time with Dick Core and Terry Heald with those 650 victories as he continues to roll along.

"It's very cool," Hoyer said when informed of his place on the all-time list. "I've had some pretty talented players and coaches to work with."

Hu, Wade give Kernels 'international' win

Chih-Wei Hu and Logan Wade live on the other side of the world when they are not playing professional baseball in the United States, but they formed a winning combination in Cedar Rapids Thursday night for the Kernels.

Hu, from Taiwan, pitched six strong innings in his first outing for the Kernels. And Wade, from Australia, made sure it had a happy ending in his first game back from a lengthy stay on the disabled list.

The result was a 7-5 victory over the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers before 2,700 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Wade belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to erase a 4-2 deficit and give the Kernels a 5-4 lead, then Alex Swim gave Cedar Rapids a 7-4 cushion with a two-run double after Wisconsin relief pitcher Tyler Alexander hit two batters.