Metro Sports Report

Hammer sparkles as Hawks top Cougars

Cedar Rapids Prairie dropped out of the Class 4A baseball rankings this week, but the Hawks don't care a whole lot about that.

They know they have the ingredients for a good club this year and they proved it Tuesday night.

Brennan Hammer carried a shutout into the seventh inning and Prairie beat top-ranked Kennedy, 3-1, in a crisp Mississippi Valley Conference game at Prairie.

Pleasant Valley outlasts J-Hawks

Jefferson executed three sacrifice bunts, got two clutch two-out RBI hits and still got beat Tuesday night by Pleasant Valley in a non-conference baseball game at Jefferson.

Austin Fink's one-out RBI double in the top of the ninth inning sent Pleasant Valley past the J-Hawks, 8-7.

Jefferson (3-9) held a 5-3 lead after Ky Kramer's two-run home run in the fourth inning.

Lions overcame tragedy for trip to state

A season that began in unimaginable tragedy for the girls on the Linn-Mar soccer team is ending with them back in the state tournament after a year’s absence.

They’ll open against undefeated and Class 3A top-ranked Ankeny Thursday at 5:45 p.m. at the Muscatine Soccer Complex.

For the 10th-ranked Lions, it will be a fresh start after two months of heartache.

Saints aiming for lucky 7th soccer title

The Xavier girls soccer team began its remarkable string of six state titles in a row in 2006 when Kayla Armstrong was in the fifth grade.

They don't see any reason to stop now.

Armstrong scored two goals Monday as the top-ranked Saints blanked Prairie, 4-0, in the Class 2A regional finals at Xavier to claim yet another berth at state.

Xavier (15-2) will face 10th-ranked ADM/Van Meter in the quarterfinals of the state tournament Thursday at 2:45 p.m. on Field 6 at the Muscatine Soccer Complex.

Armstrong was a fifth grader in the Linn-Mar school system when Xavier High School began its streak. She was a young girl at the time, but followed soccer closely and knew all about the Saints and their impressive record of success.