Metro Sports Report

J-Hawks strike early, top Warriors

Cedar Rapids Jefferson scored five runs in the second inning and coasted to its second win in two nights over Cedar Rapids Washington, 5-1, in a Mississippi Valley Conference baseball game at Washington on Friday night.

The J-Hawks beat the Warriors on Thursday night, 5-4.

A leadoff single by Austin Goodell followed by bunt singles by Chance Tiedtke and Sam Techau loaded the bases in the first inning for Jefferson. Colten Jourdan doubled down the left-field line, driving in two runs.

That was followed by a suicide squeeze and three Washington errors, giving the J-Hawks their quick 5-0 margin.

“I got a pitch right down the middle and just went with it,” said Jourdan. “I was looking for a fastball and when I got it, I didn’t waste any time.”

Jordan Dee went the distance for Jefferson, giving up four hits while striking out seven.

“I was having trouble with my curveball early, but in the third it began working for me so I was able to keep them off balance the rest of the game,” said Dee. “It felt good to get the complete game win.”

Zach Johnson reaches new level

I presume that some of you who follow these scribblings know that yours truly has had a lifetime love affair with golf.

Even though I'm not playing these days, which I regret, I still try to keep involved with the game. And, of course, I have been able to admire the career of Zach Johnson and the way things have developed for this gentleman who is now a major player on the PGA Tour.

Zach stands at eight Tour victories after his win at Colonial and his ranking is now among the top 20 in the world. It's a testament to his drive and competitiveness, in my view, even more than his wondrous skills.

Zach Johnson has now shown the world that a Cedar Rapidian can become one of the world's highest-ranked players. How did this happen?

Former Metro preps in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Boston Red Sox) -- Batted seventh and started in right field Friday in Boston's 7-2 win at Toronto. Went 2-for-4 with a double and run scored. Sweeney is tied for fifth in the American League with 16 doubles. He's hitting .319 (44 for 138) with no homers and 12 RBIs.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers), MWL) -- Schebler went 3-for-3 with a double, home run and three RBIs on Friday as Great Lakes lost the first game of a doubleheader at Fort Wayne, 7-4. He went 0-for-2 in a 6-0 setback in Game 2. Schebler is hitting .259 (55 for 212) with four homers, 15 doubles, six triples, five stolen bases and 31 RBIs.

Adams tosses 1-hitter against Saints

The Cedar Rapids Xavier baseball team got blanked in the first game of a doubleheader against Cedar Rapids Prairie on Friday night. That didn’t sit well with them. There was a 20-minute break between games, and then the Saints did something about it.

Xavier 10-runned Prairie, 12-2, after five innings in the nightcap at Prairie High School, riding a huge fourth inning and a strong pitching performance by Zach Brown.

Prairie won the opener 3-0 on the strength of an impressive outing by Mitchell Adams. The junior tossed a complete game, shutting out the Saints and allowing only one hit.

“We were hesitant in the first game, and the pitcher was very solid and quick,” said Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel. “But in the second game, we had a lot of good hits.”

After the sluggish outing, Xavier rebounded with a vengeance, collecting 11 hits in the nightcap.

Three of those hits came from Brown, who was also on the mound for game two. He proved to be a good multi-tasker. He collected two doubles and a triple at the plate and got the win on the mound while allowing only two Prairie runs.