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Prospect Meadows gets highly favorable report

Thu - 07 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

The Prospect Meadows Ball Fields project in Linn County has taken a big step forward.

A feasibility study demonstrates strong support for the project, which would include 17 fields on 112 acres near the junction of County Home Road and Highway 13 north of Marion.

Approximately 80 percent of the people who participated in the study were "very impressed" and "very supportive" of the project, according to Richard Bice, the vice president of the non-profit group that wants to build the complex.

Approximately 75 percent of the people in the study think the project would have a "very definite" financial benefit to the community, and 70 percent liked the location of the fields.

"The highlight of the whole thing is that everybody thought it would be good for the community, and everybody also thought it's something that would be appreciated in the generations to come," Bice told the Metro Sports Report Thursday morning. "Those percentages are up there pretty high.

"For these times, it was an extremely favorable result," he said. "We were very pleased with the acceptance in the community. It worked out very, very well."

Bice said 50 business people and community leaders were interviewed for the feasibility study, which cost $20,000 and was financed by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

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Jefferson senior-to-be Megan Furnish hits a shot Wednesday en route to the PGA Junior Iowa Section championship at Hunters Ridge. (Photo courtesy Iowa PGA)

Furnish wins PGA Junior Iowa title

Wed - 06 Jul Written by Metro Sports Report

Megan Furnish of Cedar Rapids won the 36th PGA Junior Iowa Section Championship Wednesday by firing an even-par 144 during the two-day event at Hunters Ridge Golf Club in Marion.

Furnish beat Beth Wagner of Ankeny by two shots. Kimmy Askelson of Cedar Rapids placed third at 9-over-par 153.

Furnish fired a 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday, then shot a 2-over 74 Wednesday to finish at even par.

Furnish won the girls 16-18 division against 15 other golfers. She will be a senior at Cedar Rapids Jefferson this year.

Furnish qualified for the 36th PGA Junior National Championship that will be held Aug. 2-5 at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Jacob Bermel of Cedar Falls won the boys 16-18 division Wednesday at Hunters Ridge.

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Jefferson's Sam Techau prepares to round third base after Tanner Unkel's fifth-inning single Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Techau had four hits, including two doubles, to fuel Jefferson's 14-hit attack in a 12-8 win over North Scott. (Photo by Tammy Koolbeck)

Techau's 4 hits fuel J-Hawks

Wed - 06 Jul Written by Mike Koolbeck

The glove was never the problem for Jefferson's Sam Techau, but the stick was a question mark in the early portion of the baseball season.

Now it's an exclamation point.

Techau went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles to highlight Jefferson's 14-hit attack and the J-Hawks downed North Scott, 12-8, Wednesday night in a non-conference game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The J-Hawks (11-21) scored in all six innings they batted. Besides the 14 hits, they also were aided by five bases on balls, two hit batsmen and five North Scott errors.

Techau did not drive in any runs, but he scored twice.

"We've always had confidence in Sam's defense," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "But his bat has gotten better as the season has gone along.

"Good for him. He's a very hard worker. He's probably the last one to leave the (batting) cage area each game day and each practice. He's put in his time and it's really starting to pay off for him."

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Marion's Dusty Albaugh slams a two-run triple that gave Marion a 5-4 lead over Xavier in the second inning of Wednesday night's game at Ken Charipar Field. Xavier bounced back and flattened the Indians, 16-6, in six innings. (Photo by Margaret O'Banion)

Nielsen enjoying strong year for Indians

Wed - 06 Jul Written by Jim Ecker

It's easy for Zach Nielsen to get overlooked among the top shortstops in the Metro area, but Marion Coach Steve Fish appreciates what Nielsen gives the club.

He's hitting approximately .500 after going 3-for-4 against Xavier Wednesday night and has improved his defense a great deal as a senior after struggling at times last season.

The Saints beat Marion, 16-6, in six innings in a non-conference game at Ken Charipar Field.

Nielsen has been a three-year starter for the Indians, but he's playing for a Class 3A school while all the other top shortstops are playing for 4A clubs. Blake Helms of Xavier, Griffin Michael of Kennedy and Ben Larison of Linn-Mar have enjoyed good careers, but so has Nielsen.

"We're coming out of a pretty good class," he said.

Helms (Kirkwood), Michael (Southeastern Community College) and Larison (Kirkwood) will be joining college baseball teams next season. So will Nielsen, who belongs in the conversation as one of the Metro's top shortstops in the Class of 2011.

Nielsen has committed to Century College, a two-year school that's located in White Bear Lake, Minn.

Nielsen acknowledged he feels overlooked at times, but he doesn't seem bothered by it too much. He knows the Class 4A shortstops are going to get more local recognition.

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The toughest game to predict

Wed - 06 Jul Written by Scott Unash

Casual fans, parents and, yes, even media tend to commit two sports sins many times during the sports calendar year. The first being looking ahead in a team's schedule beyond the next game. The other being the act of comparing scores, to perhaps determine how a game should come out on the field.

You can't do either of those exercises for high school baseball.

There is no sport that involves more upsets and strange happenings, especially during the postseason, than high school baseball.

In football and basketball you can have the occasional upset, but more often than not (especially in football) talent usually prevails.

That is not the case in baseball. Just take a look at the state tournament fields over the past decade. Usually you can count the number of rated teams in the four classes on two hands. Teams that are considered "shoo-ins" at the beginning of the year, many times do not get a chance to prove their mettle at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Why is that?

The answer is pretty simple: Pitching.

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