![Stars starter Blake Hargens fires a pitch during Sunday's Iowa Valley League nightcap at Herkelman Field in Cedar Rapids. Hargens pitched 6 1/3 innings to get the win as the Stars edged the Mud Hens, 2-1. (MSR photo by Ken Gilchrist)](/images/resized/images/photos/ivl/07_22_2018_ivl2_thumb200__200_162.jpg)
Stars win second IVL title in row
It was poetic justice that it happened where so many of them honed their skills in high school.
Sunday's Iowa Valley League doubleheader between the Stars and Watkins was played at Herkelman Field on the Cedar Rapids Kennedy campus. Many of the Stars played as preps for the Cougars under Coach Bret Hoyer and the late Bill Herkelman, for whom the field is named.
The Stars looked right at home Sunday, winning a pair of hard-fought games, 4-1 and 2-1, to clinch their second IVL title in a row with one week left in the regular season. The sweep pushed the Stars to 13-5 while Watkins, which has lost six one-run decisions this summer, fell to 6-10.
Seven of the 12 players who played in Sunday's twinbill are Kennedy graduates.
"It's fun, the friendships you have built up, playing with past Cougars," said catcher Matt Berst, now a member of the Iowa Hawkeyes. "It's just so special to have fun and play the right way." Read more...