Metro Sports Report

Williamsburg posts pair of shutouts

WATKINS - The Williamsburg Red Sox received terrific pitching all day and swept a doubleheader from Watkins, 1-0 and 7-0, on the opening day of the 2018 Iowa Valley League campaign.

Lucas Robbins and Zach Kammin combined on a shutout in Game 1, foiling a strong effort by Luke Franzenburg on the mound for Watkins. Robbins and Kammin struck out seven batters. Franzenburg pitched a five-hitter, but was saddled with a tough loss.

Williamsburg scored the only run in the game in the third inning. Truman Schmidt singled and Nolan Arp produced a game-winning RBI single.

Luke Farley had two doubles for Watkins. Nick Suppel had two hits for Williamsburg.

Tanner Jensen struck out seven batters for Williamsburg in the 7-0 shutout in the second game. Neil Marshall had two hits and two RBIs. Suppel had a double.

Eagles limping home from World Series

ENID, Okla. - The Kirkwood Eagles will be kicking themselves all the way home from Oklahoma, but it's too late now.

Coach Todd Rima's club played another sloppy game at the NJCAA Division II World Series on Sunday and was eliminated by Scottsdale, 9-8, in a losers bracket game at David Allen Memorial Ballpark.

Kirkwood began the tournament as the No. 3 seed, but the Eagles lost to No. 6 Madison in the opening round Saturday and fell to No. 7 Scottsdale in the consolation bracket.

Kirkwood committed seven errors and blew a 9-1 lead in an 18-9 loss to Madison, then the Eagles walked six batters, hit four others and committed three more errors against Scottsdale.

Kirkwood's first trip to the World Series since 1999 ended in frustration with a 42-17-1 overall record.

KCC baseball stumbles at national tourney

ENID, Okla. - The Kirkwood Eagles' defense let them down at the national tournament on Saturday.

Kirkwood committed seven errors and lost to Madison Area Technical  College, 18-9, in the opening round of the NJCAA Division II World  Series at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla.

The game was stopped after eight innings due to the college mercy rule.

Kirkwood got off to a fast start and led, 9-1, after three innings,  but the rest of the game was a disaster for the Eagles. Madison  drubbed the Eagles, 17-0, during the next five innings when Kirkwood  committed all seven of its errors.

Kirkwood (42-16-1) will face Scottsdale (29-31) in a losers bracket game on Sunday at 10 a.m. in an effort to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.

The Eagles used three of their top starting pitchers on Saturday with  Peyton Long throwing four innings, Adam Ketelsen lasting only one  inning and Cameron Leff throwing two innings. That will make it harder  for the Eagles to bounce back in the losers bracket with Long,  Ketelsen and Leff having already seen action.

McCaffery, Lohaus playing in IVL for Red Top

Connor McCaffery and Tanner Lohaus are best-known as basketball players, but both of them hope to bolster their college baseball careers by playing in the Iowa Valley League this summer.

McCaffery and Lohaus, who were high school teammates in both sports at Iowa City West, will be teammates again on Red Top in the Iowa Valley League.

Red Top will play most of its home games at Iowa City West this season, beginning Sunday with a doubleheader against Norway at 1 p.m.

McCaffery is pursuing both sports at the University of Iowa, but he got off to a slow start this past year as a true freshman. He played in only four games for the men's basketball team and was granted a medical redshirt waiver following a series of health problems, and he also took a redshirt year with the UI baseball team.

McCaffery, an outfielder, still has four years of eligibility with the Hawkeyes in basketball and baseball.