D.J. Utley put on a powerful show of hitting for Cedar Rapids Prairie Monday night with two long home runs in the opening round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament.

Once that was done, he quickly fled the ballpark for an encore with the Prairie show choir.

Utley went 4-for-4, scored four runs and hit a game-tying homer in the top of the seventh as the Hawks rallied for a 9-7 victory over Mount Vernon, but he didn't stick around to talk about it. Neither did Chaz Boots, who went 2-for-3.

"They took off and went dancing, right after the victory," Prairie Coach Matt Thede reported, smiling.

"I'm really thankful they didn't have to leave early," Thede said. "They were going to leave around 7, and they ended up sticking around."

That was a good thing for Prairie. The Hawks trailed, 7-6, when Utley strode to the plate as the first batter in the top of the seventh inning. The big left-handed hitter smashed the first pitch he saw onto the tennis courts beyond the right-field fence.

Prairie scored two more runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Matt Meyer and Ty Mougin for the 9-7 victory.

Thede told his players they owed Utley a soft drink for his powerful hitting.

"I think we all need to give him more than that," said Anthony Gagliardi, who picked up the victory in relief. "He won the game for us, so thanks to D.J."

Utley beat out an infield single in the second inning and tripled in the third, but the best was yet to come. He smashed a long solo home run to right-center in the fifth inning, then hit his mammoth clout in the seventh.

Utley did not hit any homers in 78 at-bats last season as a junior, but he's already got two roundtrippers in four at-bats this year.

"How about Utley? You know, he's a diamond in the rough," Thede said. "I'm really excited for him."

Utley played first base Monday night, but Thede said he'll be the starting pitcher against top-ranked Kennedy in the semifinals at Kennedy tonight at 7.

PRAIRIE (9)
Jason Velvick, cf, 4 0 0 0, Brayton Carlson, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Brennan Hammer, dh, 4 0 1 0, Bryce Alberts, 3b, 0 0 0 0, Drew Pond, rf, 0 0 0 0, Anthony Gagliardi, rf, 4 0 0 0, D.J. Utley, 1b, 4 4 4 2, Dustin Carlson, p, 2 1 0 1, Eric Allard, cr, 0 0 0 0, Chaz Boots, lf, 3 2 2 0, Nate Meyer, c, 3 1 1 1, Blaine Hilgenkamp, cr, 0 1 0 0, Ty Mougin, ss, 4 0 2 1. Totals 32 9 10 5.

MOUNT VERNON (7)
Conner Shaffer, cf, 4 0 0 0, Ryan Cox, 2b, 4 0 1 1, Jake Scieszinski, ss, 4 2 1 1, Ben Leopold, 3b, 4 2 2 2, Marshall Kray, c, 2 0 0 0, Jake Timm, lf, 4 0 1 0, C.J. Eldred, p, 1 0 0 0, Trey Ryan, ss, 1 1 0 0, Jake Pisarik, ph, 1 0 0 0, Cal Kragenbrink, 1b, 3 1 2 0, Conner Younggreen, rf, 3 1 1 0. Totals 31 7 8 4.

Prairie  032 010 3 - 9 10 5
Mt. Vernon  200 032 0 - 7 8 4

D. Carlson, Hammer (5), Gagliardi (6) and Meyer, D. Carlson (5); Eldred, Scieszinski (4), Timm (7) and Kray. W - Gagliardi; L - Scieszinski. 2B - Hammer, Leopold. 3B - Utley. HR - Utley 2. SB - Velvick, Boots, Mougin, Shaffer.