Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel got a pleasant surprise when he arrived at the ballpark Tuesday.

The Saints have cracked the Class 4A rankings for the first time this year and are No.10 in the poll.

"I just heard that when I walked across the bridge to the game," Schemmel said Tuesday night. "I didn't know anything about it. We'll take it."

Xavier celebrated its lofty status with a 6-2 victory over Bettendorf behind a strong pitching performance by Kevin Hosch.

There's a wooden bridge that leads to Ken Charipar Field at Xavier High School. By the time the Saints crossed that bridge to go home, they were 16-5 overall and happy with their new perch in the poll.

"The kids have been playing well. They have a decent record. I think we've been playing good enough baseball to be there (in the rankings)," Schemmel remarked. "But, it puts the bull's-eye on you, so every time out you have to play well."

Hosch carried a shutout into the seventh inning, but Bettendorf (2-11) scored two unearned runs with two outs on a deep fly ball to center into a suddenly heavy rain. Hosch got the next batter on a fly ball to right to end the game.

Hosch, a junior, had struggled in recent outings.

"It feels great, actually, to get my confidence back," he said. "I've had a few big innings put up against me. It's nice to get this game and a complete game."

Hosch struck out eight batters, allowed four hits (all singles) and walked four batters. Bettendorf did not send more than four batters to the plate until the seventh inning.

"Kevin hasn't pitched well in his last two outings and it was good for him to get off to a decent start," Schemmel said. "He did a nice job. It was a big one for him."

Hosch agreed.

"I just went after them with fastballs," he said. "I didn't try to junk them up, really. I tried to get first-pitch strikes and go from there."

Blake Helms helped the Saints grab an early lead, scoring in the first inning on a hustle play and driving in a run in the second inning with a base hit.

Mack Mattke and Alex Ries drove in runs in the third inning with back-to-back doubles when the Saints made it 5-0. Nate Even drove in the sixth run with an RBI single in the sixth.

Xavier right fielder Eric Zenisek preserved the shutout in the fourth inning with a strong throw to the plate to nail a runner trying to score on a fly ball. Xavier catcher Colby Brecht did a good job of catching the throw and tagging the runner.

Helms, Even and Brecht had two hits apiece for the Saints.

BETTENDORF (2)
Schmitt, c, 4 0 0 0, Lintz, rf/p, 3 0 0 0, Sullivan, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Downey, dh, 2 0 0 0, Edwards, cf, 2 0 1 0, Clearman, ph, 1 1 1 0, Miles, 2b, 2 0 1 0, Kellums, ph, 0 1 0 0, Flynn, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Kelly, p, 1 0 0 0, Albert, p, 1 0 0 0, Biggs, ph, 1 0 0 0, Schmid, lf, 2 0 0 0. Totals 24 2 4 0.

XAVIER (6)
Helms, ss, 4 1 2 1, Woods, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Even, 2b, 3 1 2 1, Mattke, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Ries, cf, 3 0 1 1, Sodawasser, cf, 0 0 0 0, Hosch, p, 3 0 0 0, McNeal, lf, 1 1 0 0, Mehring, ph/lf, 1 0 0 0, Zenisek, rf, 1 1 1 0, Brecht, c, 3 0 2 1, Brown, cr, 0 1 0 0. Totals 26 6 10 5.

Bettendorf   000 000 2 - 2  4 0
Xavier          122 001 x - 6 10 1

Kelly, Albert (3) Lintz (6) and Schmitt. Hosch and Brecht. W - Hosch. L - Kelly. 2B - Mattke, Ries, Zenisek. SB - Schmid, Even, Zenisek.