Austin Christensen has been setting records all season with his uncanny ability to smash a baseball.

Now he's written his name into the Kennedy High School record book as a pitcher, too.

Christensen tied the school mark for career victories Monday night as the fifth-ranked Cougars smashed No.8 Xavier, 18-1, in four innings in the first game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Kennedy Field.

Xavier won the nightcap, 6-5.

Christensen collected the 26th win of his prep career, matching Danny Bales for the most victories in school history. Bales compiled a 26-7 mark at Kennedy from 2001 to 2004, while Christensen has posted a 26-6 mark since 2007.

"I'm very happy to have my name by his," Christensen said. "I remember watching him when I was a kid. He was an absolute stud. I've got some work to do still."

Christensen tied another school record when he socked his 14th home run in the nightcap, matching Adam Rice (2006) for the most homers in a single season. Christensen already holds Kennedy's career record for home runs with 37.

Christensen appeared mildly happy with his latest accomplishments, but he and the Cougars were not happy with the split after plastering the Saints in the opener.

"No, not at all," he said. "We did the exact same thing last Saturday (against Linn-Mar). We just have to play 14 innings of complete baseball and give 100 percent. We haven't done that lately."

Kennedy belted Linn-Mar, 13-2, in the first game of its doubleheader Saturday, then lost the nightcap 15-13.

The Cougars hit five home runs in the twinbill against Xavier, including three by Devon Jacobus, but the Saints got the biggest home run of the night when Eric Zenisek connected for a two-run blast to give Xavier a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning of the nightcap.

The Saints scored three more runs in the sixth inning for a 6-2 lead and held on for the 6-5 victory, surviving a solo homer by Christensen in the bottom of the seventh.

The Saints were happy to get the split after being pelted in the opener.

"They were embarrassed that first game. And we talked about that (between games)," Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel remarked. "We had to show whoever came to the games tonight that we're not a bad ballclub."

Kennedy was four outs away from collecting a sweep when Zenisek hit his two-run blast to center field.

"We got a few hits in key spots and Eric's home run was key," Schemmel said. "You could just sense the air go out of them. To take the lead that late in the game and score five runs with two outs ... We didn't quit."

Adam Lloyd hit a pinch-hit, three-run walkoff home run in the bottom of the fourth inning of the opener to give Kennedy its 18-1 win and stop the game by the 15-run rule.

Christensen (5-0) allowed one run on five hits with eight strikeouts.

Griffin Michael of Kennedy and Dane Mehring of Xavier were locked in a pitchers duel in the nightcap. Kennedy had a 2-1 lead after five innings, but Zenisek hit his two-run homer off Michael to breathe new life into the Saints.

Christensen went 4-for-7 in the doubleheader and is hitting .598 (49 for 82) with 14 homers and 40 RBIs in 28 games. Jacobus went 4-for-4 with three homers, two walks, a single and five RBIs. He's hit seven homers this season.

The Cougars and Saints were battling for more than just bragging rights on 42nd Street. They also were battling for the No.1 seed in the Class 4A Substate No.3 that begins July 15.

Kennedy has the upper hand at 22-6 overall, but Xavier is 19-6 and could catch the Cougars depending on what happens in their remaining games this week. The seeds will be determined Saturday.

Kennedy and Xavier are grouped in the same substate with Jefferson, Dubuque Hempstead, Dubuque Senior and Western Dubuque. There will be three first-round games in the substate tournament, and the highest remaining seed after the first-round games will receive a bye in the semifinals.

Kennedy is 15-3 in conference games, while Xavier is 13-5.

Game 1

XAVIER (1)
Helms, ss, 3 0 0 0, Woods, 3b, 3 0 1 0, Even, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Mattke, dh, 1 1 1 0, McNeal, p, 0 0 0 0, Hines, p, 0 0 0 0, Brown, p, 0 0 0 0, Ries, cf, 2 0 0 0, Hosch, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Mehring, lf, 1 0 1 1, Zenisek, rf, 2 0 1 0, Brecht, c, 2 0 1 0, Brown, cr, 0 0 0 0, Sodawasser, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 18 1 5 1.

KENNEDY (18)
Sykes, 2b, 2 3 2 0, Taylor, ph, 1 0 1 0, Christensen, p, 3 1 2 2, Hayden, cr, 0 1 0 0, Rhoades, ph, 1 0 0 0, Michael, ss, 3 2 2 2, Appleget, ph, 1 1 1 0, Yancey, lf, 2 3 2 2, Lloyd, ph, 1 1 1 3, Bell, 1b, 3 0 1 2, Maiers, c, 3 1 1 1, Rhoades, cr, 0 1 0 0, Jacobus, 3b, 2 2 2 4, Ambrosy, rf, 2 1 1 1, Benson, dh, 3 1 1 0, Jahlas, cf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 27 18 17 17.

Xavier      010 0 -   1  5 1
Kennedy  609 3 - 18 17 0

McNeal, Hines (3), Brown (4) and Brecht. Christensen and Maiers. W - Christensen. L - McNeal. 2B - Sykes, Michael, Yancey. HR - Lloyd, Jacobus 2. SB - Maiers.

Game 2

XAVIER (6)
Helms, ss, 3 1 0 0, Woods, 3b, 4 1 3 1, Even, 2b, 4 0 1 1, Mattke, 1b/p, 4 0 1 0, Ries, cf, 4 0 0 0, Hosch, dh, 3 0 0 0, Mehring, p, 0 0 0 0, McNeal, lf, 4 1 2 0, Zenisek, rf, 3 2 2 2, Brecht, c, 3 0 1 0, Sodawasser, cr, 0 1 0 0. Totals 32 6 10 4.

KENNEDY (5)
Sykes, 2b, 3 0 2 0, Christensen, rf, 4 1 2 1, Michael, p/ss, 4 0 1 0, Yancey, lf/p, 4 0 0 0, Bell, 3b/1b, 4 2 3 0, Hayden, pr, 0 0 0 0, Maiers, c, 3 0 0 0, Jacobus, ss/3b, 2 2 2 1, Jahlas, cf, 3 0 0 1, Benson, dh, 3 0 1 2, Ambrosy, 1b/lf, 0 0 0 0. Totals 30 5 11 5.

Xavier       001 005 0 - 6 10 0
Kennedy   010 102 1 - 5 11 3

Mehring, Mattke (6) and Brecht. Michael, Yancey (6) and Maiers. W - Mehring. L - Michael. S - Mattke. 2B - Woods, Benson. HR - Zenisek, Christensen, Jacobus. SB - Woods, Even.