The Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Iowa City High baseball teams threw haymakers at each other Wednesday night and depleted their pitching staffs in a Mississippi Valley Conference showdown at Kennedy.

And the big winners were ... the Linn-Mar Lions.

The Cougars and Little Hawks split their twinbill, leaving both clubs with 16-4 records in the Mississippi Division of the MVC. Meanwhile, Linn-Mar swept Cedar Falls and moved into first place in the division with a 17-3 record with six games left in the race.

Kennedy won the first game, 14-7, with Josh Jahlas going 4-for-5 in a contest filled with numerous lineup changes, but that only set the stage for the dramatic nightcap that saw Iowa City High prevail, 9-8, in 10 innings.

The second-round Cougars used six pitchers in the twinbill and the ninth-ranked Little Hawks spent seven hurlers on the hot, steamy night. Both teams played doubleheaders Monday night and both clubs have key MVC doubleheaders this Friday.

Both teams might be looking for volunteers on Friday.

Nick Appleget and Cody Bell pitched for Kennedy on Monday against Xavier and normally would be next in the rotation this Friday, but Appleget pitched in relief against Iowa City High and Bell appeared to have a tender arm Wednesday after throwing 105 pitches on Monday. He made two throwing errors while playing third base and neither throw was close.

Who wants to pitch Friday when Kennedy visits Dubuque Wahlert?

"I don't know," said Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer. "We'll see how their arms are feeling tomorrow and Friday. We'll play it by ear and see what they say."

Iowa City High hosts Linn-Mar in another showdown Friday, and the Little Hawks have pitching concerns of their own. "We've got Linn-Mar Friday with no pitching, so we'll do the best we can," City High Coach Brian Mitchell remarked.

The Little Hawks (22-9, 16-4) roughed up Kennedy aces Alex Hayden and Adam Lloyd in the twinbill. Hayden was touched for nine hits and seven runs (five earned) in six innings in the opener, but he survived leaky defense to get the victory.

Lloyd was touched for nine hits and seven runs (two earned) in 4 2/3 innings in the nightcap and was playing left field when the game was finally decided in the 10th inning.

Ryan Duncan, normally a one-inning closer for the Little Hawks, emerged from all the clutter as the star of the second game. He pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief and got the victory by wriggling out of a jam in the bottom of the 10th.

Iowa City High took a 9-8 lead in the top of the 10th by scoring an unearned on a wild pitch, but Kennedy (23-4, 16-4) refused to go quietly in the bottom of the 10th.

Hayden led off with a double and Derek Jacobus walked with one out. They advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, but Taylor Oltmann - getting only his fourth at-bat of the season - struck out for the second out.

That brought Jahlas to the plate, but Jahlas was 6-for-10 in the doubleheader at that point with a double, triple and five RBIs so Mitchell decided to give Jahlas an intentional walk to load the bases with two outs.

That brought Logan Ambrosy to the plate, another hot hitter for the Cougars in recent weeks and 3-for-9 in the twinbill with three RBIs. "I was hoping they'd bring me up to the plate," he said, relishing the opportunity.

A base hit by Ambrosy, a .400 hitter, could have won the game and kept Kennedy in a first-place tie in the conference.

"I thought we were in a good situation there," said Hoyer. "We've got two seniors (Jahlas and Ambrosy) coming up, they've both been swinging the bat really well for us. That was a good position to be in."

Ambrosy drove an 0-1 pitch to deep right-center, but the City High centerfielder cruised over and made the catch to end the game.

"I hit it good, but it didn't land," said Ambrosy. "I thought it could be a gapper."

Duncan, who entered the game with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, struck out eight batters in 4 1/3 innings and allowed only one hit.

"He's been through a lot and he's a competitor," said Mitchell. "Obviously he's the guy we wanted to have the ball in that situation. It went a little longer than what we would have hoped. Hats off to him."

Kennedy made eight errors in the doubleheader. There also were some good defensive plays, including a sensational diving catch by Jahlas in left-center.

Hayden went 5-for-7 in the doubleheader with three doubles.

GAME ONE

IOWA CITY HIGH (7)
Frakes, 2b/p, 4 1 1 0, Duncan, cf, 3 1 0 0, Wieland, rf/2b/3b, 4 0 2 2, Crosby, 1b, 2 0 1 0, Gevock, pr, 0 0 0 0, Mrstik, ss, 4 0 0 1, Stika, c, 2 0 1 0, Simpson, cr, 0 1 0 0, Haring, rf, 1 0 0 0, Mills, lf, 4 1 1 0, Kenney, p, 2 0 1 0, Gevock, cr, 0 1 0 0, Simpson, rf/p, 1 1 1 0, Reineke, c, 1 0 0 0, Hasler, 3b/p, 3 1 1 2. Totals 31 7 9 5.

KENNEDY (14)
Jahlas, cf, 5 4 4 2, Ambrosy, 1b/rf/c, 4 0 2 3, Bell, 3b/1b, 4 0 1 1, Dv Jacobus, 2b/3b, 0 0 0 1, Oltmann, pr, 0 1 0 0, Lizarraga, c, 4 0 0 0, Seubert, ph/rf, 1 0 0 0, Hayden, p/2b, 3 0 2 1, Staton, cr, 0 3 0 0, Lloyd, rf, 3 2 1 1, Smetzer, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Maiers, p, 0 0 0 0, Dr Jacobus, ss, 4 2 2 1, A.Johnson, lf, 3 2 2 2. Totals 31 14 4 12.

Iowa City High   041 110 0 - 7   9  4
Kennedy          144 320 x - 14 14 5

Kenney, Frakes (3), Simpson (5), Hasler (6) and Stika; Hayden, Maiers (7) and Lizarraga, Ambrosy (7). W - Hayden (7-1). L - Kenney (7-1). 2B - Wieland, Simpson, Jahlas, Ambrosy, Hayden 2, Lloyd, Dr Jacobus. SB - Staton.

GAME TWO

IOWA CITY HIGH (9)
Frakes, 2b, 6 0 1 0, Duncan, cf/p, 5 2 1 0, Wieland, rf/ss, 6 2 2 0, Crosby, 1b, 4 2 3 1, Gevock, pr, 0 0 0 0, Mrstik, ss/p, 5 1 3 4, Stika, p/rf/cf, 5 0 2 1, Gevock, cr, 0 1 0 0, Mills, lf, 5 0 1 1, Haring, dh, 3 0 0 0, Simpson, ph/dh, 2 0 0 0, Parker, c, 0 0 0 0, Hasler, 3b, 5 1 1 0. Totals 46 9 14 7.

KENNEDY (8)
Jahlas, cf, 5 1 2 3, Ambrosy, rf, 6 0 1 0, Bell, 1b, 5 1 1 0, Staton, pr, 0 0 0 0, Dv Jacobus, 3b, 5 1 1 0, Lizarraga, c, 5 0 2 1, Smetzer, cr, 0 2 0 0, Hayden, 2b, 4 2 3 1, Lloyd, p/lf, 5 0 2 0, Staton, cr, 0 0 0 0, Dr Jacobus, ss, 4 0 1 2, Maiers, dh/p, 2 1 0 0, A.Johnson, lf, 0 0 0 0, Appleget, p, 0 0 0 0, Z.Johnson, p, 1 0 0 0, Oltmann, ph, 1 0 0 0. Totals 43 8 13 7.

Iowa City High   102 040 100 1 - 9 14 2
Kennedy           040 130 000 0 - 8 13 3

Stika, Mrstik (6), Duncan (6) and Parker; Lloyd, Maiers (5), Appleget (6), Z.Johnson (8) and Lizarraga. W - Duncan (3-1). L - Z.Johnson (1-1). 2B - Crosby 2, Mrstik, Stika, Dv Jacobus, Hayden. 3B - Jahlas. SB - Duncan, Hayden.