Jefferson Baseball

Larson is having a blast with J-Hawks

VAN HORNE -- Alex Larson is having a blast in his senior season of playing baseball for the Jefferson J-Hawks.

Literally.

Larson belted two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs in helping the J-Hawks to an 8-2 lead after 3 1/2 innings Tuesday against Benton Community. The Bobcats battled back to post a 10-9 win that sent the J-Hawks to their eighth loss in their last nine games.

Larson came into the game with a team-high .449 batting average, one home run and a team-leading 11 RBIs.  His two-run home run in the first inning staked the J-Hawks (6-15) to a 2-0 lead and his grand slam in the fourth capped a six-run frame that put Jefferson ahead, 8-2. Benton (6-13) came back with six runs in the bottom of the fourth, tacked on single runs in the fifth and sixth, and pulled out the win.

"We're playing solid, but the mental game is not there right now," said Larson, who played his second straight game at shortstop after playing most of the season at third base. He also pitches.

Benton scored the tying run in the bottom of the fourth on a two-out double steal. With runners at first and third, the runner at first appeared to attempt to steal second. When the throw from catcher Drew Striegel went down to second baseman Ky Kramer, the runner pulled up and got in a rundown. The tying run scored and the J-Hawks were unable to record an out when second base went uncovered during the rundown.

"That's what is killing us," Larson said. "Not knowing where to go with the ball and errors. I'm not worried about hitting the ball or pitching. That's going well. The mental game is just what we have to notch up on right now."

The J-Hawks had 12 hits, six for extra bases, but committed three errors on defense that led to three unearned runs.

Larson was a letter-winner on Kennedy's state championship baseball team last summer, starting several games at third base early in the season. He said his playing time dwindled as the season wore on. He changed schools when his family moved into the Jefferson district, even though he could have stayed at Kennedy for his senior year.

"I loved Kennedy," Larson said. "There's nothing against anything at Kennedy. I miss those guys every day. But, I just figured why not try something new and exciting? High school gets boring after three years. You need something new to make it go quicker."

Larson said his youth teams often played teams with current J-Hawks Michael Rooney and Bailey Hollingsworth.

"I knew guys over here," he said. "We had some crazy rivalry. We played almost every weekend. So, I knew them pretty well.

"I had a group of friends to start out with. Now I've just made more friends and had fun. It's a great senior year."

Despite the difference in records -- Kennedy is 18-4 and ranked No. 5 in Class 4A and Jefferson is 6-15 -- Larson said he is glad to be playing with the J-Hawks.

"I say no regrets. I'm having a blast this year," Larson said. "Yeah, it's fun playing with those guys from Kennedy. I always liked playing with them. I played with them my whole life.

"But I'm having just as much fun with these guys. Winning and losing doesn't make a difference with me right now. Well, it does. And we have plenty of year left, it's only halfway through. The postseason is really what matters anyways."

Larson is relaxed and having fun with the J-Hawks.

"It's one of the greatest group of guys you'll meet," he said. "I'm having a blast. I love all the guys here."

JEFFERSON (9)
Michael Rooney, cf, 5 1 1 2, Drew Striegel, c, 3 0 2 0, Drake Vanous, cr, 0 2 0 0, Alex Larson, ss, 4 2 2 6, Jordan McCormick, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Jake Schmidt, rf, 4 0 1 0, Bailey Hollingsworth, dh, 2 1 1 0, Christian Knox, lf, 0 1 0 0, Ky Kramer, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Aaron Gruwell, pr, 0 0 0 0, Chance Tiedtke, 3b, 4 1 3 0, Sam Techau, p, 1 0 0 1, Austin Goodell, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 29 9 12 9.

BENTON COMMUNITY (10)
Mitch Moser, 1b, 3 3 2 1, Jake Stenberg, c, 3 0 2 1, Jacob Germann, ss, 4 0 2 3, Jordan Kearns, dh, 3 0 2 0, Jacob Volz, p, 0 0 0 0, Ryan Choate, cr-lf, 0 1 0 0, Jordan McFarland, ph, 1 0 0 0, Ryan Oberreuter, pr, 0 1 0 0, Jonny Frese, lf-p, 3 1 1 1, Calvin Franzenburg, rf, 1 2 0 0, Brady Stramer, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Seth Schulte, 2b, 3 1 1 1, Dylan Franzenburg, cf, 3 1 2 1. Totals 26 10 12 8.

Jefferson   200 600 1 --  9 12 3
Benton     101 611 x -- 10 12 0

Techau, Goodell (4) and Striegel. Volz, Frese (6) and Stenberg. W-Volz. L-Goodell. Sv-Frese. 2B-Striegel, Schmidt, Hollingsworth, Tiedtke, Moser, Kearns. HR-Larson 2. SB-Choate, Germann, Oberreuter.

Hollingsworth helps J-Hawks snap 7-game losing streak

Things got ugly during the Jefferson baseball team's seven-game losing streak this month.

Spotty pitching, leaky defense, not enough hitting, maybe a helmet tossed in anger.

The frustration ended Monday night when the J-Hawks clipped Iowa City West, 4-2, in the second game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at the Jefferson field.

Iowa City West won the opener, 14-9.

Jefferson was outscored, 70-23, during its seven-game skid, including an embarrassing twinbill against Dubuque Wahlert last Friday when the J-Hawks got drubbed 18-3 and 11-0.

"I don't remember having a streak like that before," said Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba. "It certainly hasn't happened in my 16 years, and probably 10 years prior to that."

Bailey Hollingsworth helped Jefferson (6-14, 4-10) end the tailspin in the nightcap with a strong performance on the mound. He tossed a complete game and his teammates made some sparkling plays in the field.

Outfielders Jake Schmidt and Michael Rooney tracked down some rockets, and catcher Drew Striegel picked an Iowa City West runner off third base in a big situation.

"I don't know how many times Jake saved my butt out there in right field," Hollingsworth said. "And Drew was calling all the right signs behind the plate. So it feels good."

Hollingsworth, a senior, pitched his first complete game since his sophomore campaign with the J-Hawks. He spaced eight hits and walked two batters.

"Bailey threw exceptionally well for us tonight," said Kuba. "He did a nice job of getting ahead in the counts and did a nice job of locating his pitches."

Hollingsworth began the game with four shutout innings. He was nicked for single runs in the fifth and seventh innings, but made big pitches along the way.

"I felt pretty good as the game went on," he said. "I kept seeing zeroes go up on the scoreboard and it gave me more and more confidence."

Iowa City West (13-9, 7-7) tied the score, 1-1, in the top of the fifth inning and had runners on second and third with two outs. Ryan Rumpf, the Trojans' best hitter, was standing at the plate in a clutch situation, but Striegel picked a Trojan off third to end the threat.

Jefferson scored twice in the bottom of the fifth for a 3-1 lead, thanks to a bloop two-run double by Hollingsworth that the Iowa City West right fielder didn't see until it was too late.

The J-Hawks made it 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, but Iowa City West scored in the top of the seventh and had two runners on base when Hollingsworth got the final out on a fly ball.

Jefferson has not had a losing season since a 12-23 record in 2003. The J-Hawks have reached the midpoint of the 2011 regular season with a 6-14 mark, but Kuba thinks there's still time for the club to have a good campaign.

"I think we have a great chance to turn this thing around and have a good second half," he said.

Jefferson second baseman Tanner Unkel was involved in a collision with an Iowa City West baserunner in the fourth inning of the opener and went to a hospital to be examined for a possible concussion. He returned to the ballpark and appeared to be alert and in good spirits.

"He's fine," Kuba said.

Unkel was 2-for-2 with a home run and double in his only two at-bats in the doubleheader.

Game 1

IOWA CITY WEST (14)
Peller, cf, 5 1 2 1, Siems, rf, 3 2 0 0, Grimsman, ph, 1 0 0 0, Rumpf, dh, 3 2 2 4, Ross, p, 0 0 0 0, Yoder, p, 0 0 0 0, Aller, p, 0 0 0 0, Bonner, 1b, 3 2 1 2, Reiner, lf, 2 1 2 1, Kuepker, ph, 0 0 0 0, Harder, ph, 1 0 0 0, Cronk, c, 5 1 2 3, Grimsman, cr, 0 1 0 0, Schreck, 3b, 4 0 1 1, Ewing, ph, 0 0 0 1, Crimmins, ss, 4 2 2 0, Franz, 2b, 4 2 2 0. Totals 35 14 14 13.

JEFFERSON (9)
Unkel, 2b, 2 2 2 2, Tiedtke, 2b, 2 0 1 1, Rooney, p/cf, 3 0 2 1, Vanous, cr, 0 1 0 0, Larson, 3b, 4 0 2 1, McCormick, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Striegel, c, 3 0 0 0, Dee, c, 0 1 0 0, Kramer, ss, 3 2 1 1, Hollingsworth, rf, 2 1 0 1, Schmidt, lf/p, 3 1 0 0, Jourdan, p, 0 0 0 0, Knox, cf/lf, 3 1 1 0. Totals 28 9 9 7.

Iowa City West   311 441 0 - 14 14 3
Jefferson           140 002 2 -   9   9 3

Ross, Yoder (4), Aller (6) and Cronk. Rooney, Jourdan (4), Schmidt (6) and Striegel, Dee (6). W - Yoder. L - Rooney. 2B - Peller, Rumpf, Reiner, Franz, Unkel, Larson, Kramer. HR - Rumpf, Cronk, Unkel. SB - Peller 2, Siems, Reiner.

Game 2

IOWA CITY WEST (2)
Peller, cf, 4 1 1 0, Siems, rf, 4 0 3 2, Rumpf, dh, 3 0 0 0, Grimsman, p, 0 0 0 0, Bonner, 1b, 4 0 1 0, Cronk, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Schreck, lf/p, 3 0 0 0, Crimmins, ss, 2 0 1 0, Ewing, ph, 1 0 0 0, Baker, c, 2 0 0 0, Kuepker, ph, 1 0 0 0, Franz, 2b, 3 1 2 0. Totals 29 2 8 2.

JEFFERSON (4)
Rooney, cf, 4 1 1 0, Striegel, c, 3 0 1 0, Vanous, cr, 0 0 0 0, Larson, ss, 1 1 0 0, McCormick, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Schmidt, rf, 4 1 1 0, Hollingsworth, p, 3 0 1 2, Gruwell, cr, 0 0 0 0, Kramer, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Techau, 3b, 2 0 1 1, Knox, lf, 2 1 0 0. Totals 22 4 5 3.

Iowa City West    000 010 1 - 2 8 1
Jefferson            000 121 x - 4 5 2

Grimsman, Schreck (6) and Baker. Hollingsworth and Striegel. W - Hollingsworth. L - Grimsman. 2B - Siems 2, Hollingsworth.

Wahlert wallops J-Hawks twice

Flawless baseball it was not.

Dubuque Wahlert scored 10 unearned runs in the first inning of the opener, then tallied four unearned runs in the first inning of the nightcap and routed Jefferson twice Friday at the J-Hawk diamond. Wahlert won the opener 18-3 in four innings and took the nightcap 11-0 in five.

The J-Hawks (5-13, 3-9 MVC) have lost six straight and nine of their last 10.

Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said after Thursday's hard-fought 5-3 loss to Linn-Mar that the J-Hawks would have to play flawless ball to have a chance to beat Dubuque Wahlert (17-4, 10-2). The Golden Eagles came into the games ranked No. 2 in Class 3A.

"We just have to get better," Kuba said Friday night. "We have to put seven innings together of pitching, fielding and hitting.

"I know it's going to happen, and it's going to happen in baby steps. But we're at the halfway point of the season. We have to get better in gigantic steps."

The J-Hawks took a couple of gigantic steps backwards Friday.

Wahlert's lead-off batter, Riley McCarron, led off the game with a gravy grounder to shortstop that was booted for an error. Three more errors, six Wahlert hits and five stolen bases later and the Golden Eagles had 10 unearned runs.

"I felt like if we could have just gotten out of that with maybe giving up three runs, at least we would have had a ballgame," Kuba said.

Wahlert ended any hopes of a J-Hawk comeback by batting around and scoring six runs in the second inning.

JJ Reimer swatted two-run home runs in the first and second innings and was 3-for-3 with five RBIs to lead Wahlert's 14-hit attack.

McCarron had three doubles and drove in three runs in the nightcap.

McCarron was retired on a grounder to open the nightcap, but the next batter reached on catcher's interference. A walk and three straight hits plated four runs before the second out was recorded. A pair of passed balls put a runner at third and a hit batsman set up a double steal that scored another run. A walk and McCarron's double plated two more runs.

And that was the game. Jefferson managed four hits off Wahlert's Michael Kann. Two came in the bottom of the fifth.

Senior Michael Rooney was Jefferson's hitting star. He was 4-for-6 with a double and home run. He was 3-for-3 in the opener, when he hit a solo homer.

Kuba said the J-Hawks are frustrated right now and Rooney agreed.

"We're giving up way too many outs and that's one thing that's been happening way too often," Rooney said. "Sometimes we're giving up, it seems like. We need to stay focused."

Both Rooney and Kuba said they have not gone through anything like the losing spell the J-Hawks are experiencing.

"I've always been on winning teams," Rooney said. "I feel like I'm one of the leaders of the team and it's somewhat my responsibility to get us together. We need to figure out what's going on and we need to do it soon."

Kuba said his aim is to get the J-Hawks ready to be playing their best baseball by the time the postseason rolls around.

"We're going to keep dealing with it the best we can," Kuba said. "We're going to have to stay positive and work for the end of the season."

Jefferson hosts Iowa City West in a doubleheader Monday night.

Game 1

WAHLERT (18)
Riley McCarron, ss, 4 2 2 2, Connor Krueger, ss, 0 0 0 0, Nathan Funke, 1b, 2 0 0 1, Brady Schetgen, ph, 1 0 0 0, Hunter Rix, 1b, 0 0 0 0, JJ Reimer, c, 3 3 3 5, Cole Klostermann, ph-c, 1 0 1 1, Jack Hoffmann, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Gerald Lange, ph-3b, 1 0 0 0, Zach Brautigam, p, 2 0 1 0, Aaron Holmes, cr-ph, 1 2 0 0, Michael Kann, rf, 2 2 1 1, Brady Williams, ph-rf, 1 0 0 0, Joe Weber, dh, 2 2 2 3, Jimmy Collins, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Josh Link, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Tommy Denlinger, cf, 3 3 3 2, Deon Ploessl, cf, 0 0 0 0, Michael Dietzel, lf, 1 2 1 2, Matthew Sabers, ph-lf, 0 1 0 0. Totals 27 18 14 17.

JEFFERSON (3)
Tanner Unkel, 2b, 3 1 1 0, Michael Rooney, cf, 3 1 3 1, Alex Larson, p-3b, 2 0 0 1, Jordan McCormick, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Drew Striegel, c, 0 0 0 0, Drake Vanous, cr, 0 0 0 0, Chance Tiedtke, ss, 2 0 0 0, Jake Schmidt, dh, 2 0 1 0, Sam Techau, 3b, 0 0 0 0, Jordan Dee, p, 0 0 0 0, Austin Goodell, p, 0 0 0 0, Bailey Hollingsworth, rf, 1 1 0 0, Christian Knox, lf, 2 0 1 0. Totals 18 3 6 2.

Wahlert     (10)60 2 - 18 14 0
Jefferson    101 0 - 3 6 5

Brautigam and Reimer. Larson, Dee (1), Goodell (4) and Striegel. W-Brautigam. L-Larson. 2B-McCarron, Kann, Weber, Dietzel. HR-Reimer 2, Rooney. SB-McCarron 2, Kann, Weber, Denlinger, Rooney.

Game 2

WAHLERT (11)
McCarron, ss, 4 1 3 3, Funke, lf, 2 1 0 0, Sabers, lf, 0 0 0 0, Reimer, c, 3 1 0 1, Hoffmann, 3b, 2 3 2 2, Krueger, ph, 1 0 0 0, Brautigam, 1b, 2 1 2 1, Ploessl, ph, 0 0 0 0, Kann, p, 1 0 1 2, Holmes, cr, 0 1 0 0, Link, ph, 1 0 0 0, Weber, dh, 2 0 0 0, Collins, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Cole Klostermann, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Rix, ph, 1 0 0 0, Denlinger, cf, 2 1 0 0, Dietzel, rf, 1 1 1 0, Williams, rf, 1 1 1 0. Totals 23 11 9 9.

JEFFERSON (0)
Unkel, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Rooney, cf, 3 0 1 0, Larson, 3b, 2 0 1 0, McCormick, 1b, 2 0 0 0, Tiedtke, p, 1 0 0 0, Techau, p, 1 0 0 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 2 0 0 0, Hollingsworth, rf, 2 0 0 0, Colten Jourdan, c, 2 0 1 0, Aaron Gruwell, cr, 0 0 0 0, Knox, lf, 2 0 1 0. Totals 19 0 4 0.

Wahlert     712 10 - 11 9 0
Jefferson   000 00 -  0  4 2

Kann and Reimer. Tiedtke, Techau (3) and Jourdan. W-Kann. L-Tiedtke. 2B-McCarron 3, Brautigam, Williams, Rooney. HR-Hoffmann.

Lions hunt down a win against J-Hawks

Aaron Hunter was the right guy at the right time for Linn-Mar on Thursday night.

Hunter's bases-loaded double in the top of the sixth inning plated two runs, erased a one-run deficit and sent the Lions past Jefferson, 5-3, at the J-Hawks baseball field.

The win was the third of the week for Linn-Mar (10-6) against the J-Hawks (5-11). The Lions swept a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader from Jefferson, 3-1 and 8-7 in 10 innings, Monday at Linn-Mar. Thursday's game was a nonconference tilt set up because both teams had a pair of games rained out in the season-opening Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament.

Hunter said the intensity may not have been at the same level as the conference games, but getting a win was still important.

"It affects (the intensity) a little bit, but we still have to get the win to get points for seeding at substate," said Hunter, a senior outfielder. "Every point makes a difference."

Linn-Mar picked up four points for the win. The points decide the seedings for next month's substate tournaments.

"We treated it like any other nonconference game," Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner said. "We didn't want to put any more pressure on it. We just wanted to come out and see what happened."

Linn-Mar trailed 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning when Christian Knox came on in relief for the J-Hawks. A hit batsman, walk, sacrifice bunt, and walk loaded the bases for Hunter, the Lions' leadoff batter. He fell behind in the count, no balls and two strikes, then got a curveball that hung over the middle of the plate. He smoked it over the head of Jefferson left fielder Jake Schmidt.

"I'm thinking I got to protect the plate. Anything close and I just have to get good barrel on the ball," Hunter said. "They'd been throwing me a lot of curveballs, so I was looking off-speed and I got it.

"We're getting a lot of good pitching and we're doing enough at the plate to get wins."

Linn-Mar had seven hits to 11 for the J-Hawks. Five of Linn-Mar's hits were for extra bases. Jordan Stroschein had a pair of doubles and an RBI, and Ben Larison and Jeremy Danover hit solo home runs.

The Lions also got some clutch pitching from starter Nate Johnson and reliever Casey Brown. Johnson worked three batters into the fifth inning and was lifted after surrendering an RBI single to Alex Larson that tied the game. Brown came on and gave up an RBI double to Jordan McCormick that put the J-Hawks ahead, 3-2. He got a huge lift when the next batter, Drew Striegel hit a fly ball to medium center field and Larson, tagging up at third base, was thrown out at the plate.

"I thought Nate Johnson Casey Brown did a nice job on the mound," Lechner said. "That was the key tonight, to keep their bats under control because they can come out at any time and score 10 runs in a hurry. I thought those guys did a nice job keeping us in the game."

The loss was Jefferson's fourth straight and seventh in eight games. Four of the losses have been by two runs or less.

"I know we really wanted that one because of what happened on Monday," said McCormick, who pitched the first five innings for the J-Hawks and allowed five hits and two runs. McCormick also had two hits and drove in two runs. "I think we're starting to hit. We had 11 hits tonight. That's good to see.

"We just have to keep playing hard, stay after practice and take extra cuts, and cut down on our errors."

Jefferson hosts Dubuque Wahlert in a doubleheader Friday. The Golden Eagles went in to Thursday night's doubleheader at Prairie tied with Kennedy for the top spot in the Mississippi Division.

"We have to do the little things right for seven innings," Jefferson Coach Mike Kuba said. "We have to execute flawlessly. We have to have our pitchers come in and keep the ball down low because they are a power-hitting team."

Linn-Mar plays a doubleheader at Prairie on Friday.

Jefferson won the JV game, 8-6.

LINN-MAR (5)
Aaron Hunter, lf-cf, 5 0 1 2, Ben Larison, ss, 3 2 2 1, Michael Redmond, cf, 1 0 0 0, Kevin Bogert, lf-rf, 3 0 1 0, Jordan Stroschein, rf-p, 4 0 2 1, Jeremy Danover, c, 4 1 1 1, Ryan Sturenfeldt, cr, 0 0 0 0, Corey Prokop, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Keaton Blackford, dh, 2 1 0 0, Nate Johnson, p, 0 0 0 0, Casey Brown, p, 0 0 0 0, Mitch Stickney, lf, 0 0 0 0, Travis Kvach, 2b, 1 0 0 0, Jake Stolley, 1b, 2 0 0 0. Totals 27 5 7 5.

JEFFERSON (3)
Tanner Unkel, 2b, 3 2 2 0, Michael Rooney, cf, 4 1 2 0, Alex Larson, 3b, 4 0 2 1, Jordan McCormick, p-1b, 4 0 2 2, Drake Vanous, cr, 0 0 0 0, Drew Striegel, c, 3 0 1 0, Jordan Dee, 1b, 3 0 1 0, Christian Knox, p, 0 0 0 0, Colten Jourdan, p, 0 0 0 0, Bailey Hollingsworth, rf, 3 0 0 0, Jake Schmidt, lf, 3 0 1 0, Ky Kramer, ss, 3 0 0 0. Totals 30 3 11 3.

Linn-Mar     100 012 1 - 5   7 2
Jefferson    001 020 0 - 3 11 1

Johnson, Brown (5), J.Stroschein (7) and Danover. McCormick, Knox (6), Jourdan (6) and Striegel. W-Brown. L-Knox. Sv-J.Stroschein. 2B-Hunter, J.Stroschein 2, Unkel, McCormick, Striegel. HR-Larison, Danover.