Jefferson Baseball

6 Metro players make all-state baseball

Kennedy High School juniors Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga have been named first team all-state by the Iowa Newspaper Association in Class 4A baseball.

Derek Jacobus of Kennedy and Spencer Van Scoyoc of Jefferson were named second team all-state. Johnny Dobbs of Washington and Manny Jeffery of Linn-Mar were named to the third team.

Five of the six Metro all-state players are underclassmen. Jacobus is the only senior.

FIRST TEAM

Zach Daniels, Kennedy, Jr., .471 BA, 32 RBIs, 22 SBs, 8-1, 1.02 ERA Sammy Lizarraga, Kennedy, Jr., .299 BA, 2 HRs, 34 RBIs, 7-1, 1.31 ERA

SECOND TEAM

Derek Jacobus, Kennedy, Sr., .422, 20 RBIs, 25 SBs Spencer Van Scoyoc, Jefferson, Sophomore, .400 BA, 6 HRs, 38 RBIs, 2-1, 1.93 ERA

THIRD TEAM

Johnny Dobbs, Washington, Soph, .381 BA, 2 HRs, 28 RBIs, 2-4, 3.31 ERA Manny Jeffery, Linn-Mar, Soph, .427 BA, 1 HR, 19 RBIs, 1-2, 3.27 ERA

Daniels honored in MVC baseball

Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Zach Daniels has been named the Athlete of the Year in the Mississippi Division on the Mississippi Valley Conference all-star baseball teams.

Daniels is hitting .471 for the state-bound Cougars with 32 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 23 attempts. He also has an 8-1 record on the mound with a 1.02 ERA.

Daniels, a second baseman when he's not pitching, was joined on the Mississippi Division first team by pitcher Sammy Lizarraga and shortstop Derek Jacobus of Kennedy.

Spencer Van Scoyoc of Jefferson made the Mississippi Division first team in the outfield.

Pitcher Ryan Flaherty, first baseman Adam Pick, infielder Colin O'Connell and outfielder Bryce Grimm of Xavier were named first team in the Valley Division.

Third baseman Johnny Dobbs and Matt Troendle of Washington also made the top unit in the Mississippi Division. They were joined by outfielder Manny Jeffery from Linn-Mar.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer and his assistants were named the Mississippi Division Staff of the Year.

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

Athlete of the Year - Zach Daniels, Kennedy

Staff of the Year - Bret Hoyer, Kennedy

FIRST TEAM

P - Sammy Lizarraga (Kennedy), Nick Gallagher (IC West)

C - Devin Raffensperger (IC West)

1B - David Fitzgerald (Hempstead)

IF - Zack Daniels (Kennedy), Derek Jacobus (Kennedy), Mitch Crimmins (Hempstead)

OF - Spencer Van Scoyoc (Jefferson), Kevin DeLaney (IC West), Alex Gross  (IC West)

U - Austin Clemens (Dubuque Senior), Chris Tomkins (Hempstead)

SECOND TEAM

P - Tyus Adkins (IC West), Blake Hargens (Kennedy)

C - David Janes (Dubuque Senior)

1B - Declan Doyle (IC West)

IF - Grant Ewing (IC West), Sam Noel (Dubuque Senior), John Magnuson   (Waterloo East)

OF - Jase Grant (Dubuque Senior), Brock Hatzky (IC West), Tucker Mai   (Dubuque Senior)

U - Marcus Colbert (Jefferson), Dan Millius (Hempstead), Nile Ringen (IC High)

HONORABLE MENTION

Metro Only

Jefferson - Lucas Larson, Spencer Hunt

Kennedy - Ben Sass, Matt Stevens

ALL-ACADEMIC

Metro Only

Jefferson - Drew Johnson, Michael Neuberger

Kennedy - David Pauls, Nathan Althoff

VALLEY DIVISION

Athlete of the Year - J.T. Sole, Cedar Falls

Staff of the Year - Jack Sole, Cedar Falls

FIRST TEAM

P - Michael Kuntz (Cedar Falls), Ryan Flaherty (Xavier)

C - J.T. Sole (Cedar Falls)

1B - Adam Pick (Xavier)

IF - Hunter Schiefelbein (Cedar Falls), Colin O'Connell (Xavier), Johnny Dobbs (Washington)

OF - Jared Deines (Cedar Falls), Manny Jeffery (Linn-Mar), Bryce Grimm (Xavier)

U - Matt Hoffmann (Wahlert), Matt Troendle (Washington)

SECOND TEAM

P - Brady Corson (Cedar Falls), Nolan Even (Xavier)

C - Nolan Arp (Xavier)

1B - Austin Miller (Cedar Falls)

IF - Luke Mozena (Cedar Falls), Jake Oglesby (Wahlert), Ryan Wyant (Linn-Mar)

OF - Caleb Reimer (Linn-Mar), Landen Akers (Washington), Jalen Rima (Prairie)

U - Nolan Timp (Wahlert), Trey Beckman (Prairie)

HONORABLE MENTION

Metro Only

Prairie - Ben Milks, Cal Clark

Washington - Trey Leonard, Chris Harrington

Xavier - Logan Clarahan, Jake Robinson

Linn-Mar - Jackson Jacobs, Ben Larson

ALL-ACADEMIC

Metro Only

Prairie - Nick Benson, Jacob Sprengeler

Washington - Alec Nichols, Eric Loeffelholz

Xavier - Logan Clarahan, Adam Pick

Linn-Mar - Thomas Niemeyer, Nic Redmond

J-Hawks ousted by Burlington, 5-1

Veterans Memorial Stadium is a terrific minor league ballpark with all the amenities, but it turned into a haunted house for the Jefferson J-Hawks this season.

Jefferson lost to Kennedy, 20-10, in the championship game of the Metro Tournament to begin the season in May when the Cougars scored 14 runs in the final inning.

The J-Hawks returned to the stadium Monday night and lost to Burlington, 5-1, in the semifinals of the Class 4A substate tournament.

The lights at the Jefferson field were severely damaged in a storm in June and have not been replaced yet, so the J-Hawks moved up the block to Veterans Memorial Stadium for their most important game of the year.

Read more...

J-Hawks nip Prairie in 9 innings

Going into the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night with the score tied 2-2, Jefferson Coach Kyle Rodenkirk was as calm as if his team was nursing a 10-run lead on Prairie.

“I just told the guys to loosen up and have fun," he said afterward. “They were a little uptight, especially since they tied the score on us in the seventh.

“I said,‘This isn’t life or death. It’s baseball. Have some fun.’”

The first three batters in the ninth inning took him at his word and loaded the bases on three straight hits, then a suicide squeeze did not pan out.

Read more...