Kennedy Baseball

Cougars rock Tigers in substate final

Believe it or not, there was actually a little suspense in Wednesday night's Class 4A substate final between Kennedy and Cedar Falls.

It lasted about all of 15 minutes.

The Cougars survived a first-inning case of the jitters to keep the visiting Tigers off the scoreboard.

From that point on, it was all Kennedy. The Cougars scored four runs in each of the first two innings, then added 10 in the third en route to an 18-1, four-inning win over a pitching-strapped Cedar Falls squad at Herkelman Field, earning a second straight trip to state.

Coach Bret Hoyer's team (29-11) got the No. 2 seed and will meet No. 7 seed Davenport North (19-14) in a state quarterfinal game at 5 p.m. next Wednesday at Principal Park in Des Moines. This will be the Cougars' 13th trip to state in Hoyer's 23 years as Kennedy head coach. They won a state title in 2010.

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IHSAA needs to fix 4A substates

When I'm the new king of the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the first thing we're going to do is fix the Class 4A substate baseball tournaments.

It's long overdue.

This business of awarding second-round byes has to end. And this business of spreading the substate tournaments over six days has to end as well to prevent teams from riding a stud pitcher all the way to the state tournament.

As it stands now, a No. 1 seed can win an opening-round game on Friday with its star pitcher, draw a second-round bye on Monday and come back with its star pitcher in the substate finals on Wednesday with plenty of rest.

Baseball is a team game and should showcase an entire pitching staff, not just one guy.

We also have to change the system so we don't put Cedar Rapids Prairie and Iowa City West, two of the best teams in our area, in the same substate. Both of those teams deserve a clean shot at making the state tournament, but that won't happen this year because they're likely to meet in the substate finals Wednesday night and one of them will be eliminated.

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Kennedy rolls on 2-hitter in substate

The Kennedy Cougars rolled by Waterloo East, 8-0, on a combined two-hitter in the opening round of the Class 4A substate baseball tournament at Kennedy Friday night.

Sammy Lizarraga blew the Trojans away during his four innings on the mound for Kennedy. The big right-hander struck out eight batters, walked one and did not allow any hits.

Blake Hargens struck out three batters during his one inning for the Cougars, then Zach Daniels fanned two more during his two innings. Hargens allowed one hit and Daniels also allowed one hit.

The three Kennedy pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts.

Kennedy, the No. 1 seed in the substate tournament, raised its record to 28-11. The Cougars earned a bye in the second round and will face Linn-Mar or Cedar Falls in the substate finals next Wednesday night at Kennedy. Cedar Falls visits Linn-Mar Monday night in the semifinals.

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No. 6 Cougars split with Pleasant Valley

BETTENDORF - The sixth-ranked Kennedy Cougars finished the regular season with a 27-11 record Tuesday after splitting a doubleheader at Pleasant Valley.

Pleasant Valley won the first game, 6-4. Kennedy rebounded in the nightcap, 11-1.

Mitchell Gaffey drove in two runs for Kennedy in the 6-4 setback. Jacob Henry and Bryce Church had two RBIs.

Jackson Behn and Kyle Brewer collected two RBIs for the Cougars in the 11-1 victory. Gaffey and Sammy Lizarraga had two hits. Behn allowed only one run in four innings for the victory.

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