Kennedy Baseball

Jackson stars as Kirkwood sweeps Lakeland

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Taylor Jackson enjoyed a remarkable day for the Kirkwood baseball team Saturday.

Jackson went 8-for-9 with six RBIs as the Eagles swept Lakeland Community College, 16-5 and 10-0, as part of their spring trip to Florida.

The twin-killing lifted Kirkwood to a 5-6 record for the 2019 campaign.

Jackson was 6-for-6 with a triple, three runs and five RBIs in the 16-5 victory in the opener. The fleet center fielder served as the designated hitter in Game 2 and went 2-for-3 with two runs and another RBI.

Zion Pettigrew was 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs in the first game. Levi Usher also went 3-for-5 and scored three times. Gabe Lux scored four runs in the ballgame. Corey Graham was 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Kirby Kerr drove in two runs and D'Eric Shenault scored twice.

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Xavier is host site for Metro tourney

Xavier is one of two host sites for the 48th annual Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament, which kicks off the high school baseball season for the  Saints, the other six schools in the Cedar Rapids Metro and Mount Vernon.

Xavier Coach Bob Cataldo's team, which finished last season at  12-23-1, will host Marion at 7 p.m. on Monday, following the 5 p.m.  contest between Jefferson and Washington at Ken Charipar Field.

Prairie is the other host site. Coach Todd Rima's Hawks, the defending Class 4A state champions, face a tough opener against traditional power Kennedy at 7 p.m. following a 4:30 p.m. contest between Mount Vernon and Linn-Mar.

Semifinal and consolation round games are set for Tuesday. The championship and third-place games will be Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium with the fifth and seventh-place games to be played at Xavier.

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Cougars sweep error-prone Saints

Jacob Henry began Wednesday's doubleheader against Xavier with a 6.46 earned run average for the Kennedy Cougars, but the senior right-hander was in top form against the Saints.

Henry spun a five-hit shutout as Kennedy blanked the Saints, 6-0, in the second game of their Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill at Ken Charipar Field.

Kennedy took the first game, 15-11, when the mistake-prone Saints committed eight errors and walked 11 batters.

The sweep left the struggling Saints at 3-19 overall and 1-15 in the conference. Kennedy raised its marks to 15-8 overall and 9-7 in the league.

Henry, a senior right-hander, struck out four batters and lowered his ERA to 4.20, knocking more than two runs off his average. He kept the ball around the plate all night and walked only two batters, both in the third inning.

Kennedy jumped to a 10-1 lead in the top of the third inning in the opener, but the Saints sent 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third and scored eight runs to pull within 10-9.

The Cougars scored three times in the fifth inning for a 13-9 lead, but Xavier responded with two markers in the bottom of the fifth to pull within 13-11. Kennedy put the game away with two more runs in the seventh for the 15-11 victory in the three-hour marathon.

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Prairie claims 1st Metro baseball title

When Todd Rima became the new baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie last year, he gave all of his players a picture of Principal Park in Des Moines and told them to set their sights on winning a state title there.

"We asked them to hang it up in their room and make sure it was something they wanted to work towards," Rima said Wednesday night. "I think they looked at me at first like, 'Is this guy crazy?' But I think they bought in. I think they have a confidence about them now that leads to success."

That confidence was on full display Wednesday as the Hawks claimed their first Metro title in school history with a 5-0 whitewash of fifth-ranked Kennedy at the Jefferson field.

The Hawks enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2015, winning 31 games and capturing the first Mississippi Valley Conference in school annals. Now they've followed last year's success with their first trophy in the 47th Bob Vrbicek Metro tournament.

"We felt with the kids that we had and how they wanted to work and how they wanted to be successful that we could have a lot of success," said Rima. "It's all because they've bought in to playing hard. They've done a tremendous job."

Junior Darren Kilpatrick tossed a four-hit shutout in his first varsity appearance as Prairie whipped its second ranked club in three days. The Hawks trimmed No. 3 Jefferson in the opening round, clobbered Washington in the semifinals and tamed Kennedy in the championship round, allowing just two runs in three games.

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