Kennedy Softball

Sommer tops All-Metro softball team

Katie Sommer spent only year on the Linn-Mar High School softball team after moving here from Dubuque, but she made the most of it.

Sommer hit a sizzling .617 for the Lions this season, stole 57 bases, averaged two hits per game and displayed amazing skills at shortstop.

The Metro softball coaches honored Sommer Monday by naming her the Athlete of the Year on the All-Metro Softball Team.

Nikki Price of Xavier and her assistant coaches were named the Staff of the Year.

The Jefferson J-Hawks, who have qualified for the Class 5A state tournament, led the All-Metro team with three first-team selections with Maddie Hansen, Alyssa Olson and Erin Kuba.

Erin Drahozal and Hayley Deutmeyer were honored on the first team from Xavier. Jessi Puk and Bria Lenten made the top honor squad from

Washington. Gabi Carter and Natalie Rumer were named from Prairie. Sommer and Maddy Ryan were selected from Linn-Mar. Haley Vanourney from Marion High School also made the first team.

FIRST TEAM

Maddie Hansen (Jefferson), Alyssa Olson (Jefferson), Erin Kuba  (Jefferson), Erin Drahozal (Xavier), Hayley Deutmeyer (Xavier), Jessi Puk (Washington), Bria Lenten (Washington), Haley Vanourney (Marion), Gabi Carter (Prairie), Natalie Rumer (Prairie), Katie Sommer (Linn-Mar), Maddy Ryan (Linn-Mar).

SECOND TEAM

Hannah Towns (Jefferson), Katelyn Holub (Jefferson), Alissa Good (Jefferson), Kristie Sommer (Linn-Mar), Elison Ollinger (Linn-Mar), Christina Lincoln (Linn-Mar), Allison Schwach (Xavier), Courtney Colston (Xavier), Emily Oler (Washington), Anne Riley (Washington), Halle Lueck (Prairie), Ashley Hamilton (Kennedy).

HONORABLE MENTION

Jefferson - Tori Brandon, Emily Walton
Kennedy - Tianna Drahn, Paige Timmerman
Marion - Camryn Cannoy, Bayley Fuller
Washington - Payton Bruner, Erica Oler
Xavier - Morgan Breitbach, Jamie Feltes
Linn-Mar - Madison Rentschler, Morgan Braughton
Prairie - Amanda Stecklein, Mallory Jones

Kennedy girls fall at No. 3 SE Polk

RUNNELLS - The Kennedy girls softball team enjoyed a remarkable turnaround this season under new coach Dan Gratz, but the Cougars ran into a powerful opponent Tuesday night in the finals of the Class 5A regional tournament.

The Southeast Polk Rams, ranked No. 3 in the state, unleashed a 17-hit attack and defeated the Cougars, 12-0, to claim a spot in the state tournament.

Kennedy finished the season with a 27-14 record, a far cry from its 13-25 mark from 2013.

Hannah Parker pitched a five-hit shutout and belted a home run for Southeast Polk (28-9).

Cassady Knudsen went 4-for-5 for the Rams. Katie Burdick was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Kenzie Hilzer was 3-for-5.

Southeast Polk scored six runs in the first inning and cruised from there.

Southeast Polk    611 010 3 - 12 17 x
Kennedy           000 000 0 - 0 5 x

Cougars top Warriors in soggy affair

Their season suddenly ended by a downpour, Washington softball coach Erin Jones could not see sending her girls home without anything to show for it.

So before the lights were turned off at Franklin Field Saturday night, she had the whole team spread out on the diamond, pouring quick-dry materials in the infield puddles and raking it smooth and dry.

If nothing else, the clean-up convinced her that the Class 5A regional semifinal game with Kennedy should not have been called after five complete innings with the Cougars awarded a 2-0 victory.

“As you can see,” Jones said, “the field has drained and is playable. The umpires shouldn’t have called it so soon.”

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Fowler makes it back to spark J-Hawks

Jefferson’s Savannah Fowler is finally getting to savor her senior softball season.

She’s been on the team since the eighth grade, but this was to be her first year as a starter. The last two she was used exclusively as a fleet-footed pinch runner.

But in the third game of the season she was smacked on the left side of the face by a thrown ball as she was beating out a hit at first base. The spindly, spunky outfielder still finished both games of the doubleheader before going to the hospital to find her jaw was broken in two places.

Her mouth has been wired shut until she returned to the lineup this past weekend.

And on the J-Hawks’ Senior Night Thursday she collected a hit in each game and drove in a run to help Jefferson (30-5, 21-3 MVC) sweep Kennedy, 5-0 and 7-0.

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