Kennedy Softball

Cougars split with Linn-Mar in softball

Kortlan Olinger and Ellie Rizor hit home runs in the nightcap to lead Linn-Mar to a 9-4 win over Kennedy and a split of their Mississippi Valley Conference softball doubleheader Tuesday night at Linn-Mar.

Kennedy won the opener, 5-4.

Kelsey Duggan had six hits, three in each game, for Linn-Mar. Kortlan Olinger had four.

Tanner Rathjens had three hits and Maddie Flesner two hits for Kennedy in the opener. Kassi Nunnikoven scattered 10 hits to earn the win for the Cougars in the opener.

Linn-Mar scored three runs in the first and five runs in the second inning of the nightcap.  Lauren Swanson pitched the first five innings and was the winning pitcher in the nightcap.

Iowa City West blanks Cougars twice

Lately, if the Iowa City West softball team manages to put a run up on the scoreboard, chances are they will get the win.

In a doubleheader against Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Thursday night Iowa City West pitchers did not allow a run winning the first game 9-0 and the nightcap 2-0 at the Iowa City West Softball Field.

In the nightcap, West hurler Mackenzie Laux was dominant, holding the Cougars to one hit.

Kennedy proved to be scrappy, battling all game and threatening with runners on second and third in the top of the seventh with the score 2-0 in favor of West.

Laux then fanned her 12th Kennedy batter to seal the win.

Kennedy is missing some key starters due to injury and absence, and Cougar Coach Katie Bova felt that despite West’s powerful pitching, her team could have done better.

“I think we kept ourselves off balance. I don’t have my normal lineup in there right now and tonight we just psyched ourselves out,” she said.

Kennedy was able to keep it close in the second game because of sophomore pitcher Taylor Sohn, who held the potent West offense to two runs in seven innings.

“When she’s on with certain pitches she becomes very confident on the mound. She did a really good job at figuring out the hitters,” said Bova.

In the first game, West pitcher Shelly Stumpff held the Cougars to two hits.

It looked as though Kennedy would come out swinging as Kassi Nunnikoven, the second batter of the game, ripped a double to the right-center gap. But Stumpff settled in and didn’t allow another Kennedy hit until the last inning.

West's Alise Miller went 3-for-4 in the opener, with four RBIs. Stumpff was 4-for-7 in the twinbill, with two doubles and four RBIs.

Pitcher Sohn had the lone Kennedy hit in the nightcap.

Kennedy is participating in a tournament at West Marshall High School on Saturday.        

Game 1

KENNEDY (0)
Kubovec, c, 3 0 0 0, Nunnikhoven, p, 3 0 1 0, Gaffey, 3b, 3 0 1 0, McKinnon, cf, 3 0 0 0, Rathjens, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Sohn, rf, 2 0 0 0, Sauer, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Steffans, lf, 2 0 0 0, Wagner, ss, 2 0 0 0, Geels, 2 0 0 0  Totals  24 0 2 0

WEST (9)
Klein, 1b, 4 2 1 0, Sturtz, 2b, 4 2 2 1, A. Miller, 4 2 3 4, Stumpff, p, 4 1 2 3, Larson, lf, 4 0 1 0, Recker, c, 4 0 1 1, Jehle, rf, 2 0 0 0, M. Miller, 3b, 3 1 1 0, Morgan, cf, 2 0 0 0, Tresslar, 1 0 0 0, Tomas, 1 1 0 0  Totals  33 9 11 9

Kennedy  000 000 0  -   0  2  2
West       201 105 x  -   9 11 1

Nunnikhoven and Kubovec. Stumpff and Recker.  W – Stumpff.  L – Nunnikhoven.  2B- Nunnikhoven, A. Miller 2.

Game 2

KENNEDY (0)
Kubovec, c, 3 0 0 0, Nunnikhoven, cf, 3 0 0 0, Gaffey, 3b, 3 0 0 0, McKinnon, lf, 3 0 0 0, Sohn, p, 3 0 1 0, Rathjens, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Sauer, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Steffans rf, 3 0 0 0, Wagner, ss, 2 0 0 0  Totals  26 0 1 0.

WEST (2)
Klein, 1b, 3 1 3 0, Sturtz, 2b, 3 0 0 0, A. Miller, ss, 3 0 0 0, Stumpff, 3b, 3 1 2 1, Larson, c, 3 0 2 1, Recker, lf, 3 0 1 0, M. Miller, dh, 3 0 0 0, Whitehead, rf, 2 0 0 0, Morgan, cf, 2 0 0 0, Laux, p. Totals  25 2 8 2.

Kennedy    000 000 0  -  0 1 1
West         100 100 x  -  2 8 1

Sohn and Kubovec. Laux and Larson.  W – Laux.  L – Sohn. 2B-Stumpff 2. 3B-Klein. SB-Klein, Larson.

Young Cougars aim for winning record

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Second in a series of preseason Metro softball stories. Next: Linn-Mar.)

The Kennedy softball team is young again this season, but not as young as it was last year.

The Cougars are coming off a rebuilding season in which they went 9-22. The team lost just three seniors from that team, which had seven freshmen and three eighth graders on it.

“We are a really young team, but we are developing and we are getting better and communicating,” said Kennedy’s lone senior, pitcher Kassi Nunnikhoven. “We are learning a lot from each other and helping each other out.”

The Cougars are excited to see what they can do coming into this season, now that the team has some experience under its belt. The Cougars return both of their starting pitchers from last season in Nunnikhoven and sophomore Taylor Sohn. Nunnikhoven was 3-16  with a 2.97 ERA and Sohn 4-9 with a 4.65 ERA.

Kennedy is also excited to be bringing back a core of young hitters that lead the team offensively last season, led by junior infielder Amanda Gaffey who hit .402 with three home runs and 19 RBIs.

“They have already set the bar for themselves,” said Coach Katie Bova. “I think they will have to live up to that bar, or exceed it. They are going to have to push each other and challenge each other because this is a good group of girls. They are pretty talented.”

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