Linn-Mar Baseball

Manny Jeffery wins Metro Spotlight Award

Manny Jeffery of Linn-Mar High School is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Jeffery, a junior, is one of the top all-around players in the Metro area for the Linn-Mar baseball team as a pitcher and outfielder.

Jeffery is hitting .381 with two home runs and 21 RBIs. He has 43 hits in 35 games and is 18-for-18 in stolen bases.

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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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Ollinger powers Lions in 4A opener

Chad Lechner has coached long enough to not take any prep baseball tournament game for granted.

The veteran Linn-Mar coach was especially concerned about his team opening 4A substate play against Waterloo West, which the Lions had just swept Wednesday on the last day of the regular-season.

Senior catcher Brandt Ollinger quickly calmed Lechner's nerves.

Ollinger got the Lions' offense going with a lead-off home run to open the second inning as Linn-Mar went on to down the Wahawks, 8-1, at Linn-Mar.

The victory moves the Lions to 24-11 and advances them to a Monday 7 p.m. substate semifinal at home against Cedar Falls. The Tigers (21-13) moved on with a 5-4 win Friday over Marshalltown.

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Lions sweep past Waterloo West

Adam Bradley and Taylor Yoke each drove home a pair of runs as Linn-Mar closed its baseball regular season with a pair of wins over Waterloo West on Wednesday night at Linn-Mar.

In the opener, Bradley had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to back a strong pitching effort from Brandon Homewood in a 3-0 victory. Homewood went six innings, allowing six hits, striking out two. Brandt Ollinger pitched a perfect seventh to get the save.

Yoke had a double in the nightcap as Andrew Kraus pitched a complete game in a 7-1 Linn-Mar victory.

Kraus struck out eight and walked one for the Lions (23-11 overall, 17-9 MVC).

West closes regular-season play at 3-31, 3-23.

The teams play again Friday at Linn-Mar in a first-round Class 4A substate game. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game 1

Waterloo West 000 000 0 - 0 6 2
Linn-Mar 201 000 x - 3 5 0

WP - Homewood. LP - Hersey. SV - Ollinger.

Game 2

Waterloo West 000 000 1 - 1  4 2
Linn-Mar 023 011 x - 7 6 0

WP - Kraus. LP - Meyerhoff.