Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Late-inning collapse sidelines J-Hawks

MUSCATINE -- The Jefferson baseball team found out the hard way why baseball games last seven innings Friday night against Muscatine.

After battling the Muskies and star pitcher Derek Burkamper toe-to-toe for six innings, the J-Hawks imploded in the top of the seventh. Three Jefferson errors opened the door for six Muscatine runs and the Muskies beat the J-Hawks, 9-2, in a Class 4A substate first-round game at Tom Bruner Field.

Muscatine (25-11) advances to the substate semifinals Monday night at 7. It will host Prairie, which beat Ottumwa, 7-1, Friday.

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Petersen tops all-Metro softball team

Cedar Rapids Jefferson pitcher Hannah Petersen has been named the Athlete of the Year on the All-Metro Softball Team, as selected by Metro coaches.

Petersen, Rachel Sedlacek of Jefferson and Beth Knapp of Marion were unanimous selections on the All-Metro first team.

They were joined on the first unit by Carson Burgart (Jefferson), Amanda Gaffey (Kennedy), Kelsey Duggan (Linn-Mar), Sydney Galligan (Xavier), Bria Lenten (Washington), Maggie Rizor (Linn-Mar), Gabi Carter (Prairie), Alexis Kelsey (Linn-Mar) and Michalyn Mohr (Marion).

Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer and his son, Nick, were named the Staff of the Year.

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J-Hawks fall to North in 9 innings

DAVENPORT -- Perhaps it was because it was the last game of the regular season -- in extra innings -- and nothing of consequence was dependent upon its outcome.

Or perhaps it was past someone's bedtime.

Whatever the reason, an apparent out was ruled a safe call at the plate and Davenport North handed Jefferson an 8-7, nine-inning defeat in a non-conference baseball game at Ken Kaul Field.

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J-Hawks stunned in regional final

There were tears.

And more tears.

And tears after that.

Five years of hard work, of sweat, of putting callouses on hands swinging bats and lifting weights went slithering down the tubes in seven innings Tuesday night for the Jefferson softball team in a 2-1 loss to Davenport West in a Class 5A regional final at Jefferson.

It was a cruel finish for a J-Hawk team that came into the game ranked No. 4 in the state, loaded with six seniors that had made it their goal not just to reach the state tournament, but to win the darn thing.

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No. 4 J-Hawks escape Cedar Falls

On a senior-dominated Jefferson softball squad, it took two juniors Saturday night for the fourth-ranked team in the state to narrowly escape an upset.

Without a solo home run from Maddie Koolbeck and heads-up baserunning by Amber Grimm, the J-Hawks wouldn’t have advanced to Tuesday’s Class 5A regional finals, much less kept their dream alive of a state championship.

It was Grimm in the fourth inning who scored what would be the winning run in a 6-5 squeaker over Cedar Falls by smartly tagging up from third base on a high popup behind the plate.

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J-Hawks steal a win away from Burlington

One night after giving away a game at Waterloo East, Jefferson's baseball team stole one away from Burlington on Saturday night.

Austin Goodell's steal of home on a failed squeeze bunt attempt scored the winning run and Jefferson beat Burlington, 7-6, at Jefferson.

Jefferson (16-21) rallied from a 6-4 deficit with two runs in the sixth inning and one run in the seventh. Senior Chance Tiedtke, playing his final home at Jefferson on senior night, was 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs.

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J-Hawks give away a win at Waterloo

WATERLOO -- Jefferson clutched defeat from the jaws of victory Friday evening against Waterloo East.

The J-Hawks beat the Trojans 11-4 in the first game of the Mississippi Valley Conference baseball doubleheader and were headed toward a sweep, carrying a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning of the nightcap.

But two J-Hawk errors led to five unearned runs and East rallied for a 6-5 win.

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J-Hawks finish regular season ranked No. 4

Cedar Rapids Jefferson heads into postseason play with the No. 4 ranking in Class 5A softball, according to the final polls released Thursday by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

Jefferson completed the regular season with a 35-5 record, that included a 25-1 record in Mississippi Valley Conference games. The J-Hawks split a season-opening doubleheader with Iowa City West, then ran off 24 straight MVC wins.

Iowa City West (33-6) is ranked ninth.

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J-Hawk defense melts down in loss to North Scott

ELDRIDGE -- North Scott scored nine runs over the fifth and sixth innings and rallied to beat Jefferson, 14-7, in a non-conference baseball game played on a steamy Fourth of July afternoon.

All nine runs scored after two were out. The 10th-ranked Lancers (28-6) scored four runs in the fifth inning and five runs in the sixth.

Jefferson (14-20) lost for the fifth time in its last six games. The J-Hawks committed seven errors, including three in the North Scott sixth inning.

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