Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

J-Hawks jump to No.2 in baseball poll

The Jefferson J-Hawks jumped two spots to No. 2 in the Class 4A baseball rankings Monday by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Waukee replaced Johnston as the No. 1 team in the poll.

Cedar Rapids Prairie climbed three spots to No. 5 this week. The Kennedy Cougars are ranked No. 8 and the Linn-Mar Lions are No. 9.

In last week's poll, Linn-Mar was No. 7, Prairie No. 8 and Kennedy No. 9.

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Daniels wins Metro Spotlight Award

Zach Daniels of Kennedy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday night.

Daniels, a senior, is one of the top baseball players in the state as a pitcher, hitter and shortstop. He was an elite all-state selection last year and appears headed for the same award this season.

Daniels has a 4-0 record and 1.81 ERA on the mound, with 39 strikeouts and 11 walks in 31 innings. He has allowed only 17 hits and opponents are batting just .155 against him.

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No.9 Cougars sweep City High

IOWA CITY - The ninth-ranked Kennedy Cougars rode the strong right arms of Sammy Lizarraga and Zach Daniels to a sweep of Iowa City High Friday in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Mercer Park.

Kennedy won the first game, 6-3, in eight innings. The Cougars took the nightcap, 4-1.

Lizarraga pitched all eight innings in the opener. He was touched for three runs in the bottom of the first inning, but did not allow another run the rest of the way. He struck out 11 batters with one walk.

Kennedy won the first game with three runs in the top of the eighth. Matt Berst had a triple and three RBIs in the contest. Lizarraga was 2-for-2 with a triple and two walks. Bryce Church scored two runs.

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J-Hawks rise to 5th in softball poll

The Jefferson J-Hawks climbed one spot to No. 5 in the new Class 5A softball rankings Friday by the IGHSAU.

Jefferson raised its record to 20-5 Thursday by sweeping Kennedy in a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Kennedy. The Cougars (15-7) dropped two spots to No. 9 in the new rankings.

The Linn-Mar Lions, ranked 10th last week, fell out of the rankings Friday.

Iowa City West is ranked No. 1 in Class 5A. Indianola topped the 4A rankings.

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No. 9 Cougars blank Ottumwa

Blake Hargens and Sawyer Neuhaus combined on a four-hit shutout Thursday night as the ninth-ranked Kennedy Cougars blanked Ottumwa, 3-0, in a non-conference baseball game at Kennedy.

Hargens started and went 5 1/3 innings. He allowed all four of Ottumwa's hits, with two strikeouts and two walks. Neuhaus tossed the final 1 2/3 innings. He did not allow any hits and struck out two Bulldogs.

Zach Daniels set the tone for Kennedy in the leadoff spot by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs. Matt Berst also collected an RBI for the Cougars.

Kennedy raised its record to 12-4. Ottumwa fell to 12-10.

Ottumwa     000 000 0 - 0 4 1
Kennedy     101 100 x - 3 7 1

W - Hargens. L - Roane. S - Neuhaus.

Olson, Good toss shutouts for J-Hawks

The Jefferson J-Hawks have a star pitcher named Alyssa and they also have a star pitcher named Alissa, but don't be confused.

No matter how you spell their names, it spells victory.

Alyssa Olson tossed a four-hit shutout as Jefferson blanked Kennedy, 2-0, in the first game of their Metro showdown at the Kennedy field Thursday night, then Alissa Good followed with another four-hit shutout in a 9-0 victory.

Olson is 10-3 for the J-Hawks with a 0.97 ERA, while Good is 10-1 with a 1.46 ERA.

"Obviously it's awesome for us," said Jefferson Coach Brian Erbe. "And we have to enjoy them while we have them, because they're both seniors. They complement each other so well."

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Lions, Cougars placed in same substate

The dream of having four Metro baseball teams reach the Class 4A state tournament was dashed by the Iowa High School Athletic Association Thursday.

The IHSAA put No. 7 Linn-Mar and No. 9 Kennedy in the same substate, which means only one of them can make the state tournament. The Lions swept the Cougars in a conference doubleheader earlier this season and have the edge for the No. 1 seed in the substate.

Cedar Falls, Marshalltown, Waterloo East and Waterloo West are in Substate No. 3 with Linn-Mar and Kennedy.

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Lizarraga wins Metro Spotlight Award

Sammy Lizarraga of Cedar Rapids Kennedy is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday night.

Lizarraga, a senior, is one of the top baseball players in Iowa and was named to the elite all-state team last year by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Lizarraga pitched a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts Friday when the 10th-ranked Cougars blanked No. 9 Iowa City West, 4-0, in the first game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader in Iowa City. The victory was the 600th for Coach Bret Hoyer in 23 years at Kennedy.

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Kennedy hosting special softball games

The Kennedy High School softball team is hosting Prairie Monday night in a special doubleheader to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald family room at St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids.

The twinbill is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Kennedy field. A special guest, a 2-year-old boy who is a cancer survivor, will throw out the first pitch.

The Kennedy girls have adopted the Ronald McDonald family room as their charity this season and the Prairie softball team willingly agreed to help. The teams will wear special shirts for the games and Kennedy sold additional shirts to raise extra money.

There also will be a free-will donation at the contests.