Kennedy High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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 No.1 Hempstead for MVC title

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer faced a tricky proposition Monday night.

He wanted to give the Cougars a good shot at winning the Mississippi Valley Conference title without jeopardizing their chances in the Class 4A substate baseball tournament that starts Friday.

It worked out perfectly.

The third-ranked Cougars edged top-ranked Dubuque Hempstead, 4-2, in the first game of their MVC doubleheader to clinch the conference title and Hoyer was able to juggle his two best pitchers to keep them fresh for the postseason tournament.

The game had a dramatic ending when Kennedy relief pitcher Zach Daniels snagged a vicious line drive with the bases loaded and fired to third base for a double play.

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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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Hoyer nets No. 650 as Cougars sweep

There were no brass bands, no parades, no big celebration.

Even if Kennedy baseball coach Bret Hoyer had known about his latest milestones, he'd want to keep it as quiet as possible anyway.

There have been thousands of high school baseball coaches in Iowa over the years and Hoyer is now solidly in the top-25 of all time.

The third-ranked Cougars swept Waterloo West, 10-0 and 4-0, Friday night to give Hoyer his 650th victory in 25 years as a head coach.

He's tied for 23rd all-time with Dick Core and Terry Heald with those 650 victories as he continues to roll along.

"It's very cool," Hoyer said when informed of his place on the all-time list. "I've had some pretty talented players and coaches to work with."

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Larson's bat sends J-Hawks past Kennedy

Jefferson’s Lucas Larson and Kennedy’s Zach Daniels played for years on the same youth league baseball team from the time they were little kids.

But until Tuesday night, the J-Hawk junior had never batted against the Cougars' ace pitcher.

And he wasn’t very nice to his childhood pal.

Larson’s doubles in the first and fifth innings served as a warm-up for his dramatic last at bat:

Score tied 5-5 with two outs and the bases empty in the bottom of the seventh inning. With one strike against him, Larson is looking for another fast ball, but instead Daniels dishes up a change-up.

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Lizarraga shines as Cougars dump J-Hawks

Sammy Lizarraga could have a big decision to make when it comes time for him to play college baseball in two years.

He's been an outstanding catcher since he was a little kid, but now he's developed into one of the top pitchers in the state as well.

Lizarraga tossed a two-hitter Monday and collected five RBIs as No. 3 Kennedy thumped Jefferson, 11-1, in five innings at Bill Herkelman Field.

A scout from Northern Illinois University clocked Lizarraga's fastball at 87 mph early in the game, a significant jump from his best heater last year as a sophomore. He struck out three straight batters in the fifth inning to end the game.

Lizarraga, a lanky 6-foot-4 right-hander, isn't sure what he'll do in college.

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Cougars stay No. 3 in baseball poll

The Kennedy Cougars remained in the No.3 spot in the Class 4A high school baseball rankings Monday, according to the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Kennedy took a 24-3 record into Monday night's home game against Jefferson.

Dubuque Hempstead is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A again this week and Waukee is No. 2. Kennedy and Hempstead are scheduled to meet July 14 at Kennedy in a makeup doubleheader.

CLASS 4A

1. Dubuque Hempstead, 2. Waukee, 3. Kennedy, 4. Iowa City West, 5. Des Moines East, 6. Urbandale, 7. Dowling Catholic, 8. Sioux City North, 9. Fort Dodge, 10. Cedar Falls.

CLASS 3A

1. Clear Lake, 2. Waverly-Shell Rock, 3. Sioux City Heelan, 4. West Delaware, 5. Fairfield, 6. Harlan, 7. Davenport Assumption, 8. Centerville, 9. Perry, 10. Williamsburg.

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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No. 3 Cougars roll by Waterloo East

WATERLOO - The third-ranked Kennedy Cougars strolled by Waterloo East in a pair of Mississippi Valley Conference baseball games Thursday in Waterloo, 13-0 and 15-2.

Both games lasted only five innings.

Blake Hargens raised his record to 7-0 by pitching 4.1 innings in the opener. He allowed four hits and collected four strikeouts.

Ben Sass had three hits for the Cougars in Game 1. Tyler Dralle and Zach Daniels had two RBIs. Jimmy Cunningham had two hits.

Jacob Henry tossed four innings for Kennedy in the nightcap for the victory. Matt Stevens had three hits and four RBIs. Derek Jacobus and Sammy Lizarraga had two hits. Jacobus and Daniels had two RBIs.

Kennedy raised its records to 24-3 overall and 18-2 in the conference.

Game 1

Kennedy         003 82 - 13 13 2
Waterloo East   000 00 - 0 4 3

Game 2

Kennedy         005 55 - 15 17 1
Waterloo East   200 00 - 2 3 3