Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No.2 Saints fly into substate finals

Isaac Frisch, Eli Smith, Caelen Lilly and Camden Stovie scored goals Wednesday as No.2 Xavier blanked Mount Vernon, 4-0, in the Class 2A substate tournament at Xavier.

Paul Cavin shared Xavier's 10th shutout of the season with Nick Huss.

The Saints will host 11th-ranked Clear Creek Amana in the substate finals Saturday at noon, with the winner advancing to the state soccer tournament.

Stephen Jones, Connor Ramlo, Dan Cowden and John Drahozal collected assists for Xavier.

Brown's no-hitter sends Saints to finals

Zach Brown cannot touch his toes, but he sure can pitch.

Brown tossed a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts Tuesday night as Xavier blanked Linn-Mar, 4-0, in the semifinals of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament at the new Linn-Mar complex.

Brown, a senior right-hander, is a strong guy and a good athlete, but he has to bend his knees to reach his toes.

"I'm just not very flexible," he said.

It didn't matter Tuesday.

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Saints sweep Cougars in Price's debut

Xavier opened the Nikki Price Era with a pair of softball wins Tuesday at Kennedy.

The Saints got a pair of home runs from Erin Drahozal and whipped Kennedy twice, 6-1 and 11-2, in an MVC doubleheader.

Price was coaching her first games as Xavier coach. She took over when Brian Erbe left after last season to take the Jefferson position.

Drahozal belted a three-run homer in the opener, then hit a second homer and picked up the win as pitcher in the nightcap.

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Roth lifts Lions; Saints rip J-Hawks

Jimmy Roth noticed the lightning in the distance when he came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with the score tied, the bases loaded and two outs Monday night.

The slender senior seized the moment and produced a little lightning of his own.

Roth's single to left field lifted Linn-Mar by Prairie, 4-3, in the opening round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament at the new Linn-Mar field.

"It was a really big win against a very good team," said Roth, who looped an 0-2 pitch to the opposite field for the game-winner. "It was just a great game to win, especially at the new complex. It's a confidence booster."

The game probably would have been suspended if Roth hadn't gotten his clutch hit, because the lightning strikes were about 10 miles away and headed toward the field.

"That was going to be the last at-bat, probably," said Linn-Mar Coach Chad Lechner. "It saved a lot of headaches for planning and scheduling for everybody. I'm glad we were able to get it in."

Xavier mauled Jefferson, 12-1, in the first game Monday as Corbin Woods went 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs, including the first homer at the new park. Mitch Keller pitched a strong game for the Saints, allowing three hits in six innings with eight strikeouts.

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