Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Surging Cougars sweep No.10 Saints

Two teams that had been gathering momentum in June collided Monday night in the Battle of 42nd Street at Kennedy High School.

Kennedy kept its momentum. Xavier lost theirs.

The surging Cougars swept the No.10 Saints, 2-1 in nine innings and 4-3, in a Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill.

Both games were well-pitched, but the opener was truly a pitching duel between Xavier’s Mitch Keller and Kennedy’s Zack Daniels (who gave way to David King in the ninth).

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Keller signs with Baltimore Orioles

SARASOTA, Fla. - Xavier High School graduate Jon Keller has signed a professional baseball contract with the Baltimore Orioles and has begun practicing at Baltimore's training camp in Florida.

Keller, a 6-foot-5 righthander, was selected in the 22nd round of the 2013 draft in June. He was a junior at the University of Tampa this past season and was the winning pitcher when Tampa won the NCAA Division II World Series.

Keller compiled a 6-3 record and 3.95 ERA this season at Tampa. He graduated from Xavier in 2010 and spent two years at Nebraska before transferring to Tampa.

Keller will be assigned to Baltimore's team in the Gulf Coast League or to a Rookie Short-Season team.

Saints pop into rankings at No.10

The Xavier Saints (19-9) returned to the Class 4A baseball rankings in the No.10 spot Monday, the IHSBCA announced.

The Prairie Hawks (17-9) remained No.8 in the Class 4A poll despite losing all three of their games last week.

Ankeny is ranked No.1 in Class 4A, followed by Iowa City West and West Des Moines Valley.

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Saints pound Wahawks twice

Xavier hosted Waterloo West in a Mississippi Valley Conference baseball doubleheader Friday night and it was no contest.

Twice.

The Saints posted 25 runs on 24 hits and took two five inning games from the Wahawks, 15-4 and 11-1.

Xavier’s sweep puts them at 19-9 overall and 12-6 in the MVC. That, coupled with a pair of losses by Prairie Friday night, unofficially moved the Saints into the No.1 seed for Substate No.3 when the tournament begins July 19.

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