Xavier High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Saints belt Lions in Metro tourney

Adam Pick and Connor Powers hit home runs Wednesday night as the Xavier Saints defeated Linn-Mar, 10-2, in the consolation game for third place in the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament at Xavier.

Pick belted a two-run homer and Powers socked a three-run shot as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning to finish the scoring.

Bryce Grimm, Mitch Keller and Nolan Arp had two hits for the Saints (2-1). Ben Larson had two hits for Linn-Mar (1-2).

Xavier      200 500 3 - 10 13 0
Linn-Mar    100 010 0 - 2 5 1

Drahozal, Grimm (4), Even (7) and Arp. Bogart, A.Bradley (4), Homwood (6), Gassmann (7) and Ollinger. W - Grimm. L - Bogert. 2B - Grimm, Keller, Robinson. HR - Pick, Powers. SB - Grimm, Stolley, Niemeyer.)

3 Metro teams make softball rankings

Jefferson, Xavier and Prairie have been ranked by the IGHSAU in the first girls softball polls of the season.

The J-Hawks are ranked No.5 in Class 5A, the Saints are ranked No.7 in Class 4A and the Hawks are ranked No.9 in Class 5A.

Jefferson (33-12) and Prairie (29-16) made the state tournament in 2013. Prairie reached the state tournament for the first time in school history in 2013.

Johnston is ranked No.1 in Class 5A and and Dallas Center-Grimes is No.1 in Class 4A.

CLASS 5A

(2013 records)

1. Johnston (30-11), 2. West Des Moines Valley (26-18), 3. Dowling Catholic (34-11), 4. Ankeny Centennial (NA), 5. Jefferson (33-12), 6. Southeast Polk (26-15), 7. Bettendorf (22-11), 8. Waukee (26-15), 9. Prairie (29-16), 10. Des Moines Lincoln (23-19).

CLASS 4A

1. Dallas Center-Grimes (38-5), 2. Carlisle (34-8), 3. Norwalk (36-5), 4. Solon (41-4), 5. Fort Dodge (26-16), 6. Indianola (34-10), 7. Xavier (29-11), 8. Ballard (25-11), 9. Fairfield (30-12), 10. Davenport Assumption (20-21), 11. West Delaware (25-15), 12. Oskaloosa (23-11), 13. North Scott (24-15), 14. Waverly-Shell Rock (35-10), 15. Winterset (35-9).

Metro Players In Pro Baseball

The Metro Sports Report provides a daily update for all the Metro graduates who are playing pro baseball this season. Here is the full report through Sunday, May 25:

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier), Chicago Cubs, OF
Sweeney is on the 15-Day Disabled List with a strained hamstring in his right leg. He is hitting .200 (11 for 55) with 6 RBIs.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (CR Prairie), Chattanooga, OF, Double-A, Southern League (Dodgers)
Schebler pinch-hit Sunday and struck out. He is hitting .234 (39 for 167) with 8 home runs and 26 RBIs.

KELLEN SWEENEY (CR Jefferson), Dunedin, IF, Advanced A, Florida State League (Blue Jays)
Sweeney went 0-for-3 Sunday. He was the DH and hit seventh in the lineup. Sweeney is hitting .050 (1 for 20) with a double and one run in six games.

CHAD CHRISTENSEN (CR Washington), Kernels, OF/IF, Class A, Midwest League (Twins)
Christensen went 1-for-5 Sunday with an RBI and stolen base. He is hitting .291 (48 for 165) with 2 homers, 19 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

JON KELLER (Xavier), Delmarva, P, Class A, South Atlantic League (Orioles)
Keller (2-0, 2.08 ERA, 1 save) did not pitch Saturday or Sunday.

ANDREW HANSE (Linn-Mar), Bowling Green, P, Class A, Midwest League (Tampa Bay).
Hanse (0-3, 7.43 ERA) did not pitch Saturday.

DAKOTA FREESE (Washington), Arizona Athletics, P, Rookie Arizona League (Oakland)
The Arizona Athletics have not begun their season. The Arizona Rookie League begins June 20.

Evans called 'The Greatest' with 4 golds

DES MOINES - Josh Evans sat in the stands at the state track meet as a scrawny freshman in 2011 and loved seeing the crowd rise to its feet as Shelby Houlihan of Sioux City East set a batch of records in the girls distance races.

He remembers the Public Address announcer kept everyone informed that day as one record after another fell by the wayside.

"I remember thinking, that would be so cool if I could get that some day," Evans said Saturday afternoon. "It's really a dream come true that this happened."

Evans got his share of standing ovations Saturday as he completed one of the most remarkable performances in state meet history with four gold medals, three meet records and an all-time Iowa best in the 1600.

Mike Jay, the Public Address announcer, told the sun-splashed crowd of 8,744 that it was "The best distance performance in Iowa state meet history."

Evans wasn't sure about that, praising some of the other record-setting performances at this year's state meet, but he was the Star of Stars in the distance races with four golds.

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