The Xavier Saints needed to sweep Dubuque Hempstead Wednesday night to keep their hopes alive of claiming the No.1 seed for the Class 4A substate tournament next month.

Brad Duwe and the Mustangs had other ideas.

Duwe pitched a four-hitter and drove in two key runs as Hempstead spanked Xavier, 5-1, in the second game of their Mississippi Valley Conference twinbill at Ken Charipar Field.

The Saints won the first game, 7-3, but the split means they'll have to settle for the No.2 seed in the substate tournament that begins on July 15.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy clinched the No.1 seed by splitting its doubleheader at Iowa City High Wednesday night. The Cougars have reached the cutoff for determining seeds with a 23-7 record and the Saints (20-7) cannot catch them by Saturday's deadline.

The No.1 seed is important because it could lead to a second-round bye in the substate tournament, but Xavier Coach Dave Schemmel had other concerns Wednesday night.

The Saints had runners at second and third with nobody out in the fourth inning of the nightcap, but their number 4-5-6 hitters failed to produce a run against Duwe with Hempstead clinging to a 1-0 lead. The Saints didn't get a clutch hit all game.

"You've got to get runs on this pitcher," Schemmel said. "He's a good pitcher. He's a competitor, and he throws strikes and he makes you work for everything.

"We had opportunities, but that stat you see in the Major League linescore - hits with runners in scoring position - we didn't have any tonight in the second game. And you can't win games like that."

Hempstead took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning of the nightcap. The Saints pulled within 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, but they stranded the potential tying run at second base with two outs.

The Mustangs tacked on three big runs in the top of the seventh for their 5-1 edge, with Duwe stroking a two-run double to bust it open. The Saints intentionally walked a batter to face Duwe with the bases loaded and he made them pay.

"I loved it," Duwe said. "I've been struggling a little bit lately, but with the infield in and stuff, I just tried to put the barrel on it and get a good piece of it."

Xavier went quietly in the bottom of the seventh, and its shot at the No.1 seed went with it.

Duwe struck out seven batters and did not allow a walk. "I kept them off-balance pretty well, and the defense made plays behind me," he said. "It was a good team effort, it was a good win."

Kevin Hosch and Tyler Hines shared the pitching for Xavier in the first game. Hosch got the win and Hines got the save.

Hempstead was ranked in the top 10 of the Class 4A poll earlier in the season, but the Mustangs fell on tough times and have been struggling to keep their nose about the .500 mark. The split left them 16-15 overall and 10-10 in the conference.

"We started off pretty hot. We started off 8-and-2," Hempstead Coach Jeff Rapp said. "We ran into some tough teams there and kind of went on a little skid for a couple of weeks. I think we're just starting to turn the corner, though."

Schemmel had to juggle his defense in the nightcap after shortstop Blake Helms hurt his left shoulder in the first game when he dove into first base. He left the game and did not start the nightcap, but he pinch-hit in the seventh inning and Schemmel listed him as "day to day" with a bruised shoulder.

Schemmel had another problem in Game 2. Catcher Colby Brecht has a sore back that seems to be aggravated by swinging a bat, so Schemmel moved Brecht to third base and didn't let him hit. Corbin Woods moved from third base to shortstop, and Mack Mattke moved behind the plate for the first time this season.

As it turned out, Xavier's defense was good enough to win the ballgame. Hitting was the problem, not fielding.

"We have to learn how to hit a curveball," Schemmel said. "I'm a little frustrated with the way we swing at curveballs - or lack of swinging at curveballs. We take too many pitches. Something to work on."

Woods went 5-for-8 for Xavier in the twinbill with two doubles.

The Saints (20-7, 14-6) visit Dubuque Senior on Friday in their only remaining games this week. Even if they sweep the Rams, the Saints would finish the week at 22-7 and would not be able to catch the Kennedy Cougars at 23-7.

The IHSAA uses a two-part system to determine seeds for substate tournaments. The IHSAA counts the first 30 games of a team's season, but those 30 games must be played by July 2.

Xavier will have played a maximum of 29 games by July 2, so its seeding will be based on 29 games. But even if the Saints played 30 games by July 2 and tied Kennedy at 23-7, it wouldn't matter because one of the Saints' victories is over Class 3A Benton Community and all of Kennedy's victories have been against Class 4A clubs. Teams get extra points for beating teams from higher classes.

Game 1

HEMPSTEAD (3)
Fitzgerald, ss, 3 1 1 0, Weist, 3b, 4 1 2 0, Kennedy, rf, 4 0 1 0, Leach, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Duwe, cf, 4 0 2 1, Crabill, c, 4 0 2 1, Kelleher, cf, 0 0 0 0, Johnson, lf, 3 0 0 0, Wilgenbusch, dh, 3 0 1 0, Stevenson, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Seymour, pr, 0 0 0 0, Collins, p, 3 0 1 0, Stewart, p, 0 0 0 0, Houselog, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 32 3 11.

XAVIER (7)
Helms, ss, 3 1 2 0, Brown, pr/2b, 1 1 0 0, Woods, 3b, 4 1 3 1, Even, 2b/ss, 4 1 1 1, Mattke, 1b, 1 0 1 1, Ries, cf, 3 0 0 0, Hosch, p, 2 0 0 0, Sodawasser, cr, 0 1 0 0, Hines, p, 1 0 0 0, McNeal, lf, 4 1 2 0, Zenisek, rf, 2 1 1 0, Brecht, c, 1 0 0 2. Totals 26 7 10 4.

Hempstead    000 030 0 - 3 11 2
Xavier           003 220 x - 7 10 2

Collins, Stewart (6) and Crabill. Hosch, Hines (5) and Brecht. W - Hosch. L - Collins. S - Hines. 2B - McNeal. 3B - Zenisek. SB - Ries, Sodawasser, McNeal.

Game 2

HEMPSTEAD (5)
Fitzgerald, ss, 3 3 1 0, Weist, cf, 4 1 3 1, Kennedy, rf, 4 0 2 1, Leach, 1b, 2 1 0 0, Duwe, p, 4 0 1 2, Houselog, cr, 0 0 0 0, Crabill, dh, 4 0 1 0, Stevenson, 2b, 0 0 0 0, Johnson, lf, 4 0 1 1, Ploessel, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Wilgenbusch, ph, 1 0 0 0, Kelleher, c, 3 0 1 0, Seymour, cr, 0 0 0 0. Totals 32 5 10 5.

XAVIER (1)
Mehring, lf, 3 0 0 0, Woods, ss/3b, 3 1 2 0, Even, p/ss, 3 0 1 0, Mattke, c/p, 3 0 0 0, Ries, cf, 2 0 0 0, Hosch, 1b, 3 0 0 0, Zenisek, rf, 3 0 1 0, McNeal, dh, 2 0 0 0, Brecht, 3b/c, 0 0 0 0, Brown, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Helms, ph, 1 0 0 0. Totals 25 1 4 0.

Hempstead  100 010 3 - 5 10 2
Xavier     000 001 0 - 1 4 3

Duwe and Kelleher. Even, Mattke (7) and Mattke, Brecht (7). W - Duwe. L - Even. 2B - Weist, Duwe, Woods 2. SB - Weist, Kennedy, Johnson, Even.