Jefferson plated five big runs in the home half of the first inning and downed visiting Kennedy, 7-3, in Mississippi Valley Conference baseball Monday night.

The J-Hawks (9-25, 7-16) squared up on five first inning line drives that included a three-run double by Layne Sullivan and a two-run double by Lucas Larson.

“The pitch I hit was a fastball right down the pipe,” said Sullivan. “I hit it hard and it hit a gap to clear the bases.”

Cam Frazier, Spencer Hunt, and Ky Kramer all collected two hits for the J-Hawks.

“I’ve been in the cages working on building my confidence and I brought it to the field tonight,” said Kramer.  “It’s our new 'staches,” explained Kramer pointing at the few extra hairs on his upper lip that were, of course, barely discernible.

“That’s right,” chimed in Hunt, who hit a solo home run in the fifth inning.  “I got my home run because we are growing 'staches.”

“We were looking to be patient and get ahead in the count,” said Hunt. “That’s when we got some good fastballs to hit.”

Ben Koering worked through a messy sixth inning for a complete game victory. A walk, a hit batsman, a hit and two Jefferson errors cost two runs, but Koering endured.

“I kept my composure and tried to work the corners and change speeds,” said Koering.  “It was nice to get that big five-run lead right away; it makes it easier to pitch.”

Tony Maiers hit a solo homer for Kennedy (16-13, 12-7) in the second inning and Matt Stevens collected two of Kennedy’s four hits.

“I was looking to find a fastball,” said Maiers.  “That’s what I got and I really hit it.  We just have to get ready to play them again tomorrow.”

The teams meet again Tuesday night at Kennedy.

“Give Jefferson some credit,” said Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer. “They outplayed us tonight.  We have to do some patchwork pitching this week and get things pieced together.  We’ll get healthy and be ready for the tournaments.”

"The boys came in fired up tonight and Benny pitched a heck of a game,” said Jefferson Coach Kyle Rodenkirk. “Kennedy always has those pitchers who can keep you off balance. This was an important win. Hopefully, it is something we can build on for the tournaments coming up.”

KENNEDY (3): Johnson, cf, 3 0 0 0, Daniels, ss, 3 0 0 0, Staton, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Maiers, c, 4 1 1 1, Skow, dh, 3 1 0 0, Jurgensen, p, 0 0 0 0, Smetzer, p, 0 0 0 0, Stevens, rf, 3 1 2 0, Lizarraga, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Sass, 3b, 2 0 1 0, Moa, lf, 2 0 0 0, Brewer, ph, 0 0 0 0. Totals  27 3 4 1.

JEFFERSON (7): VanScoyoc, cf, 4 0 1 0, Frazier, rf, 4 1 2 0, Hunt, 3b, 2 2 2 1, Colbert, c, 2 0 0 0, Hansen, cr, 0 1 0 0, Sullivan, lf, 3 1 1 3, Kramer, 1b, 3 1 2 0, Wright, 1b, 0 0 0 0, Koering, p, 3 0 0 0, Larson, ss, 3 0 1 2, Johnson, 2 1 0 0. Totals 26 7 9 6.

Kennedy  010 002 0 - 3 4 0
Jefferson  500 011 x - 7 9 2

Jurgensen, Smetzer (5), Daniels (6) and Maiers. Koering and Colbert. W-Koering. L-Jurgensen. 2B-Sullivan, Larson. HR-Maiers, Hunt. SB-Skow, Sass.