Prairie Baseball

Hawks split at Waterloo West

WATERLOO - Prairie hammered out six straight hits and scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Waterloo West, 9-2, Monday night in a Mississippi Valley Conference baseball doubleheader at West.

The Hawks lost the nightcap, 3-1, despite a two-hit effort by Prairie right-hander Anthony Gagliardi. The Hawks managed only four hits.

Prairie pounded out 14 hits in the opener. Brayton Carlson had three hits, including a pair of doubles. His brother, starting and winning pitcher Dustin Carlson, also had three hits and drove in two runs.

"We're really close to turning the corner," Prairie Coach Matt Thede said. "But when the game is close, we have to learn how to take advantage. That's where tradition can help or hurt you, and right now we don't have that tradition."

The Hawks were rained out of doubleheaders Tuesday at Keokuk and Wednesday at home against Wahlert. They will makeup the Wahlert doubleheader Thursday at 5 p.m. at Prairie.

Game 1
PRAIRIE (9)
Mougin, ss, 5 0 0 0, Hammer, dh, 5 1 1 0, D.Pond, c, 0 0 0 0, Utley, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Gagliardi, rf, 4 2 2 1, B.Carlson, 2b, 3 3 3 1, Butz, 3b, 4 1 3 2, D.Carlson, p, 4 1 3 2, Joens, cf, 2 0 0 0, Boots, lf, 3 0 1 2. Totals 34 9 14 9.

WATERLOO WEST (2)
Christensen, lf, 3 0 0 0, Vaughn, ss, 4 0 2 1, Fricke, p, 3 0 0 0, Stokes, 3b, 3 0 0 0, Bush, 1b, 3 1 1 1, Sheeley, c, 3 0 1 0, Kullen, rf, 2 1 1 0, McClain, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Brown, cf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 27 2 5 2.

Prairie  020 110 5 - 9 14 1
West     000 011 1 - 2  5  0

D.Carlson, Alberts (6), Hammer (7) and Pond. Fricke, McClain (6) and Sheeley. W-D.Carlson. L-Fricke. 2B-Utley, Gagliardi, B.Carlson 2, D.Carlson, Vaughn. HR-Bush.


PRAIRIE (1)
Mougin, ss, 2 0 0 0, Hammer, 1b, 3 1 1 0, Utley, dh, 3 0 1 1, Joens, cf, 0 0 0 0, Gagliardi, p, 3 0 0 0, B.Carlson, 2b, 2 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 3 0 1 0, D.Carlson, c , 3 0 0 0, Schulte, rf, 2 0 1 0, Allard, lf, 3 0 0 0. Totals 24 1 4 1.

WATERLOO WEST (3)
Christensen, lf, 3 0 0 0, Vaughn, ss, 3 1 0 0, Fricke, dh, 2 0 0 0, Stokes, 3b, 2 1 0 0, Bush, 1b, 3 0 1 1, Sheeley, c, 3 0 0 0, Kullen, rf, 3 0 1 0, McClain, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Brown, cf, 1 1 0 0. Totals 23 3 2 1.

Prairie   100 000 0 - 1 4 2
West      003 000 x - 3 2 0

Gagliardi and D.Carlson. Trebon and Sheeley. W-Trebon. L-Gagliardi. 2B-Utley.

Prairie's Velvick broke collarbone in fatal crash

Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball player Jason Velvick broke his collarbone in a one-vehicle crash that killed the driver early Thursday morning, sources have told the Metro Sports Report.

Velvick was a passenger in the vehicle that crashed near the south side of the Eastern Iowa Airport.

Drake Whitters, 19, of Swisher died in the accident. He was the driver of the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Whitters graduated from Prairie High School in 2010 and played football for the Hawks.

Prairie baseball coach Matt Thede declined comment on how Velvick got hurt, but did confirm the injury. "He has a broken collarbone," Thede said.

Thede said Velvick will miss the rest of the baseball season. Velvick, a senior-to-be, was Prairie's starting centerfielder and was hitting .317 in 12 games.

Sources said Velvick suffered lacerations to various parts of his body, including his back, side and stomach.

Velvick ran to a farmhouse for help after the accident, according to sources, and later ran approximately three miles to his home. He was not able to retrieve his cell phone and call for help, because the phone was in the crashed vehicle and not accessible.

Hawks drubbed by Cougars

Griffin Michael was bothered by a painful hand injury this spring and wasn't sure how much he'd be able to swing the bat for the Kennedy Cougars this season.

As it turns out, he's swinging quite well.

Michael slugged a grand slam and pitched a complete game Tuesday night as the top-ranked Cougars spanked Prairie, 12-2, in five innings in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Kennedy.

Michael had a problem with the hamate bone on his left (non-throwing) hand, but the injury improved and he's been in the lineup all season. He's hitting .375 in the cleanup spot with 15 RBIs in 12 games.

"My swing has been pretty good lately," he said. "I'm a little disappointed in my defense so far, but the swing has been all right."

Michael is Kennedy's starting shortstop when he isn't pitching, but he's sprung a leak with nine errors already (including a throwing error from the mound Monday).

"Just a couple of early errors and it got a little bit in my head, but I'm good to go now," he said.

Michael struck out eight batters and allowed only four hits, including singles to the first two batters in the game. The Hawks came out swinging against his fastball, but he began putting them away with a nasty curveball.

Michael is 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA, with 22 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings.

Prairie (5-7, 2-4) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Michael hit his grand slam in the bottom of the first for a 4-1 edge to get the Cougars started.

Austin Christensen continued his phenomenal hitting for Kennedy (10-2, 5-1). He went 3-for-3 with another home run, his seventh in 12 games. Christensen is 23-for-35 this season for a lusty .657 batting average with seven homers and 20 RBIs.

Terrell Sykes went 2-for-4 for Kennedy with two RBIs. David Yancey was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Cougars are scheduled to host Ottumwa Wednesday night, part of a busy stretch of 10 games in nine days. The stretch includes a twinbill at No.8 Fort Dodge on Saturday, another twinbill at No.9 Dubuque Hempstead on Monday and a single game at No.7 Davenport Central next Tuesday.

"It will be tough for us. It will be good for us," Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer said. "It will make us better by the time July rolls around. Our guys will have been tested."

Prairie is going through a tough stretch as well. The Hawks dropped a doubleheader at Xavier last Friday, lost at Southeast Polk on Saturday, dropped back-to-back games to Kennedy and host Class 3A No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert on Friday.

Jason Velvick had two hits for the Hawks against Kennedy.

PRAIRIE (2)
Velvick, cf, 3 2 2 0, Hammer, 1b, 2 0 1 1, Utley, p, 2 0 1 1, Allard, cr, 0 0 0 0, Alberts, p, 0 0 0 0, Gagliardi, rf, 2 0 0 0, B. Carlson 2 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Boots, lf, 2 0 0 0, D. Carlson, c, 2 0 0 0, Mougin, ss, 2 0 0 0. Totals 19 2 4 2.

KENNEDY (12)
Sykes, 2b, 4 1 2 2, Jacobus, ss, 2 2 0 0, Christensen, rf, 3 3 3 1, Michael, p, 2 1 1 4, Hayden, cr, 0 1 0 0, Yancey, lf, 3 1 2 2, Bell, 3b, 1 1 0 0, Winters, pr, 0 0 0 0, Maiers, c, 2 0 0 1, Jahlas, cf, 3 1 0 0, Benson, dh, 2 1 1 1, Ambrosy, 1b, 0 0 0 0. Totals 22 12 9.

Prairie       101 00 -   2 4 4
Kennedy   401 16 - 12 9 1

Utley, Alberts (5) and D. Carlson. Michael and Maiers. W - Michael (2-1). L - Utley (1-2). 2B - Benson. HR - Christensen (7). SB - Velvick.

Healthy Appleget helps Kennedy trim Prairie

Kennedy junior Nick Appleget wears a brace on his left knee and there's a certain amount of pain when he pitches, but he figures he can live with all that.

Appleget's had three knee operations in three years - two major, one minor - and he's just happy to be able to pitch for the top-ranked Cougars again.

Appleget tossed one scoreless inning in relief Monday night to help Kennedy top Prairie, 7-3, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at Prairie.

"It feels good," he said. "Sitting on the bench is not my favorite thing."

Appleget allowed a leadoff single in the fifth inning, but retired the next three batters with a strikeout, fly ball and another strikeout.

Appleget tore his ACL in the fall of 2008 while playing for Kennedy's freshman football team and needed major surgery. He tore the ACL again, less than a year later, while playing in a fall baseball league and needed another major operation.

"The second time I did it, I just couldn't believe it," he said. "They told me if you do it a second time, it's a freak thing. It sucked. It was no fun. You never know if you're going to come back from that.

"My therapists ... I made friends with them in three years," he said, smiling. "They know me by heart now."

Appleget had arthroscopic surgery this spring to remove a small piece of cartilage, but was sidelined only a few weeks and returned to active duty last Friday when he pitched two scoreless innings (with four strikeouts) against Cedar Falls.

"I don't know if I've come across a kid that could come through everything the way he has," Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer said. "I've been doing this for awhile, and I've never seen a kid come through what he has."

Appleget is a talented right-handed pitcher who made the varsity (briefly) as a freshman. He played for Kennedy's sophomore team last year and could be an important ingredient for the Cougars this season as they seek back-to-back state titles.

"I have a little pain in the top of my kneecap where I had my surgery, but I can deal with it," he said. "I feel I can get past it and just do my job on the mound."

Kennedy and Prairie staged a good battle Monday night. The score was tied, 3-3, after four innings, but the Cougars (9-2, 4-1) got the big hits when it counted.

Cody Bell smashed a two-run double to give Kennedy a 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth, and Austin Christensen lined a two-run double to give the Cougars a 7-3 margin in the sixth.

Prairie (5-6, 2-3) loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and brought the tying run to the plate, but Kennedy ended the game with a 6-4-3 double play behind closer David Yancey.

Adam Lloyd pitched a scoreless fourth inning for Kennedy to get the victory in relief. Dustin Carlson pitched 5 1/3 innings for Prairie and got tagged with the loss.

Devon Jacobus went 3-for-4 and scored two runs for the Cougars. Matt Maiers went 2-for-4 with a double and triple. Jacobus, Maiers and Logan Ambrosy all had RBIs.

Brennan Hammer went 3-for-4 for Prairie. Tyler Butz and Ty Mougin had two hits apiece. Chaz Boots and Mougin collected RBIs.

Prairie and Kennedy play again Tuesday night at Kennedy.

KENNEDY (7)
Sykes, 2b, 4 0 0 0, Jacobus, 3b, 4 2 3 1, Christensen, rf, 3 0 1 2, Michael, ss, 4 0 1 0, Yancey, lf/p, 3 1 0 0, Bell, p/1b, 3 0 1 2, Hayden, cr, 0 2 0 0, Maiers, c, 4 0 2 1, Rhoades, cr, 0 0 0 0, Ambrosy, 1b/cf/lf, 2 1 0 1, Benson, dh, 1 1 0 0, Jahlas, cf, 0 0 0 0, Lloyd, p, 0 0 0 0, Appleget, p, 0 0 0 0. Totals 28 7 8 7.

PRAIRIE (3)
Velvick, cf, 3 0 0 0, Hammer, dh/p, 4 0 3 0, Meyer, c, 0 0 0 0, Gagliardi, rf, 4 0 0 0, Utley, 1b, 3 1 1 0, B.Carlson, 2b, 3 1 0 0, D.Carlson, p/c, 4 0 1 0, Allard, cr, 0 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 2 0 2 0, Boots, lf, 3 1 1 1, Mougin, ss, 3 0 2 1. Totals 29 3 10 2.

Kennedy   011 122 0 - 7  8 2
Prairie       021 000 0 - 3 10 1

Bell, Lloyd (4), Appleget (5), Yancey (6) and Maiers. D.Carlson, Hammer (6) and Myer, D.Carlson (6). W - Lloyd. L - D. Carlson.
2B - Christensen, Michael, Bell, Maiers, Hammer, Utley. 3B - Maiers, Mougin. SB - Benson.