Prairie Baseball

Metro Players in Pro Baseball

The Metro Sports Report provides a daily update on Metro graduates who are playing pro baseball. Here is the report through Aug. 6:

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier), Chicago Cubs, OF Sweeney went 2-for-4 Wednesday and scored a run. He is hitting a season-high .247 (43-for-174) with 3 homers and 18 RBIs.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (CR Prairie), Chattanooga, OF, Double-A, Southern League (Dodgers) Schebler went 0-for-4 Wednesday. He is hitting .275 (111-404) with 20 homers and 58 RBIs.

KELLEN SWEENEY (CR Jefferson), Dunedin, IF, Advanced A, Florida State League (Blue Jays) Sweeney has been released by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He was hitting .222 (8 for 36) with four doubles and an RBI.

CHAD CHRISTENSEN (CR Washington), Kernels, OF/IF, Class A, Midwest League (Twins) Christensen entered Wednesday's game as a defensive replacement for Joe Mauer at first base. He batted once and was hit-by-pitch. He is hitting .281 (111-for-397) with 9 homers and 60 RBIs.

JON KELLER (Xavier), Frederick, P, Class A, Carolina League (Orioles) Keller (0-0, 8.31) is on the Disabled List with a left intercostal strain.

MITCH KELLER (Xavier), Bradenton, P, Rookie, Gulf Coast League (Pirates) Keller (0-0, 1.76) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings Wednesday, despite giving up 4 walks and 2 hits. He struck out two batters.

ANDREW HANSE (Linn-Mar), Bowling Green, P, Class A, Midwest League (Tampa Bay). Hanse (1-3, 5.33) got his first victory of the season Wednesday with three shutout innings in relief. He allowed one hit and 2 walks, with 4 strikeouts.

DAKOTA FREESE (Washington), Athletics, P, Rookie Arizona League (Oakland) Freese is on the 60-day Disabled List and probably will not pitch again until the fall.

Daniels honored in MVC baseball

Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Zach Daniels has been named the Athlete of the Year in the Mississippi Division on the Mississippi Valley Conference all-star baseball teams.

Daniels is hitting .471 for the state-bound Cougars with 32 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 23 attempts. He also has an 8-1 record on the mound with a 1.02 ERA.

Daniels, a second baseman when he's not pitching, was joined on the Mississippi Division first team by pitcher Sammy Lizarraga and shortstop Derek Jacobus of Kennedy.

Spencer Van Scoyoc of Jefferson made the Mississippi Division first team in the outfield.

Pitcher Ryan Flaherty, first baseman Adam Pick, infielder Colin O'Connell and outfielder Bryce Grimm of Xavier were named first team in the Valley Division.

Third baseman Johnny Dobbs and Matt Troendle of Washington also made the top unit in the Mississippi Division. They were joined by outfielder Manny Jeffery from Linn-Mar.

Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer and his assistants were named the Mississippi Division Staff of the Year.

MISSISSIPPI DIVISION

Athlete of the Year - Zach Daniels, Kennedy

Staff of the Year - Bret Hoyer, Kennedy

FIRST TEAM

P - Sammy Lizarraga (Kennedy), Nick Gallagher (IC West)

C - Devin Raffensperger (IC West)

1B - David Fitzgerald (Hempstead)

IF - Zack Daniels (Kennedy), Derek Jacobus (Kennedy), Mitch Crimmins (Hempstead)

OF - Spencer Van Scoyoc (Jefferson), Kevin DeLaney (IC West), Alex Gross  (IC West)

U - Austin Clemens (Dubuque Senior), Chris Tomkins (Hempstead)

SECOND TEAM

P - Tyus Adkins (IC West), Blake Hargens (Kennedy)

C - David Janes (Dubuque Senior)

1B - Declan Doyle (IC West)

IF - Grant Ewing (IC West), Sam Noel (Dubuque Senior), John Magnuson   (Waterloo East)

OF - Jase Grant (Dubuque Senior), Brock Hatzky (IC West), Tucker Mai   (Dubuque Senior)

U - Marcus Colbert (Jefferson), Dan Millius (Hempstead), Nile Ringen (IC High)

HONORABLE MENTION

Metro Only

Jefferson - Lucas Larson, Spencer Hunt

Kennedy - Ben Sass, Matt Stevens

ALL-ACADEMIC

Metro Only

Jefferson - Drew Johnson, Michael Neuberger

Kennedy - David Pauls, Nathan Althoff

VALLEY DIVISION

Athlete of the Year - J.T. Sole, Cedar Falls

Staff of the Year - Jack Sole, Cedar Falls

FIRST TEAM

P - Michael Kuntz (Cedar Falls), Ryan Flaherty (Xavier)

C - J.T. Sole (Cedar Falls)

1B - Adam Pick (Xavier)

IF - Hunter Schiefelbein (Cedar Falls), Colin O'Connell (Xavier), Johnny Dobbs (Washington)

OF - Jared Deines (Cedar Falls), Manny Jeffery (Linn-Mar), Bryce Grimm (Xavier)

U - Matt Hoffmann (Wahlert), Matt Troendle (Washington)

SECOND TEAM

P - Brady Corson (Cedar Falls), Nolan Even (Xavier)

C - Nolan Arp (Xavier)

1B - Austin Miller (Cedar Falls)

IF - Luke Mozena (Cedar Falls), Jake Oglesby (Wahlert), Ryan Wyant (Linn-Mar)

OF - Caleb Reimer (Linn-Mar), Landen Akers (Washington), Jalen Rima (Prairie)

U - Nolan Timp (Wahlert), Trey Beckman (Prairie)

HONORABLE MENTION

Metro Only

Prairie - Ben Milks, Cal Clark

Washington - Trey Leonard, Chris Harrington

Xavier - Logan Clarahan, Jake Robinson

Linn-Mar - Jackson Jacobs, Ben Larson

ALL-ACADEMIC

Metro Only

Prairie - Nick Benson, Jacob Sprengeler

Washington - Alec Nichols, Eric Loeffelholz

Xavier - Logan Clarahan, Adam Pick

Linn-Mar - Thomas Niemeyer, Nic Redmond

J-Hawks nip Prairie in 9 innings

Going into the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night with the score tied 2-2, Jefferson Coach Kyle Rodenkirk was as calm as if his team was nursing a 10-run lead on Prairie.

“I just told the guys to loosen up and have fun," he said afterward. “They were a little uptight, especially since they tied the score on us in the seventh.

“I said,‘This isn’t life or death. It’s baseball. Have some fun.’”

The first three batters in the ninth inning took him at his word and loaded the bases on three straight hits, then a suicide squeeze did not pan out.

Read more...

Prairie knocks off Bettendorf, 8-7

The Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball team built an 8-2 lead Tuesday night and held off Bettendorf, 8-7, in the final game of the regular season at Prairie.

The Hawks (14-21) will visit Jefferson in the opening round of the Class 4A substate tournament Friday at 5 p.m.

Nic Mougin belted a home run and drove in three runs for Prairie. Jalen Rima went 2-for-3 and scored three runs. Keenan Kilpatrick drove in two runs.

Brody Alberts allowed two runs in 4.2 innings for the victory.

Bettendorf    011 002 3 - 7 14 3
Prairie       301 040 x - 8 7 4

W - Alberts. L - Broyles.