Prairie Baseball

Usher commits to Kirkwood baseball

If Levi Usher plays college baseball, he'll stay in the neighborhood and play for the Kirkwood Eagles.

It could be a big "if," however.

Usher, a senior at Cedar Rapids Prairie, would be tempted to skip college and play pro baseball if he's selected high enough in the major league draft this June and likes the offer.

"I would be very tempted," he told the Metro Sports Report Sunday evening. "It's something my parents and I have talked about. I think I'm ready for it.

"We'll see how the spring goes and how I play."

Usher is a fleet center fielder who hit .468 with seven homers, 34 RBIs and 37 stolen bases for Prairie last season as a junior. He's ranked as the No. 2 high school prospect in Iowa by Perfect Game USA and the 82nd best high school player in the country.

If he goes high enough in the draft and is offered a lucrative signing bonus, he'll head straight to the minor leagues. If the draft does not turn out the way he wants, he'll head to Kirkwood and play for the Eagles in 2019.

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Xavier is host site for Metro tourney

Xavier is one of two host sites for the 48th annual Bob Vrbicek Metro Tournament, which kicks off the high school baseball season for the  Saints, the other six schools in the Cedar Rapids Metro and Mount Vernon.

Xavier Coach Bob Cataldo's team, which finished last season at  12-23-1, will host Marion at 7 p.m. on Monday, following the 5 p.m.  contest between Jefferson and Washington at Ken Charipar Field.

Prairie is the other host site. Coach Todd Rima's Hawks, the defending Class 4A state champions, face a tough opener against traditional power Kennedy at 7 p.m. following a 4:30 p.m. contest between Mount Vernon and Linn-Mar.

Semifinal and consolation round games are set for Tuesday. The championship and third-place games will be Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium with the fifth and seventh-place games to be played at Xavier.

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Prairie claims 1st Metro baseball title

When Todd Rima became the new baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie last year, he gave all of his players a picture of Principal Park in Des Moines and told them to set their sights on winning a state title there.

"We asked them to hang it up in their room and make sure it was something they wanted to work towards," Rima said Wednesday night. "I think they looked at me at first like, 'Is this guy crazy?' But I think they bought in. I think they have a confidence about them now that leads to success."

That confidence was on full display Wednesday as the Hawks claimed their first Metro title in school history with a 5-0 whitewash of fifth-ranked Kennedy at the Jefferson field.

The Hawks enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2015, winning 31 games and capturing the first Mississippi Valley Conference in school annals. Now they've followed last year's success with their first trophy in the 47th Bob Vrbicek Metro tournament.

"We felt with the kids that we had and how they wanted to work and how they wanted to be successful that we could have a lot of success," said Rima. "It's all because they've bought in to playing hard. They've done a tremendous job."

Junior Darren Kilpatrick tossed a four-hit shutout in his first varsity appearance as Prairie whipped its second ranked club in three days. The Hawks trimmed No. 3 Jefferson in the opening round, clobbered Washington in the semifinals and tamed Kennedy in the championship round, allowing just two runs in three games.

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Prairie sending message in Metro tourney

The Prairie Hawks won 31 games last season and captured the first Mississippi Valley Conference baseball title in school history, yet they were completely snubbed in the preseason rankings this year despite have a veteran club.

Their first two opponents this year have paid the price.

Prairie smacked the Washington Warriors, 15-0, in four innings Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Metro baseball tournament for their second impressive victory in two days.

The Hawks began the year Monday night with a 3-2 victory over the third-ranked Jefferson J-Hawks. Now they'll get a shot at fifth-ranked Kennedy in the tournament finals Wednesday night at Jefferson.

"I think our guys know that we got zero votes, so we told them you spell respect W-I-N," Prairie Coach Todd Rima said after the Hawks overwhelmed Washington. "That's what we'll do and we'll let people decide the rankings."

The Hawks are not obsessed with the rankings, but they certainly noticed that not a single coach who votes in the IHSBCA poll thought they deserved a spot in the top 10.

"It motivated us," said third baseman Cooper Reittinger. "We didn't feel like we got the respect we deserved. So we came out and we've tried to earn some votes here. That's what really drove us these couple of games."

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