Xavier Softball

J-Hawks climb to 4th in softball poll

The Jefferson J-Hawks climbed one notch to No. 4 in the Class 5A softball rankings Friday with a 25-4 overall record.

The Xavier Saints stayed No. 5 in the Class 4A poll by the IGHSAU with a 22-2 mark.

Johnston is the top-ranked team in Class 5A and Dallas Center-Grimes is ranked No.1 in Class 4A.

Cedar Rapids Prairie dropped out of the 5A rankings this week after being in the No. 10 spot.

CLASS 5A

1. Johnston (23-2), 2. West Des Moines Valley (21-5), 3. Dowling Catholic (17-8), 4. Jefferson (25-4), 5. Southeast Polk (20-9), 6. Muscatine (24-3), 7. Waukee (17-10), 8. Ankeny (17-11), 9. Pleasant Valley (19-4), 10. Iowa City West (22-7).

CLASS 4A

1. Dallas Center-Grimes (24-1), 2. Carlisle (20-1), 3. Fort Dodge (26-1), 4. Solon (26-1), 5. Xavier (22-2), 6. Davenport Assumption (22-7), 7. Fairfield (18-4), 8. Oskaloosa (24-2), 9. West Delaware (25-5), 10. Ballard (19-5), 11. Norwalk (19-9), 12. Indianola (13-8), 13. Keokuk (17-8), 14. Waverly-Shell Rock (22-4), 15. Creston (16-7).

Drahozal, Oldridge toss shutouts for Saints

Erin Drahozal and Kylie Oldridge sparkled for Xavier again Thursday night as the Class 4A fifth-ranked Saints swept a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader from Dubuque Senior without surrendering a single run.

Drahozal tossed a four-hit shutout in a 2-0 victory in the opener. Jamie Feltes delivered a two-run hit in the sixth inning to snap a scoreless game.

Oldridge pitched a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts as the Saints grabbed the nightcap, 8-0. Allison Schwach was 2-for-3 and scored three runs.

Drahozal stars as Saints sweep Hawks

Pity the softball team that plays Xavier after the Saints have had a few days off.

“We hadn’t played a game since last Wednesday, and we were just anxious to go out and get at it,” Xavier all-stater Erin Drahozal said Tuesday night after her usual stellar performance in a 9-3 and 7-2 sweep of Prairie on the Hawks home field.

She was so itchy to see action that she showed up Monday night to watch Prairie take two from Kennedy. The scouting mission obviously paid off.

On the mound in the opener against Prairie, she had one bad pitch that led to a long three-run homer to left by the normally light-hitting Amanda Stecklein. Otherwise, Drahozal (11-2) pretty much bamboozled the Hawks, especially power hitters Gabi Carter and Natalie Rumer.

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Erin Drahozal wins Metro Spotlight Award

Xavier High School junior Erin Drahozal has been a driving force for the Saints softball team, which is ranked No.5 in Class 4A with an 18-2 record.

She has been Xavier's leading hitter and leading pitcher as the Saints battle for the Mississippi Valley Conference title.

Drahozal is the winner of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school girls this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Drahozal is hitting a healthy .476 with nine doubles, five home runs and 27 RBIs. She also has a 10-2 record and 2.16 ERA in the circle.

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