Kirkwood Baseball

Rima casts eye on Prairie baseball job

Kirkwood Community College baseball coach Todd Rima confirmed Monday that he's interested in becoming the new head baseball coach at Cedar Rapids Prairie.

If hired by Prairie, Rima would continue to serve as the head coach at Kirkwood and hold both jobs.

"I would consider it. Yes," Rima remarked when asked if he's interested in the post at Prairie.

Matt Thede resigned as Prairie's baseball coach after the 2014 season to become the athletic director and assistant principal at Mount Vernon High School.

Rocky Bennett, the athletic director at Prairie, confirmed he has spoken to Rima informally about the job, but quickly added that he's spoken to several other potential candidates as well. Bennett said he'd move forward on the selection process in September.

Joe Yegge, the softball coach at Kirkwood, is also the head softball coach at Prairie, so there is precedent for someone doing both jobs. Rima said he has talked to Yegge about the demands of holding both assignments.

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KCC baseball team gets Player of Year

Eric Willis of Waverly-Shell Rock is the latest Iowa prep star to join the Kirkwood Community College baseball team.

Willis, a middle infielder, was named the Player of the Year on the IHSBCA All-State Super Team this season after hitting .457 with five home runs and 45 RBIs as a senior. He also had 13 doubles and four triples.

"We are extremely excited to have a young man of high character like Eric joining our program," said Kirkwood Coach Todd Rima. "We are very proud that the IHSBCA Player of the Year has chosen Kirkwood to continue his education.

"We look forward to helping Eric develop into an outstanding college baseball player."

Willis is the 12th Iowan and 18th player overall to sign with the Eagles for the 2014-15 school year. "It's been a great year for us," said Rima.

Kirkwood also has signed Jay Campbell, a right-handed pitcher from Davenport Assumption, and Eric Dempsey, a second team all-state outfielder from Ames in recent weeks. Campbell went 7-2 with a 2.94 ERA for Assumption, which won the Class 3A state title. Dempsey hit .432 with five homers and 27 RBIs.

Willis is the son of Wartburg football coach and athletic director Rick Willis.

Normally the IHSBCA Player of the Year would have picked a college prior to mid-August, but Willis was still available for Kirkwood.

"With Iowa high school summer ball, a lot of people were full as far as the Division I level," said Rima. "We got lucky."

Rima hauls in 15 players for Kirkwood

Pitching, pitching and more pitching.

That was Todd Rima's primary goal on the recruiting trail this year as he stocked the Kirkwood baseball team for the 2015 campaign.

Mission accomplished, he feels.

Rima has signed 15 new players for next season. Ten of them are pitchers. And nine of the new players are Iowans, another priority.

Three of the new players hail from Illinois and three are from New York.

Rima thinks he's signed the arms he needs to keep improving. Kirkwood finished 30-17 this season and 14-11 in the conference, but he wants more.

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Schenck-Joblinske commits to Hawkeyes

Kirkwood outfielder Eric Schenck-Joblinske will continue his college baseball career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, Kirkwood Coach Todd Rima confirmed Tuesday.

Schenck-Joblinske originally committed to Texas A&M.

Schenck-Joblinske, from Dike-New Hartford, hit .309 with one home run, 27 RBIs and 20 stolen bases for Kirkwood this past season as a sophomore. He is currently playing for the Mankato Moon Dogs in the Northwoods League.

Shane Kemp, a pitcher and outfielder for Kirkwood, plans to continue his college career at George Washington University in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Kemp, from Waterloo Columbus, had a 1-0 record and 5.68 ERA in 10 appearances for the Eagles this season. He hit .288 with 12 RBIs.