Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

No. 1 DM East blanks J-Hawks

Larry Niemeyer summed it up succinctly Friday night.

“We have to be able to score against good pitching if we want to beat a team like Des Moines East,” the veteran Jefferson coach remarked. “That’s a problem for us.”

And so it was.

Des Moines East, the No. 1 Class 5A team in the state and the defending champions, blanked the fifth-ranked J-Hawks, 3-0, behind the strong three-hit pitching of Riley Fisher in the featured matchup at the Jefferson Classic.

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Jellison, Dee lead J-Hawks to sweep

One guy knocked in the winning run in both games, the other got off his sickbed to pitch his second complete game in as many starts.

And Jefferson snapped a four-game losing streak.

Dylan Jellison's bad-hop single gave Jefferson an 11-10, eight-inning win in the opener, and Jordan scattered five hits in a 4-3 win in the nightcap as the J-Hawks swept Cedar Falls on Friday night at the J-Hawk baseball diamond.

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J-Hawks up to 5th in softball poll

Jefferson moved up two spots to No. 5 in this week's Class 5A softball poll released Friday by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

The J-Hawks (14-1) are riding a 13-game winning streak, but face on of their toughest assignments of the season in a home game against Des Moines East (12-0) in the Jefferson Classic. The J-Hawks' only loss so far was to No. 3 Iowa City West (17-1) in the nightcap of their season-opening doubleheader last month.

Jefferson, West and No. 10 Dubuque Senior (18-0) are the only Mississippi Valley Conference teams in the polls.

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Erin Kuba down but not out

Erin Kuba had one goal coming into the softball season.

"Ever since I can remember I've wanted to play varsity as an eighth grader so I could be a five-year letter winner," Kuba said. "I was surprised he put me out there."

Kuba started in left field for Jefferson in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against Cedar Falls. The No. 7 J-Hawks (14-1) swept the Tigers, 6-0 and 3-1, running their winning streak to 13.

Kuba played only the opener and was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run scored, meaningless stats for most. But it meant the world to Kuba to be back on the field 38 days after she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 20 days after having her thyroid surgically removed.

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Davidson pays tribute to her mother

On a night when Jefferson and Xavier softball parents and fans raised $2,400 for her cancer-stricken mother, J-Hawk second baseman Kaitlyn Davidson played what she called “by far my best night of the season.”

The doubleheader Tuesday at the Jefferson softball complex was designated as “Strike Out Cancer” night. Those at the game were asked to make a pledge for each hit, strikeout, run or home run by the two teams to help cover medical expenses.

“I knew every hit counted,” said Davidson, who helped her J-Hawks sweep the Saints, 5-0 and 9-3. “I try hard every game, but maybe I tried a little harder tonight.”

For the twinbill, she ended up 4-for-6 with three runs batted in and one run scored.

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Pleasant Valley outlasts J-Hawks

Jefferson executed three sacrifice bunts, got two clutch two-out RBI hits and still got beat Tuesday night by Pleasant Valley in a non-conference baseball game at Jefferson.

Austin Fink's one-out RBI double in the top of the ninth inning sent Pleasant Valley past the J-Hawks, 8-7.

Jefferson (3-9) held a 5-3 lead after Ky Kramer's two-run home run in the fourth inning.

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Jefferson duo finishes 4th at co-ed golf

BOONE -- Jefferson's Megan Furnish and Zach Denny combined to shoot 76 and finished in fourth place Tuesday at the Co-Ed State Golf Tournament at Cedar Pointe Golf Course.

Dowling Catholic won the event with a 75. Clea Lake also shot 75 but the Maroons won by criteria.

Washington's sophomore duo of Dominic Rodriguez and MJ Kamin shot 79 and finished 10th.

J-Hawks 7th in girls softball poll

Cedar Rapids Jefferson climbed a notch from eighth to seventh in the IGHSAU Class 5A softball rankings released Friday.

The J-Hawks are the only Metro team in the rankings. The Xavier Saints, ranked ninth previously in Class 4A, dropped out of the poll.

Des Moines East is ranked No. 1 in Class 5A and Clear Creek Amana is No. 1 in 4A.

CLASS 5A

1. Des Moines East (3-0), 2. Ankeny (4-1), 3. West Des Moines Valley (4-1), 4. Ottumwa (7-0), 5. Iowa City West (9-1), 6. Davenport West (4-1), 7. Cedar Rapids Jefferson (5-1), 8. Muscatine (6-0), 9. Pleasant Valley (4-3), 10. Dowling Catholic (0-2).

CLASS 4A

1. Clear Creek Amana (8-0), 2. Dallas Center-Grimes (3-1), 3. Winterset (7-1), 4. Keokuk (5-0), 5. North Scott (4-2), 6. Carlisle (6-1), 7. Sioux City Heelan (7-0), 8. Creston (5-1), 9. Glenwood (7-0), 10. Indianola (7-0), 11. Washington (4-0), 12. Charles City (6-1), 13. Oskaloosa (5-2), 14. Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-2), 15. West Delaware 6-2.

Tiedtke lifts J-Hawks past Warriors

Sometimes, a positive attitude can be an athlete’s most dangerous weapon. The Cedar Rapids Washington baseball team felt the full force of that weapon on Thursday night.

Jefferson’s Chance Tiedtke, who had been experiencing trouble at the plate, came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and his team trailing by one run.

Tiedtke proceeded to rip a walk-off single down the third base line to score runners from second and third to give Jefferson a 5-4 victory over Washington at home.

“I had been down the whole game because I haven’t been hitting that well,” said Tiedtke. “So I was just trying to stay positive. I could hear my teammates just telling me to stay positive, so I just tried to put the ball in play and do whatever I could for my team.”

Jefferson struggled at the plate most of the night, but Tiedtke came up big when it counted.

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