Jefferson High School - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Saints, J-Hawks ranked 5th in polls

The Xavier Saints and Jefferson J-Hawks are both ranked No.5 in the latest high school softball polls by the IGHSAU.

The Saints are ranked No.5 in Class 4A and the J-Hawks are No.5 in Class 5A. The Prairie Hawks are ranked 10th in Class 5A.

Dallas Center-Grimes is No.1 in Class 4A and Johnston is No.5 in 5A.

CLASS 4A

1. Dallas Center-Grimes (16-0), 2. Solon (19-0), 3. Carlisle (14-1), 4. Fort Dodge (13-5), 5. Xavier (18-2), 6. Davenport Assumption (17-4), 7. Oskaloosa (18-1), 8. Norwalk (15-4), 9. Fairfield (15-4), 10. Ballard (15-4), 11. West Delaware (18-5), 12. Waverly-Shell Rock (13-3), 13. Charles City (15-4), 14. Boone (15-7), 15. Indianola (11-8).

CLASS 5A

1. Johnston (15-2), 2. Dowling Catholic (12-5), 3. West Des Moines Valley (17-5), 4. Southeast Polk (15-5), 5. Jefferson (16-4), 6. Muscatine (19-2), 7. Ankeny (11-7), 8. Iowa City West (16-5), 9. Waukee (13-9), 10. Prairie (16-7).

Hansen belts 4 homers for Jefferson

NEW HAMPTON - Maddie Hansen hit four home runs Saturday as No.5 Jefferson won three games at the New Hampton Classic without surrendering a run.

The J-Hawks defeated Central Springs (3-0), New Hampton (11-0) and Turkey Valley (11-0).

Hansen socked three home runs against New Hampton and also hit a round-tripper against Central Springs.

Alyssa Olson pitched a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts against Central Springs. She also tossed four perfect innings against New Hampton with seven strikeouts.

Alyssa Good hurled a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts against Turkey Valley. She also pitched a 1-2-3 frame in the fifth inning against New Hampton as she and Olson combined for a perfect game in the five-inning contest.

Erin Kuba went 3-for-4 against New Hampton. Taylor Holub and Liv Erickson had two hits. Erickson and Katelyn Holub drove in two runs.

Hannah Towns was 2-for-3 with three RBIs against Turkey Valley.

Jefferson raised its record to 19-4.

J-Hawks split with No. 1 Hempstead

DUBUQUE - Spencer VanScoyoc hit a home run and drove in three runs Friday as the Jefferson J-Hawks tripped top-ranked Dubuque Hempstead, 10-5 in nine innings, in the second game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader in Dubuque.

Hempstead won the first game, 9-6.

Jefferson trailed 4-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning in the nightcap, but the J-Hawks rallied for five runs to take a 5-4 lead. Hempstead responded with one run in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings.

Jefferson put another 5-spot on the board in the top of the ninth inning. VanScoyoc came in to pitch in the bottom of the ninth and struck out the side to preserve the victory.

Mannie Olutunde, Spencer Hunt and Michael Neuberger had two hits for Jefferson in the victory. Lucas Larson, Hunt and Drew Johnson drove in two runs.

Olutunde went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the first game for the J-Hawks. Hunt was 2-for-4 and Marcus Colbert drove in two runs.

The split left Jefferson at 13-6 overall and 8-4 in the MVC. Hempstead fell to 20-2 and 10-2.

Game 1

Jefferson        013 002 0 - 6 11 3
Hempstead     020 520 x - 9 13 1

W - Millius. L - VanScoyoc.

Game 2

Jefferson        000 000 505 - 10 10 2
Hempstead     000 031 100 - 5 11 2

W - Koering. L - Duax.

Knox belts homer as Jeff tops Hawks

Colton Knox hit a home run and drove in three runs as the Jefferson J-Hawks clipped Prairie, 7-3, in a Mississippi Valley Conference game Wednesday night at Prairie.

The game was suspended June 3 due to weather and finished Wednesday.

Cam Frazier went 2-for-5 and scored two runs for Jefferson. Lucas Larson also had two hits for the J-Hawks.

Cal Clark scored twice for Prairie.

Jefferson   000 114 1 - 7 9 1
Prairie     001 110 0 - 3 5 2

W - Jared Eivins. L - JP Havel-Pisarik.

J-Hawks sweep Lions on emotional day

It was a long, emotional day Tuesday for the Jefferson softball players and coaches.

They spent the early part of the day helping clean up storm damage in the neighborhood near their hallowed diamond where many of those very neighbors have spent countless hours following the J-Hawks over the years.

Then Jefferson faced the prospect of going on the road for a doubleheader against a strong Linn-Mar team at night. And when the key moments presented themselves, the J-Hawks showed the same resolve they had earlier in the day with parts of their neighborhood in ruins.

Erin Kuba broke a 1-1 tie with a two-out single in the fifth inning of the opener and Jefferson tacked on eight more runs to win 10-1.

The nightcap belonged to junior catcher Maddie Hansen. Her bases-clearing double capped a five-run sixth inning as Jefferson (16-4, 11-3 MVC) rallied to gain the sweep with a 5-2 victory.

Read more...

Jefferson baseball field damaged by storm

The Jefferson High School baseball field in southwest Cedar Rapids was heavily damaged late Monday night when a severe storm packing heavy winds tore through the facility and local neighborhoods.

"They're confirming it was a tornado," Jefferson baseball coach Kyle Rodenkirk said Tuesday afternoon at the field.

A thick wooden light pole that was stationed down the left-field line was snapped in half and thrown onto the field, smashing the lights and leaving shards of glass in left field.

Three other light poles on the first-base side and in right field were damaged, although not toppled over. The outfield fence in right field was knocked over, bleachers were damaged and a portable batting cage was tossed onto Rockford Road SW and crumpled.

Chris Deam, Jefferson's athletic director, was not prepared to put a price tag on the damage, but it easily could be tens of thousands of dollars. He said the field is covered by insurance through Cedar Rapids Community Schools.

Read more...

New-look J-Hawks split with Saints

Kyle Rodenkirk spent two long years as the head baseball coach at Anamosa High School where he was saddled with a 12-65 record, then he took over the Jefferson J-Hawks last season and came home with a 12-27 mark at his alma mater.

That left his overall record as a head coach at 24-92, which is nothing to brag about.

"A couple of years ago I was like, 'Man, am I just a bad coach?'" he said Monday night.

The answer, of course, is no. Rodenkirk is not a bad coach and the J-Hawks have been proving it this season.

Jefferson rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to clip Xavier, 6-5, in the first game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Jefferson Monday.

Read more...

Metro softball enjoying strong year

High school softball in the Metro area is enjoying a strong year this season  and there's a mad scramble to see who has the best record.

The Linn-Mar Lions have the most wins with a 15-3 overall record, but Xavier, Jefferson and Prairie all all right behind with 14 victories.

Washington and Kennedy have rebounded this season and have 11 wins apiece.

Here are the Metro records through Sunday:

Linn-Mar          15-3 overall, 11-2 MVC
Xavier              14-2 overall, 11-1 MVC
Jefferson          14-4 overall, 9-3 MVC
Prairie              14-7 overall, 9-3 MVC
Washington       11-4 overall, 8-4 MVC
Kennedy           11-6 overall, 7-4 MVC
Marion              5-9 overall, 3-5 Wamac

Cougars, J-Hawks lead Metro baseball

The Kennedy Cougars have the best record among Metro baseball teams with a 10-2 mark through Sunday, with the Jefferson J-Hawks a notch behind at 10-4.

Here are the Metro records:

KENNEDY          10-2 overall, 6-2 MVC
JEFFERSON        10-4 overall, 5-2 MVC
XAVIER              9-6 overall, 4-4 MVC
MARION             6-6 overall, 6-4 Wamac
LINN-MAR           8-9 overall, 3-5 MVC
PRAIRIE             4-9 overall, 3-4 MVC
WASHINGTON     2-9 overall, 2-6 MVC
CEDAR VALLEY     0-10 overall