Western Dubuque tops Cedar Rapids Washington, 5-2

CEDAR RAPIDS - Western Dubuque has a deep pitching rotation.

Bobcats Coach Casey Bryant has faith in anyone on the mound, throwing the lower end of his rotation in a non-conference game against a possible substate final opponent.

Damon Jaeger and Kyle Lehmann combined for a four-hitter, helping Class 4A eighth-ranked Western Dubuque to a 5-2 victory over host Cedar Rapids Washington Wednesday night.

Jaeger threw 5 1/3 innings, improving to 4-0. Lehmann closed the game for his first save, lowering his earned-run average to 0.96.

'It's a good win for our guys,” said Bryant, who scheduled their top four starters in conference play this week. 'Our (Nos.) 5 and 6 pitchers have been great this year.

'Those two guys are solid. We feel confident with them on the mound. We made some nice defensive plays to hold them off.”

The Bobcats (29-4-1) provided all the offensive support they needed before Jaeger threw a pitch. Western Dubuque scored three runs by the time the Warriors recorded an out.

Max Steffen opened with an infield single and Nick Lembezeder was hit by a pitch to set the table for the heart of the Bobcats order. Gregory Bennett and Calvin Harris followed with consecutive RBI singles and then Bennett scored on Dylan Gotto's RBI groundout for a 3-0 lead.

'It helps when you have one of the fastest kids in the state batting leadoff for you,” Bennett said of Steffen, who is tied for the state lead with 53 stolen bases. 'When he gets on, he's stealing and Nick is moving him over or getting on and he's stealing third. All I have to do is put it in play to get one or two runs. It just gets things going.”

The Bobcats padded their lead in the middle innings. Sam Goodman's RBI single scored Harris in the third to make it 4-0. Lembezeder scored on a pair of errors in the fourth.

Western Dubuque has had a winning formula and they followed it Wednesday.

'It's been a good season for us,” Bryant said. 'This is a typical game for these guys, where they come out and jump on somebody early, using our speed to make some things happen, and square it away with defense and pitching.”

Washington (19-13) didn't manage a hit until the fifth. Lincoln Riley led off with a double and scored on a Luke Jonasson groundout. Jacob Bockenstedt's sixth-inning single drove in Drew Dostal, who hit a one-out double.

Jonasson threw four innings of relief, holding the Bobcats to one unearned run.

Both teams will compete in the 4A substate 5. Western Dubuque will likely be the top seed, while the Warriors should be the No. 2 seed. Substate action begins July 14.

The Bobcats wanted to prove a point to a possible substate opponent and a future Mississippi Valley Conference foe.

'Playing in the Wamac, people don't see us as a powerhouse 4A school,” Bennett said. 'They see us as a 4A school playing all these 3A and 2A teams, so they're thinking your record is good but look at the teams you play.

'Coming out and beating a team like this, I think that will set the tone.”

l Comments: (319) 368-8679; kj.pilcher@thegazette.com