Prairie rocks Washington in substate quarterfinals

CEDAR RAPIDS - Senior pitcher Drew Yanecek pitched four solid innings for No. 5 Cedar Rapids Prairie as they beat Cedar Rapids Washington, 10-0, Friday night to open up substate play.

'We were pretty confident coming in,” Yanecek said. 'We beat these guys three times before tonight. We have to give credit to Washington, though. They got a lot better.”

Yanecek had a lot working for him. He was confident in his fastball early, which set up his off speed. He only allowed two walks and three hits. He gave a lot of credit to a defense that did not commit an error.

'Knowing our defense was going to make plays, I was not too worried,” Yanecek said.

Prairie brought out its bats, notching 11 hits. Left fielder Trey Beckman led the way with three RBIs and two hits.

'I felt good tonight,” Beckman said. 'Coach told us that the one versus six matchup was always tough. Those guys came in knowing they had nothing to lose. We were happy we got the win.”

Junior infielder Nick Mougin also had a big night at the plate. Mougin added two hits and two RBIs of his own. Junior Tyler Nunemaker added another two RBIs for the team.

Prairie (31-7) will meet the winner of Monday's semifinal between Iowa City West and Ottumwa in Wednesday's final.

For the seniors, a trip to Des Moines would be a moment they would never forget.

'Making it to Principal (Park) our senior year, man that would be special,” Yanecek said. 'All of us have always dreamed of making it there. Now we have to go out and beat Iowa City West. Then hopefully we can make a run at state.”

Cedar Rapids Washington finished 8-27.

l Comments: daniel.vega@thegazettecompany.com