Kennedy coach Bret Hoyer reaches 700 wins as Cougars split with City High

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Kennedy head baseball coach Bret Hoyer notched his 700th career victory Friday night as his Cougars beat Iowa City High, 7-3.

In the second game of a double-header between the two teams, the Cougars were powered to a win by three RBIs from Jackson Behn and two from Jacob Henry.

The win carried no special significance for the coach, however.

'It just means I'm old,' Hoyer said.

The Cougars (16-9) have double-headers on Monday and Tuesday, and Hoyer said the win would provide a good rebound heading into that stretch after losing the opener.

Hoyer's players, however, said the milestone said a lot about their head coach.

'It speaks to how good of a coach he is and how long he's been doing it at a consistent level,' Behn said.

The Cougars fell behind 3-1 early in the second game before the bats came alive. Kennedy batted around in the fourth inning to build a 6-3 lead, and added another run in the sixth inning as insurance.

No City High runner advanced past second base after the fifth inning, and Bryce Church struck out the side in the sixth.

Behn, who was 2-for-3 in the second game, echoed his coach's sentiment about the win being a bounceback.

'We can definitely build momentum off this, especially because that was a tough way to lose the first game,' Behn said.

The opener saw a slow start turn into a slugfest late in the game. Facing a 7-4 deficit, the Cougars hung five runs on the Little Hawks in the bottom of the sixth.

Jacob Henry knocked in two RBIs on a double, while Behn added another two with a two-run single.

The Little Hawks battled back, responding with a crooked number of their own in the top of the seventh. Joseph Schnoebelen started the rally with a leadoff walk, and scored on Griffin Fellows' two-run single to tie the game. Dylan Leigh punched in the winning run as the next batter as the Little Hawks took the first game, 10-9.

The Little Hawks dugout was loud during both games, and the City High pitchers pumped their fists with each batter they struck out.

'When we got down there in the game we did a good job of not giving up,' City High's starting pitcher Nile Ringen said. 'It was a really good baseball game between both teams.'

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