Fifth-ranked J-Hawks blank No. 6 Kennedy, 4-0

CEDAR RAPIDS – Embroiled in a scoreless top-10 showdown with sixth-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Cedar Rapids Jefferson bided its time until the Cougars made a mistake.

Then the J-Hawks swooped in.

Class 4A No. 5 Jefferson used three Kennedy errors to produce a four-run fourth inning, while pitcher Spencer Van Scoyoc struck out seven in a 4-0 J-Hawks' victory in a Mississippi Valley Conference baseball game Monday at the Jefferson Baseball Complex.

'We put the ball in play and luckily it bounced right for us tonight,” Jefferson Coach Kyle Rodenkirk said. 'Defensively and pitching-wise, we played pretty good baseball tonight.”

Junior Tyler Roeder doubled into the right-field corner to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning for Jefferson. After an intentional walk to Van Scoyoc and a bunt single by Lucas Larson loaded the bases with no outs, junior Manny Olutunde's line drive skipped under the glove of Kennedy shortstop Zach Daniels, scoring two runs. Olutunde advanced on a wild pitch and scored a batter later on another Cougar fielding miscue. The J-Hawks tacked on one more for a 4-0 advantage.

'You've got to capitalize on that whenever you can because they're a great team,” Van Scoyoc said. 'They usually don't make those errors.”

Kennedy finished with five errors.

The junior Van Scoyoc – an Arizona State commit – limited the Cougars to four hits without a walk. Sensing that Kennedy was looking for his curveball, Van Scoyoc effectively leaned on his changeup early in counts.

'Tonight was really the first time I had my changeup working this summer,” Van Scoyoc said.

Van Scoyoc (5-1, 0.65 earned run average) recently returned from a trip to Florida and North Carolina to participate in both the Perfect Game National Showcase and Team USA tryouts.

'It was fun, I learned a lot of stuff out there,” Van Scoyoc said. 'The talent there is above anything else you see, so it was eye-opening.”

Jefferson (25-6, 17-4 MVC) won for the sixth time in a row since being swept at Linn-Mar in a June 29 doubleheader. The J-Hawks remain two games ahead of second-place Iowa City West for the Valley Division lead.

'It's all about how you rebound from it,” Rodenkirk said. 'It's just the same thing in life. How do you rebound from what you've got. The boys responded well. They're ready to end the season up on a high note.”

Daniels – an Iowa signee – led Kennedy (20-7, 11-6 MVC) with two hits. In arguably his best outing this season, Kennedy pitcher Jacob Henry (2-1) surrendered just three hits along with the four unearned runs in seven innings.

The teams play again Tuesday at Kennedy.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com