Prairie relaxes, rallies, stuns Kennedy

CEDAR RAPIDS – Sometimes you've got to use a little basketball strategy to be successful in baseball.

That's why Todd Rima decided to take a timeout, of sorts, midway through Cedar Rapids Prairie's game Monday night against Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

It really wasn't a timeout. The head coach just pulled his entire team together between innings for a quick chat in an attempt to get them to regroup and relax.

'I think we were so excited to play against a great team at our place, we were too excited,” Rima said, after his Hawks rallied and walked-off Class 4A's fourth-ranked team, 6-5. 'We needed to calm down and play. You are not going to play against a team of that quality if you are trying to do things that you can't do. Once we took a deep breath and just played, we started executing a little better.”

Prairie (9-1) came back from a 5-1 hole, scoring once in the fifth inning, three times in the sixth and winning it on Corbin Day's run-scoring single to right field with none out in the seventh. It was a stirring and unexpected comeback.

'We knew we could come back,” said Prairie's Tyler Nunemaker. 'Just chip away slowly and surely. Not (get it) all in one inning, just little by little. We did it.”

Nunemaker hit a two-run home run off Kennedy starting pitcher Blake Hargens in the sixth to make it a 5-4 game. Later in the inning, Jalen Rima tied it on a daring and perfectly executed two-out, bases-loaded drag bunt down the third-base line.

Trey Beckman ripped a leadoff double to the right-center gap against losing pitcher Jackson Behn leading off the Prairie seventh. An intentional walk and unintentional walk loaded them up, then Day dumped his winner the other way over first base.

He was mobbed by teammates as he rounded the bag.

'People got on base, gave me the opportunity,” Day said. 'I went up there looking right field. We're playing Prairie baseball right now. Let's go. I'm excited.”

Kennedy (6-4) appeared to grab control with a four-run third inning against Prairie starter Drew Yanecek. Tyler Dralle had a two-run double in the frame.

But Keegan Sanborn relieved Yanecek and threw up nothing but zeroes to allow the comeback to happen. Jared Street actually picked up the win by getting the final out of the top of the seventh.

Kennedy senior standout Jimmy Lizarraga left the game early after injuring his back diving for a ball at first base. It's been that kind of season in the early going for the Cougars, who were preseason top-ranked in 4A and seem to be getting everyone's best shot.

The teams play again Tuesday night at Kennedy.

'If five runs aren't good enough to win, it's going to be a tough year for us,” said Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer.

'I think we definitely put a word out of what we are capable of,” Nunemaker said. 'We have to keep it going throughout the rest of this week because we've got some tough games.”

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