Kennedy, Xavier split season-opening series

CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Kennedy's Megan Weber knows a thing or two about power hitting.

Actually, the whole of the Cougars do. As a team, Kennedy hit four home runs against Cedar Rapids Xavier on Tuesday night. Weber had two of those and seems already on her way to topping the 13 she had last season.

The Cougars split two games with Cedar Rapids Xavier. The Saints took game one 11-8, while Kennedy took the second 4-1.

Both games were exactly what one would expect from early-season softball — sloppy at times, but plenty of flashes from both squads.

Kennedy got itself in a 5-0 hole after a couple miscues in the first inning of the first game, but a three-run shot from Kaylin Kinney tightened the game up. It would stay 5-3 until the top of the fifth, when an RBI double from the Saints' Olivia Richards pushed the lead to four.

In the bottom of the inning, however, Kennedy took the lead. An infield hit from Ashley Winterowd followed by a two-RBI double from Ashley Hamilton tied the game. Weber followed those up with a towering shot to left field that nearly landed in the soccer field and gave them an 8-6 lead, their first of the day.

But Xavier had the last laugh, as Charlotte Richards put the Saints up 9-8, an advantage they didn't relinquish. Two more Xavier insurance runs brought it to the final score.

'We can't always rely on the long ball, but it sure is nice when it comes,' Kennedy Coach Maddison LeClere said. 'We have some hitting we need get to and some errors we need to cut down on, but for the first game I'm proud of them.'

The second game was a pitchers' duel, as Kinney threw an absolute gem, allowing just a single run. Xavier's Ellie Malecek threw a decent game as well, but gave up two of the aforementioned home runs — though both were single shots, one from Weber — which ended up sinking the Saints.

'You just try and do it for the team,' Weber said. 'I just saw the pitch and they just happened to go over.'

Weber broke things open for the Cougars with a shot in the fourth, which tied the game at 1-all. A single ,an infield hit and an error was the recipe for a second run, while an RBI single from Natalie Blank pushed the lead to 3-1.

A single shot from Hamilton in the bottom of the fifth was the final run for the Cougars.

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