No. 2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy sweeps No. 3 Iowa City High in big MVC baseball twinbill

CEDAR RAPIDS — It was sort of the Jacob Doyle nightcap. It was definitely the Cedar Rapids Kennedy doubleheader.

Class 4A’s second-ranked team by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association swept No. 3 Iowa City High, 11-1 and 8-7, on a humid Monday night at Kennedy’s Herkelman Field.

The first game lasted just six innings via 10-run rule, as Kennedy hit early, often and repeatedly. The second game saw Doyle stabilize things on the mound in relief and eventually pick up the come-from-behind victory thanks to his own three-run double to left-center field in the fifth inning that turned a 4-3 deficit into a 6-4 Kennedy advantage.

A couple more runs came across in that deciding five-run fifth, and the Cougars hung on to improve their season record to 16-1. City High fell to 14-4.

“I just tried to go out there and do my job,” said Doyle, a junior. “Throw strikes and take quality at-bats. (Assistant) Coach (Jake) Nauman always says to take quality at-bats and don’t get yourself out, and swing at pitches you need to swing at. You know, that hit that I had, I got my base wide, like Coach (Bret) Hoyer always says, and just try and chop at it with your hands.”

Doyle’s bases-clearing double was the other way to the gap in left-center field and against a fellow lefty in City High reliever Jake Mitchell. It came on a 1-2 breaking ball.

“We had guys on base, and I had to get them home,” Doyle said.

“Make them play all seven innings. Play all seven innings. See what happens,” said Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer. “Fortunately Jacob Doyle came in and gave us some great innings on the mound, and we made some plays on defense. At the plate, we did what we’ve done all year ... Three-run double was huge. He’s had some big hits for us since he was a freshman. He understands how to play the game. He’s a Doyle.”

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Matthew Stoltenberg got the final five outs of Game 2 in relief of Doyle, striking out four guys and getting a foul pop that sophomore catcher Brady Dill caught to end it. Stoltenberg also had a pair of run-scoring doubles.

In Game 1, he had a run-scoring triple in a four-run first inning and an RBI single in a three-run second. Kennedy ran to a 10-0 lead, saw City High’s Jaxton Schroeder extend the game with a two-out solo home run in the fifth, then finished it in the sixth on Owen Anderson’s RBI single.

“It’s a big deal for us, because they are the No. 3-ranked team in the state and we’re No. 2,” Stoltenberg said. “We knew what we were getting ourselves into tonight. They have a great pitching staff, and we have the bats. It was a great battle tonight. So much fun coming into the games. Pitching late, it was an electric atmosphere.”

Nolan Grawe, Stoltenberg, Colton Duerling and Anderson each had two hits in the opener for Kennedy. Grant Mather pitched all six innings for the win, allowing two hits and a run, striking out four.

Mitchell had two hits, two runs and an RBI for City High in the nightcap.

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Photos: Iowa City High at Cedar Rapids Kennedy baseball

“Huge confidence boost for our hitters, in particular,” Hoyer said. “We have so much respect for City High’s pitching and defense. I feel like our hitters learned a lot about themselves. They’re going to have some good at-bats to replay mentally. Hopefully it’ll pay off down the road.”

“I think it helps us maintain, beating one of the top teams in the state,” Doyle said. “It highlights our hitting ability. We have a great roster, and great guys all up and down the lineup. Last year, I think City High swept us, and it feels great to come in and get two wins.”

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