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Cedar Rapids Kennedy survives challenge from Pleasant Valley in 4A state baseball quarterfinal win
Cougars score 4 in the bottom of the 6th to post 6-3 victory
Jul. 23, 2024 5:27 pm, Updated: Jul. 24, 2024 12:57 pm
CEDAR RAPIDS — Cedar Rapids Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer learned nothing new.
He has known the toughness and resilience of these Cougars. So, when Pleasant Valley threatened to put an end to their season, Hoyer wasn’t surprised by their response.
“This is just the way they are,” Hoyer said. “They find a way. They never stop believing in one another.
“They didn’t show me anything I hadn’t seen from them before and just thrilled so many other people got to see what I’ve been seeing the last couple years.”
Top-ranked Kennedy (34-4) rallied for four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and posted a 6-3 comeback victory over the Spartans in a Class 4A state baseball quarterfinal Tuesday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Cougars advance to the state semifinals for the 10th time in school history and the first since 2015.
Grant Mather played a crucial role in the Cougars’ 34th win of the season. He pitched six innings with six strikeouts for the win, improving to 11-1. He also batted 2-for-3 with timely hits that drove in three runs. Mather helped the team and himself.
“The pitching was good up until the sixth inning,” Mather said. “Just being able to go out there and get the job done at the plate, especially while I’m pitching, is huge. Help yourself out is always a nice thing to do.”
Kennedy was in control most of the game but found itself in a hole with two at-bats remaining. Pleasant Valley (20-18) rallied for three in the sixth, receiving a three-run double down the left-field line from Finnley Martinolich.
“I was sitting on another off-speed pitch,” Martinolich said. “I sat back on it and pulled it. Just got a good one.”
The Cougars were unfazed. They have one of the top offenses in the state and didn’t lack confidence in a late comeback.
“It doesn’t matter if our No. 9 hitter is up or our No. 1 hitter is up, we’re going to start a rally,” Kennedy’s Nolan Grawe said. “We knew we were going to have to score a couple runs anyway. What showed in the bottom of the sixth was typical Kennedy baseball right there.”
Leadoff hitter Ty Donels sparked the winning rally with a single. Grawe was walked. Mather came to the plate with one out. He smacked an opposite-field double to left center, bringing in Donels and Grawe to reclaim the lead.
“I was hunting that curveball,” Mather said. “He threw it to me. I got a good piece of it and put it where I wanted.”
“We feel the hits are going to come,” Hoyer said. “When they come, we have to keep playing. Grant caught a barrel. The pitcher made a little bit of a mistake up in the zone and he made him pay for it.”
A walk and hit batsman loaded the bases again. Jacob Doyle came to the plate and fought off multiple pitches before driving one to the right-field warning track for a sacrifice fly to extend Kennedy’s lead. He was determined to record a quality at-bat.
“I was thinking choke up, get a wide base and look for your pitch,” Doyle said. “In that case, it was just about every pitch. I was trying to fight off anything I couldn’t get in play. Just make sure if I was going to get out it was for a good cause, like getting an RBI or something like that.”
Mather’s courtesy runner, Jackson Popelka, tagged and scored from third, but that wasn’t all. The right fielder fell after making the catch. Colton Duerling tagged at second and didn’t break stride as Hoyer waved him home, beating the throw and completing a rare two-run sacrifice fly.
“That’s the first I’ve ever seen,” Hoyer said. “It helps when the outfielder falls down and we’re in a really big park. That ball might be gone in most high school parks.
“With the wind carrying and carrying it, when he fell over and the speed that Colton Duerling has, I felt we were already playing with house money so let’s go ahead and take a shot.”
Mather also came through in the fourth, breaking a scoreless tie with a single that scored Grawe. Popelka ran for Mather and stole third, scampering home on the errant throw for a 2-0 edge.
The Cougars are on the prowl for their second state title and first since 2010. They play for one another and the team-first mentality feeds into the resilience on display in the quarterfinals.
“We have 10 seniors on this team,” Grawe said. “We’ve all been playing since we were little. We all want this so bad. We just have to keep it rolling.”
Cedar Rapids Kennedy 6, Pleasant Valley 3
CLASS 4A QUARTERFINAL
Pleasant Valley 000-003-0 - - 3-8-1
C.R. Kennedy 000-204-x -- 6-5-1
Lincoln Dalton and Evan Barr. Grant Mather, Matthew Stoltenberg (7) and Trevor Scott. W - Mather (11-1). L - Dalton (8-2). 2B - PV: Martinolich; CRK: Mather.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com
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