Kennedy takes opener; lightning halts nightcap

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Kennedy Cougars couldn't leave their dugout without viewing it. A newspaper article, nearly a year old, on the north wall.

It reminded. It haunted. It motivated.

Thursday's 1-0 triumph over Cedar Rapids Prairie in the first game of Mississippi Valley Conference softball doubleheader didn't wipe away the sting of last year's regional-final loss to the Hawks.

But ...

'It still feels really good,' freshman Kaylin Kinney said. 'They're a great team, and it's always good to get a good win off a good pitcher and a good team.'

Kinney gave herself all the run support she needed, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Game 2 was suspended after a lengthy lightning delay. It will be resumed from the point of stoppage — 0-0, top of the second, one out — at 6 p.m. Monday.

Kennedy was ranked No. 1 at the end of last season. But the Hawks shocked them in the regional finals, and advanced to the state tournament.

The game story from that upset was next to the dugout entrance, complete with a photo of Prairie jubilation.

Thursday's outcome moved the Class 5A eighth-rated Cougars to 17-4 overall, 11-4 in the MVC. They're a half-game behind Iowa City High in the Valley Division race, and host the Little Hawks on Tuesday, a day after their twinbill with No. 15 Prairie (15-7, 10-5) is concluded.

A University of Nebraska recruit, Kinney prevailed in a pitchers' duel with Prairie's Natalie Halvorson, allowing just one hit and striking out nine.

'Everything was working pretty well,' Kinney said. 'I was trying to mix it up — speeds and locations — and keep them off their toes.'

Halvorson fanned eight and scattered five hits. But Kinney's blast — a 230-footer that banged off the roof of the concession stand in right-center field — was the difference.

'I was looking for a pitch to drive,' Kinney said. 'It was up in the zone, and I was able to drive it the opposite field.'

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 1, CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE 0

At C.R. Kennedy

C.R. Prairie 000 000 0 — 0 1 1

C.R. Kennedy 100 000 x — 1 5 1

Natalie Halvorson and Hunter Dietrich. Kaylin Kinney and Megan Weber. W — Kinney (5-2). L — Halvorson (9-5). HR — CRK: Kinney (10).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com