Kennedy whips City High, advances to 5A regional final

CEDAR RAPIDS — The hits came early. The hits came often.

The hits came from everybody, everywhere, up and down the lineup.

Fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy jumped on Iowa City High from the start, and rolled to a 12-2, six-inning triumph in a Class 5A softball regional semifinal Saturday night at Kennedy High School.

'We were just stringing them together,' said senior Sydney Kinney, one of five Cougars to post multiple hits (she poked a pair of doubles).

'When someone gets a hit, you know the next person behind them is going to do the job.'

Kennedy (34-7) finished with 14 hits — nine in the first two innings — and advanced to Tuesday's regional final here opposite No. 9 Davenport West (32-8).

The winner advances to the state tournament. Kennedy's last trip to Fort Dodge was in 1999.

'It's a matter of playing to our ability,' Jenna Schwartzhoff said. 'We need to play loose, play our game like we did tonight.'

City High retired at 20-21. It was a season of vast progress for the Little Hawks, an eight-win jump from 2016.

'This is a good group of girls that are ready to put City High softball on the map,' Little Hawks Coach Jeff Koenig said. 'This isn't the way we wanted it to end this year, but it's a lot better than the last couple years.

'We just gave up more than we could come back from.'

Credit Kennedy, which struck for four runs in the first inning. Schwartzhoff got the Cougars on the board with a double to center field, then Camryn Jeffords and Kinney followed with two more RBI doubles to make it 4-0.

City High got within 4-2 on Jayden Young's two-run single in the top of the second, but the Cougars answered with three in the bottom of the frame behind run-scoring singles by Ashley Winterowd, Megan Weber and Jeffords.

Ashley Hamilton, Winterowd, Schwartzhoff, Jeffords and Kinney rapped two hits apiece. Everybody else had one, including Alyssa Martin, whose two-run double in the bottom of the sixth enacted the 10-run rule.

'The past two nights was all situational hitting,' Kennedy Coach Maddison LeClere said. 'What are you going to do if they pitch you down and out? What are they going to do if they pitch you tight?'

The answer Saturday, in all cases, was simple. Hit it hard.

Kaylin Kinney (11-3) pitched the first four innings for Kennedy, allowing four hits. Eighth-grader Jayme Scheck came on in the last two frames and struck out five of the six batters she faced.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 12, IOWA CITY HIGH 2 (6 innings)

Class 5A Regional Semifinal, at C.R. Kennedy

Iowa City High 020 000 — 2 4 2

C.R. Kennedy 430 104 — 12 14 2

Gabrielle Hiatt, Ayana Lindsey (2) and Jayden Young. Kaylin Kinney, Jayme Scheck (5) and Megan Weber. W — Kinney (11-3). L — Hiatt (4-5).

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