No. 2 Kennedy piles up the hits against Washington

CEDAR RAPIDS — Tianna Drahn's trademark is the soft slap.

'I'm going to keep doing it until they take it away,' she said. 'Then I can go to something more powerful.'

Drahn did both with equal effectiveness Tuesday night, collecting seven hits (including a pair of doubles) and scoring five times as Class 5A second-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy swept Cedar Rapids Washington, 12-2 and 10-3, in a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header at Kennedy High School.

The first game lasted five innings.

Kennedy (23-1 overall, 17-1 MVC) extended its winning streak to 11 games heading into Thursday's showdown at Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The Cougars have made staggering strides in Dan Gratz's three years, but they haven't yet solved the J-Hawks.

'There are still some things we need to check off our list, and that's one of them,' Gratz said.

Kennedy entered Tuesday's play with a robust .450 team batting average, which ranks second in all classes and No. 1 in 5A. No doubt, that mark rose some more after a 30-hit assault Tuesday.

'We've got a little of everything,' said Drahn, who will play next year at the University of Northern Iowa. 'We don't have hitters looking for home runs. It's all about getting on base and stringing hits together.'

The deep drives do occur more than periodically, though. Paige Timmerman got the Cougars on the board with a two-run homer in the first inning of Game 1, then Megan Weber lined a laser just inside the left-field foul pole for her 11th round-tripper of the season, a three-run shot that made it 8-2.

Leading 2-1 in the nightcap, the Cougars struck for six runs on six hits in the bottom of the third to break it open. Drahn started it with a double, then Sydney Kinney highlighted it with a two-run triple.

'This team makes adjustments better than anybody I've seen,' Gratz said. 'It usually just takes a couple pitches.'

All nine of the Cougars had at least one hit Tuesday, led by Drahn's seven. Weber and Ashley Hamilton added five each and combined for eight RBIs.

Grace Stockmaster drove in three runs for Washington (10-13, 7-11).

Kennedy was without eighth-grade pitcher Kaylin Kinney, who 'tweaked a knee' recently, according to Gratz.

'If this was a playoff game, she would have been in there,' he said.

CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY 12-10, CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON 2-3 (1st, 5)

At C.R. Kennedy

Game 1

C.R. Washington 002 00 — 2 5 3

C.R. Kennedy 131 43 — 12 16 1

Payton Bruner and Anne Riley. Jenna Schwartzhoff and Peyton Baskerville. W — Schwartzhoff (9-1). L — Bruner (6-7). HR — CRK: Paige Timmerman (2), Megan Weber (11).

Game 2

C.R. Washington 001 001 1 — 3 8 2

C.R. Kennedy 206 101 x — 10 14 2

Grace Stockmaster and Jessi Puk. Ashley Winterowd and Megan Weber. W — Winterowd (7-0). L — Stockmaster (1-3). HR — CRW: Payton Bruner (2).

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