Cedar Rapids Prairie baseball coach James Nelson was asked recently who he considered to be the MVP of a Hawks team that plays Tuesday afternoon at the state baseball tournament in Sioux City. He answered Kamren Francois, a senior shortstop hitting .455 and heading to play college ball at Southeastern Community College in Burlington.
State softball: Emma Eekhoff keeps Cedar Rapids Xavier off balance (no-hitter through 6 innings), and Pella stuns the top-ranked Saints, 5-1, in a Class 4A first-rounder.
State softball: Words aren’t easy to get from Linn-Mar pitcher Emily Koranda. Runs, even more difficult.
Iowa clearly has held the upper hand in its annual rivalry against Nebraska, but the Huskers have showed steady improvement in recent seasons.
Capsules on the nine Gazette area teams that have qualified for the Iowa high school state softball tournament, plus predictions for each class.
East Buchanan claimed its first state baseball tournament berth. Camaraderie and and strong bonds powered the Buccaneers to a historic finish.
Capsules on the seven Gazette area teams that qualified for the Iowa High School Athletic Association state baseball tournament. Read our finalist predictions.
Relief pitcher Nick Trabacchi of the Cedar Rapids Kernels is 26 years old. He threw collegiately at Maryland-Baltimore County and Division II Shepherd, not exactly big-time programs. He then spent four years in independent leagues, finally getting his shot in affiliated ball in late May when the Minnesota Twins signed him.
Jones sparkled in NBA Summer League for Nuggets, averaging 14.6 points and shooting 47 percent from deep.
Poncho Ruiz began this baseball season for low-Class A Fort Myers, promoted to the Cedar Rapids Kernels in late May. His steadiness, especially defensively, has been a boon for the Kernels. Ruiz, 23, is from Tijuana, Mexico, traveling across the border each day to attend high school in Chula Vista, California.
Buchanan will serve as a critical component for a revamped Cyclones frontcourt anchored by returning star Joshua Jefferson and augmented by fellow transfer Eric Mulder along with talented freshman Dominykas Pleta and Xzavion Mitchell.
Iowa offensive lineman Kade Pieper won his second-straight Beef Days Hay Bale Toss, but as always, a good time was had by all.
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