Kennedy shows off its pitching depth

CEDAR RAPIDS – This is how embarrassing the pitching riches are for the Kennedy Cougars.

Neither of their big two threw Monday, and they still won twice handily. And gave up just one run in each game.

This was a day for guys like Blake Hargens and Jackson Behn to get some attention. That's deserved attention.

'I kind of just take that with a grain of salt kind of,” said Hargens, who threw a complete-game two-hitter to beat Cedar Rapids Xavier, 5-1, in the first round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro Baseball Tournament. 'I just keep working to get better. Try and get into the spotlight sometimes. Do what I do, and (accolades) will happen.”

Hargens went 8-1 with a 1.10 earned run average last season for Kennedy, which is top ranked in Class 4A by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. He has signed with Southeastern Community College in Burlington.

The right-hander just kind of gets lost in the shuffle a bit with University of Iowa signee Zach Daniels and Sammy Lizarraga, who has signed with Wabash Valley Community College in Illinois. Junior Behn threw six innings without allowing an earned run in Kennedy's 10-1 semifinal win over Marion.

It's the Cougars and Cedar Rapids Jefferson in Tuesday night's finals. First pitch at Cedar Rapids Washington is 7. Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer wouldn't tip his hand as to who will get the ball on the mound.

'Not sure,” he said. 'We'll see what tomorrow brings.”

Hoyer said this pitching staff might be as deep as any he's had, which really is saying something. The Cougars flashed some solid defense, especially in the outfield, and offense as well.

Kennedy collected five hits in a five-run first inning against Xavier. They broke open a tight game against Marion with a seven-run fifth.

Lizarraga had a two-run home run against Xavier, Jacob Henry a solo shot against Marion. He had three hits and three RBIs.

'We were far from perfect, but we played well,” Hoyer said. 'We did some really good things, put some pressure on them. Our pitching put the pressure on them with strikes. We only had three walks in two games, so we're forcing them to do something on offense. We made enough plays on defense. We didn't make as many as we'd like, but we made enough.”

Marion got to the semifinals with an 8-6 first-round win over Linn-Mar. Maverick Miller had three hits, David Kuhn two hits and two RBIs, also collecting the pitching win.

Six sophomores and two freshmen are on the roster, so this is a very young team.

'For us, the Metro Tournament is basically spring training. We don't take a lot of stock in it,” said Marion Coach Steve Fish. 'It's more about the end of the year. We want to see different guys, we want to see different combinations. We went 1-1 today, and, yeah, that's great. But it's about the record.”

Marion plays Cedar Rapids Prairie for third place Tuesday afternoon at 5 at Washington. The fifth-place game pits Mount Vernon and Linn-Mar at Kennedy at 7. Washington and Xavier play for seventh at 5 p.m. at Kennedy.

Linn-Mar beat Xavier, 8-5, in Monday's other game at Kennedy.

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