Saints hold on to topple Hempstead

DUBUQUE - All Cedar Rapids Xavier senior pitcher Jared Kraus could do was sit back and have some faith.As things got interesting, Kraus didn't bite his fingernails off. They're still intact.That faith paid off.Kraus led the Saints (24-18) to a 3-2 win over Dubuque Hempstead last night at Petrakis Park, sending Xavier into a Class 4A Substate 3 final at top-seeded Cedar Rapids Washington on Wednesday at 7 p.m.After pitching a marvelous six innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five, Kraus turned over a 3-1 lead to Jon Keller in relief, who let the Mustangs crawl within 3-2 before wrapping it up.“They came out here swinging the bats,” said Krause, who kept the Mustangs (24-12) off-balance all night with his curveball and change-up. “I just trusted my catcher, trusted Jon, and got the job done.”After three errors allowed Hempstead to take a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Kraus and the Saints kept their composure. “Jared didn't let it get to him,” said Saints Coach Dave Schemmel. “In the past that's really flustered him, but tonight he settled down and took care of it the rest of the way. It was a super job by him.”All-MVC catcher Mike Andries got the Saints on the board in the third, belting a solo home run that was aided by Mustangs right fielder Shawn McGinnis, bouncing off the top of McGinnis' glove to carry over the fence.Keller and Ryan Sander added RBI singles to give Xavier a 3-1 lead.Now the Saints must get past Washington (31-8), a team they're 0-3 against so far this season.“We're playing the best baseball so far yet this season,” said Krause. “We just got to have the hitting and pitching, the timely hits, and hopefully we'll pull it off.”It's going to take doing the simple things right to pull off the upset.We won't score runs in bunches,” Schemmel said.“We just have to score runs when we have guys in scoring position. Maybe we'll sneak one in on Wednesday. It'd be nice.”