Service by day, then a sweep at night

MARION - Their morning lifting session had nothing to do with barbells or squats.

Instead, it was trees and strewn shingles and assorted debris.

And in the process, they helped lift a community.

The Jefferson J-Hawks spent their morning cleaning up their neighborhood after Monday night's storm. Their evening? They swept Linn-Mar 10-1 and 5-2 at Oak Ridge Middle School to maintain first place in the MVC Mississippi Division softball standings.

'I'll sleep good tonight,” Maddie Hansen said after her three-run double broke a 2-all tie in the sixth inning of the nightcap. 'We were lifting some big trees this morning.”

A severe storm battered the west side of Cedar Rapids late Monday night, including the area around Jefferson High School. Diamond 2 of the softball complex was badly damaged, and a number of homes in the vicinity took a hard hit.

The J-Hawks were slated for a practice. It changed to a three-hour shift of community service.

'We knocked on doors and asked what we could do to help,” said senior Katelyn Holub. 'A lot of (homeowners) were crying and hugging us. They were very thankful.”

Jefferson Coach Brian Erbe said, 'We didn't do it just as a feel-good event. Some of the the folks in that area have been watching Jefferson softball for 30-40 years. A lot of them are Jefferson alums. This was something the girls wanted to do.”

More than 30 players took part in the cleanup.

'We saw pictures of Diamond 2, so we knew we'd be cleaning that up,” Holub said. 'Then once we got there, we saw damage to some of the homes. We knew we had to do something to help.”

The morning labor didn't hinder the Class 5A fourth-rated J-Hawks (16-4 overall, 11-3 MVC) Tuesday night. They broke the first game open with a five-run fifth inning (snapping a 1-1 tie), then spotted the Lions (15-6, 11-5) a 2-0 lead in the second game before striking for five runs in the top of the sixth.

'We're close to being a good team,” said Lions Coach John Begley. 'Our six losses, we've been in every game. We've got to be able to finish.”

Hansen was 5-of-7 in the twinbill, capping it with the tie-breaking blast that nearly reached the 225-foot fence in left field.

'I knew I had to come through,” she said. 'I knew there wasn't any place for them to put me; they had to pitch to me.”

The first game was deadlocked at 1-1 before Erin Kuba hit a run-scoring single, then Emily Walton and Hannah Towns followed with two-run hits.

Jefferson then added a run in the sixth and three in the seventh.

C.R. JEFFERSON 10, LINN-MAR 1 (Game 1)

C.R. Jefferson 100 051 3 - 10 15 0

Linn-Mar 010 000 0 - 1 6 3

Alyssa Olson and Maddie Hansen. Maddy Ryan, Elison Ollinger (6) and Christina Lincoln. W - Olson (7-4). L - Ryan (11-4).

C.R. JEFFERSON 5, LINN-MAR 2 (Game 2)

C.R. Jefferson 000 005 0 - 5 9 3

Linn-Mar 000 110 0 - 2 4 0

Alissa Good and Maddie Hansen. Maddy Ryan and Christina Lincoln. W - Good (7-0). L - Ryan (11-5).

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net