Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – With a 20-21 record 2017 goes down statistically as a losing season for City High.

In reality, the season was anything but a loss for the Little Hawks.

City High had an impressive turnaround season come to an end on Saturday in the Class 5A Region 7 semifinals with a 12-2 six-inning loss to fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy (34-7) in Cedar Rapids.

A third loss to Kennedy in less than three weeks wasn’t the end City High was looking for on Saturday but it didn’t take the shine of a season of big-time growth for the young Little Hawks.

City High went from seven wins in 2015 and 12 last season to 20 in the third season under head coach Jeff Koenig.

“I’m proud of this team, I couldn’t be more proud in my third year,” Koenig said. “It’s not where we want to end up but it’s a lot better than we’ve done the past two years.”

The 20 wins for City High this season equaled the most for the program since 2012.

City High set single-season records for home runs (28) and doubles (75) while winning more than 12 games for the first time in three seasons.

“We did a lot of great things and you have to remember that,” Koenig said. “It takes one second to remember negative things in your life but we want to remember the positives, the home run record, a doubles record 20 wins, we hadn’t seen 20 wins at City High in a lot of years.”

On Saturday it was just too much Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

The Cougars scored seven runs in the first two innings to take an early lead it would never give up.

Kennedy had five doubles among its 14 hits on Saturday while advancing to the Region 7 title game where it will host ninth-ranked Davenport West on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“We had played City High twice and we had seen both of their pitchers already once and so we had an idea of what types of pitches they were going to throw so we worked down and outs, we worked an inside screwball and we worked sitting on changeups,” Cedar Rapids Kennedy coach Maddison LeClere said. “I think a majority of the success was just being prepared for what we knew was going to come at us.”

City High didn’t go without a fight.

After Kennedy scored four runs with two-outs in the first inning City High cut the lead in half on a two-run single by sophomore Jayden Young in the second inning.

Trailing 7-2, City High loaded the bases in the third inning but couldn’t score and failed to get a base runner in the final three innings.

“We loaded the bases the next inning and just couldn’t find that one hit,” Koenig said. “It was one of those nights where we just gave up more than what we could come back from and you are going to have those nights and you hope that it’s not in your regional game.”

Perhaps the biggest positive for City High this season was who expects to return next year.

The Little Hawks had just two seniors in their starting lineup on Saturday in Ellie Dixon and Gabi Hiatt.

City High started eight underclassmen on Saturday including three eighth-graders and two freshmen.

“This is just more motivation for next year,” eight-grader Ella Cook said. “This was a learning year for us so I think next year we will be willing to take it to the next level.”

Cook joins fellow eighth-graders Carey Koenig and Ayana Lindsey and freshmen Sydney Fellows and Brook Bormann as returning players that hit over .300.

That list has the Little Hawks looking forward to another big jump next season.

“I’m not sure what year but I know that we will make it to Fort Dodge, I truly believe that,” Koenig said. “This is just the start and each year we are just going to keep getting better.”

Fellows had two hits and Carey Koenig and Young each had one hit on Saturday.

City High finished with four hits but scored more runs (2) in six innings than it did in 14 innings (1) in a regular season sweep against Kennedy.

“We got better as the season went on for sure,” Carey Koenig said. “We set the home run record, we set the doubles record. We’ve had a lot more positives than negatives this year.”

City High       020  000  0  –   2    4   2

CR Kennedy 430  104  x  –  12  14  2

W – Kaylin Kinney                 L – Gabi Hiatt

2B – CRK: Jenna Schwartzhoff, Camryn Jeffords, Sydney Kinney, Ashley Hamilton, Alyssa Martin.