Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

To be totally clear there was absolutely nothing slow about the way that City High or its junior standout Ayana Lindsey started the season.

Lindsey hit .500 over the first six games of the season as City High opened the year 5-1.

Fine production to be sure but for a team ranked second in Class 5A in the preseason and a player considered among the best in the state the start left City High and Lindsey wanting more.

“At first, to start the season I definitely felt more stress,” Lindsey said. “I was a little more tense than I had been before for sure.”
The breakthrough for both City High and Lindsey came in a win over third-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the second game of a doubleheader last week.

After dropping the opener to the Cougars 2-1 Lindsey had a pair of homers and drove in five runs in a 12-1 win in the nightcap.

That three-hit performance by Lindsey in the game-two win over Kennedy seemed to serve as a sort of stress reliever for everyone at City High.

“I think we were trying a little bit too hard that second game we sulked on it a little bit and we were a little mad but we knew we couldn’t lose that second one,” Lindsey said. “We had to come back and try even harder but have fun and relax.”
The win over Kennedy in the nightcap started a seven-game winning streak for No. 4 City High (12-2) which is averaging 11.6 runs per game since scoring a season-low one in the opener with the Cougars.

It also ignited a week-long hot streak for Lindsey in which the Northwestern recruit has demonstrated why she is widely considered one of the top all-around talents in Iowa.

“She put a lot of pressure on herself and she kind of let it all go that night against Kennedy,” City High coach Jeff Koenig said. “She’s just in a different zone now.”

Lindsey is hitting .609 with six home runs in her last eight games.

She has scored 17 runs and driven in 14 more during that eight-game stretch that has seen Lindsey climb into a tie for the state lead in home runs with eight.

“I thought it was going to take a little bit of time this season to get going, I wish it wouldn’t have but it has taken a little time but I’m grateful for that,” Lindsey said. “It has helped me learn to overcome some of the difficulties that I’ve had so it’s been a good experience.”

Lindsey has been even more impressive in the pitching circle during the Little Hawks’ seven-game winning streak.

Since allowing a solo home run in the sixth inning of the game-one loss to Cedar Rapids Kennedy Lindsey has notched 20 scoreless innings.

She is 5-0 during that span allowing just nine hits while striking out 28 over those 20 innings.

“The thing I noticed is when she let that pressure go and her hitting took off her pitching has now been a little better and she looks a little more comfortable,” Koenig said. “She let it all go and is playing the game she loves to play it.”

Not surprisingly City High has surged behind the play of Lindsey.

The Little Hawks have scored double digit runs five times in its past seven games and posted three shutouts during that span.

“It’s been very different without as much practice as last year and having less time together,” Lindsey said. “We are starting to get it slowly but surely.”

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