Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – A big doubleheader to end a huge week for the City High baseball started with a giant letdown.

The Little Hawks let a late lead slip away in a 7-5 to Class 3A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier in the opening game of a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids.

Alex Knudtson and John Klosterman made sure City High got the type of big-time finish it was looking for in the nightcap.

Knudtson pitched seven strong innings and Klosterman tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning as 4A sixth-ranked City High escaped with a doubleheader split with a 4-3 win in game two.

“We knew this was going to be a big doubleheader,” Klosterman said. “We want to win this conference, we want to win this, make a run to state and we want to win that so we knew this was going to be a big doubleheader. The first one didn’t go our way so we knew we had to do it in the second.”

The win capped a solid 4-2 week for City High (21-7, 17-3) which was coming off a road win over top-ranked Pleasant Valley on Thursday and kept the Little Hawks a game back of MVC Mississippi Division leader Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Cedar Rapids Xavier moved to 16-9 and 13-5 in MVC play, two games behind Valley Division leader Dubuque Hempstead in the loss column.

City High travels to 4A seventh-ranked Dubuque Hempstead (18-5, 13-3) for a doubleheader on Monday.

“Pleasant Valley  was a great win and to bounce back and get this win was big,” City High coach Brian Mitchell said. “We are a little banged up, the season is starting to take a toll on us a little and we’ll have to get some recovery but we have to come right back on Monday with Hempstead.”

City High took an early lead on a Gable Mitchell home run in the first inning of the opener and took a 5-4 lead with two runs in the top of the fifth but saw the Saints scored three unanswered in a 7-5 win.

“We knew this was a big week and we knew this was a big doubleheader and the first game we were definitely very disappointed,” Klosterman said. “We wanted to come back and get that win in the second game.”

City High needed a late rally to pull out the sweep.

Cedar Rapids Xavier took a 2-0 lead on a two-run single by Aiden Henry in the third inning but the Little Hawks battled back.

Klosterman doubled leading off the fourth and scored on an RBI ground out by Cedric Dunnwald.

Xavier got an unearned run in the fourth but City High responded with two runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game at 3-3.

Wolfgang Fullenkamp led off the fifth with a walk and Carter Seaton had an RBI triple off the fence in right field.

Seaton was thrown out at home trying to score on a Gable Mitchell ground ball to third but Mitchell stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error and scored the tying run on a passed ball.

“Something flipped when we were down 3-1,” Klosterman said. “In the middle of the game we started getting locked in and we were making plays and got back in the game.”

Knudtson got better as the game went on.

The sophomore right-hander allowed just three runs, two earned, while striking out eight and walking four.

“We didn’t have the momentum from the first game,” Knudtson said. “Usually when we win the first game we have momentum going in and we didn’t and so I knew I had to go in and really attack the zone and try to get things going.”

Knudtson allowed just three base runners over the final three innings, two coming via walk.

He retired the final five batters he faced, two by strikeout.

“Alex was fantastic,” Mitchell said. “He was better the last inning than he was earlier in the game by far.”

Knudtson relied on some solid defense behind him late in the game.

Joey Bouska threw out Henry at the plate trying to score on a Blake Bohon single to end the fifth and third baseman Gavin Koch made an impressive bare-handed stab and throw of a Myles Butkowski chopper to end the sixth inning.

“Those guys make plays, I know they are going to make plays I’ve watched them my whole life pretty much,” Knudtson said. “I always know they are going to make plays so I try to throw strikes and get ground balls because those guys behind me are some of the best players in the state defensively.”

Klosterman gave City High the lead in the seventh when he tripled down the left field line with two outs and scored two pitches later on a passed ball.

When I was at first I read that it went under his glove and when I was at second I saw he was fumbling with it at the fence so I decided I was going to take the shot at third,” Klosterman said. “Top of the seventh with two outs you have to put pressure on them and make them make plays. When you put pressure on them that leads to good things.”

Knudtson retired the Saints in order in the seventh, striking out Jack Lux looking and getting back-to-back ground outs to shortstop to end the game.

Game 1

City High                   201  020  0  –  5  6  2

CR Xavier                  004  021  x  –  7  7  1

W – Alex Neal                        L – John Klosterman

3B – ICH: Joey Bouska

HR – ICH: Gable Mitchell

Game 2

City High                   000  120  1  –  4  7  1

CR Xavier                  002  100  0  –  3  5  2

W – Alex Knudtson                L – Luke Potter

2B – ICH: Ben Kueter, John Klosterman

3B – ICH: Carter Seaton, John Klosterman

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