Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The expectation entering the season was for Alex Knudtson to help the City High pitching staff.

Through the first few weeks of the season that is exactly what the sophomore right-hander had done.

Coming off a freshman season in which he logged 7 1/3 varsity innings over two relief appearances Knudtson settled into a groove early this season as one of the first options out of the City High bullpen.

“We knew Alex could be very good,” City High coach Brian Mitchell said. “He was up with some last year, so we’ve had expectations that he would help us and he has done way more than I thought he would.”

The breakthrough for Knudtson came earlier this month against Class 4A fourth-ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie

In his first career start Knudtson tossed a complete game one-hitter against the Hawks and hasn’t slowed down since, posting wins in each of his three varsity starts.

“The Prairie game for him was a huge step, he was locked in,” Mitchell said. “He was so focused on the task at hand and he was a competitor. I think he grew up that night.”

Against a Prairie team that hadn’t been shutout all season before that night, Knudtson struck out six and allowed just two baserunners on a hit and walk.

Knudtson allowed a one-out single in the first inning and a one-out walk in the third before retiring the final 14 batters he faced.

“There was a turning point mid-game when I really locked in,” Knudtson said. “I started throwing strikes and I knew if I stayed relaxed and threw strikes it was going to hard for teams to hit me.”

The confidence that Knudtson built in his first varsity start hasn’t wavered.

He followed with four shutout innings in a five-inning win over Linn-Mar and tossed a complete game in a 4-3 win over 3A seventh-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier last Friday.

“That Prairie game was huge, it gave me a lot of confidence,” Knudtson said. “That was my first real start in the last two years pretty much and I didn’t know I was going to start until the day before. I was just trying to relax, throw strikes and let my defense make plays.

Knudtson was excellent against the Saints on Friday allowing just three runs, two earned, on five hits while striking out a career-high eight.

On the season Knudtson boasts a team-best 1.08 ERA and 1.00 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .165 against the right-hander.

Knudtson has allowed four earned runs and 15 hits in 26 innings while striking out 25.

“He has been fantastic,” Mitchell said. “His velocity has continued to tick up maybe even from the spring to where he is now but he gets in the mode out there and he competes.”

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