Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – Strong pitching and flawless defense can take a baseball team a long way.

Currently that combination has City High riding an eight-game winning streak.

Four pitchers combined to throw 14 shutout innings and City High played errorless defense posting wins of 3-0 and 4-0 in a doubleheader sweep of Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-11) on Friday at Mercer Park in Iowa City.

“That’s how we win, we go out there and throw strikes and we get a lot of weak contact and our defense is the best in the state,” City High senior Jake Mitchell said. “We put time in day in and day out on the infield and outfield and that defensive work is how we win ball games.”

Mitchell and Johannes Boevers each tossed five scoreless innings to pick up wins as Class 4A sixth-ranked City High pushed its winning streak to eight and improved to 21-4 with the doubleheader sweep.

Mitchell allowed just one hit and fanned seven in a 3-0 City High win in the opener.

Boevers followed by tossing five efficient innings in the Little Hawk’s 4-0 win in the nightcap allowing just four hits and one walk while striking out one.

“At the start of the year it was stellar pitching, great defense and play for one run and go from there,” Boevers said. “Now we are starting to get the bats going, we are getting more extra base hits, we are putting up more runs and that’s been a boost for sure.”

Talon Young and Max Waldschimidt each worked two scoreless innings of relief as four City High hurlers combined to allow just five hits in the doubleheader shutout.

“That’s exactly the recipe,” City High coach Brian Mitchell said. “We pitch really, really well and we have a ton of pitching depth, we knew that was going to be our number one strength and on defense we have athletes.”

Since being swept in a doubleheader by 4A top-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy on June 3 City High has won eight straight while posting five shutouts.

After allowing a combined 19 runs in the doubleheader loss to the Cougars the Little Hawks have allowed a total of nine runs during their current eight-game winning streak.

“I think that might have been the best thing that’s happened to us,” Jake Mitchell said. “It opened our eyes to where we need to be and where we need to get and it’s helped us work even harder.”

Mitchell was sharp in the opener.

The senior left-hander allowed one hit, a one-out single in the third, walked four and hit a batter before giving way to Talon Young who worked two hitless innings of relief.

“My off speed was good,” Mitchell said. “I was moving the ball and changing speeds and that’s how I was able to get outs today.”

City High got all the offense  it needed in the opener with a three-run third inning.

Aidan Wetmore drew a leadoff walk and Carsen Newton reached on an error before Kael Kurtz delivered a two-run single to left field.

Kurtz scored on sacrifice fly by Dom Salibi.

“Our bats were better tonight as a whole,” Brian Mitchell said. “Their first pitcher is really tough and just getting a guy on base getting the walk to Wetmore was big for us getting him out of his rhythm.”

Boevers spun his own gem in game two.

The senior lefty allowed two hits in the first inning of the nightcap but allowed just three baserunners over the next four innings.

Max Waldschmidt struck out three in two perfect innings of relief in game two.

“I think that my fastball, especially after I made an adjustment was good and my slider is a pitch I can really rely on,” Boevers said. “Being able to throw that in any count was definitely good today.”

The first three Little Hawks to come to the plate in the nightcap scored as City High jumped to a 3-0 lead it would never give up.

Kael Kurtz and Jake Mitchell opened the game with back-to-back singles and scored on an opposite field triple by Salibi.

Salibi scored on a Jaxton Schroeder groundout.

Game 1

CR Xavier                  000  000  0  –  0  1  1

City High                   003  000  x  –  3  4  0            

W – Jake Mitchell                              L – Andrew Hamlett

Game 2

CR Xavier                  000  000  0  –  0  4  0

City High                   301  000  x  –  4  8  0            

W – Johannes Boevers                       L – Jack Casey

2B – CRX: Dominic D’Amico. ICH: Carsen Newton

3B – ICH: Dom Salibi, Jaxton Schroeder

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