Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – In the middle of a rugged Mississippi Valley Conference race avoiding a doubleheader sweep is just as important as piling up wins.

Senior Brayden Mayer helped Liberty High do just that on Friday to keep the Lightning in the thick of the MVC Mississippi Division race.

Mayer tossed six scoreless innings as Class 4A tenth-ranked Liberty salvaged a split with Cedar Rapids Xavier with a 3-1 win in the nightcap of a MVC double dip at Ken Charipar Field in Cedar Rapids.

“Tonight is just a testament to our conference,” Liberty High coach Uby Martinez said. “If you walk out with a split that’s a really good things, if you walk out with a sweep it’s amazing and if you get swept you aren’t surprised.

Cedar Rapids Xavier never trailed while winning the opener 6-1 before Liberty High secured the split with a 3-1 win in the nightcap behind the pitching of Mayer.

The senior right-hander scattered five hits over six shutout innings while striking out two and walking four as the Lightning posted its second Mississippi Division doubleheader split of the week after going 1-1 against Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Monday.

Liberty High improved to 13-5 and 10-4 in Mississippi Division play and remains atop the division standings.

“It’s our goal to sweep every time out,” Mayer said. “Obviously sometimes it doesn’t go our way and it didn’t go our way tonight but I am glad we bounced back and got one at least.”

Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-8, 8-8) used a three-run third inning to take control in the opening on its way to a 6-1 win.

Liberty High got its offense going early in the nightcap.

The Lightning took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the second inning when Mason Waterbury was hit by a pitch with one out and after a Dallas Miller singled scored on a Jordan Schroeder sacrifice fly.

Liberty High pushed the margin to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning on a two-run single by junior eight hole hitter Reece Rettig.

“Our goal is to get a lead so our pitchers can be confidence,” Rettig said. “Our approach at the plate when runners are on is to do a job. It’s not go hit one out of the park, it’s do a job, find a way on base it doesn’t matter how you get on just find a way to get on and that’s the mentality that we take up there.”

Waterbury led off the fourth with an infield single and Miller followed with a bunt single.

A sacrifice bunt by Schroeder moved the runners up for Rettig who lined a single to left field to give Liberty High a 3-run cushion.

“We have confidence up and down our line and we know we can string together a rally at any spot in the order,” Rettig said. “I think that’s the best thing about our team is we’ve done it a few times and we can do it whenever.”

That was more than enough support for Mayer who allowed just five singles in six shutout innings.

“He came out and competed,” Martinez said of Mayer. “I feel like sometimes it he over does it a little, he’s had a couple of starts where he’s tried to do too much and he trusted his stuff today.”

Liberty High played nearly flawless defense behind Mayer, turning a pair of double plays and throwing a runner out stealing.

The Lightning turned a 6-4-3 after leadoff single in the second and Mayer got ninth place hitter Caleb Loffswold to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play after Zander Murray led off the inning with a single.

“My goal every time out is to fill up the zone but playing with a lead is so much better and it’s so much more energetic in the dugout,” Mayer said. “Compared to the first game we had a lot more energy in the dugout and we played so much better.”

Seven different players had a hit for Liberty High in the nightcap led by sophomore Pryor Reiners who went 2-for-4 with a double and Miller who had two hits and scored a run.

Game 1

Liberty High                          001 000 0  –  1  7  0

Cedar Rapids Xavier            023 010 x  –  6  7  1

W – Cohen Honkomp             L – Evan O’Donnell

2B – CRX: Caleb Loffswold, Tate Proskovec

Game 2

Liberty High                          010  200  0  –  3  9  1

Cedar Rapids Xavier            000  000  1  –  1  6  0

W – Brayden Mayer               L – Andrew Renner    SV – Jaryn Sertterh

2B – ICL: Pryor Reiners

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