Pat Harty

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – In addition to being a fast runner and a force on defense in centerfield, Regina senior Jayden Kies is also a fast learner on the mound.

He proved that on Saturday by throwing a gem against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in a Class 1A district final at Regina.

Kies allowed just four hits over six innings and had eight strikeouts and zero walks while leading third-ranked Regina to a 4-1 victory.

His performance would have been impressive under any circumstance, but Kies barely had pitched at the varsity level before this season.

“I’m just getting the ball and throwing it,” Kies said. “I’ve never been able to get past the fourth inning in my career and it’s pretty cool to almost be able to throw a full game.”

Senior Ryan Schott pitched the seventh inning in relief for Regina and got Jaden Herr to fly out to left fielder Blake Berns for the final out of the game.

Regina improved to 26-7 overall and will face Central Lee on Tuesday in Fairfield with a trip to the Class 1A state tournament on the line. Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont finished the season with a 17-10 record.

Regina coach Jeff Pacha was looking for some help on the mound after learning that senior Ryne Schooley couldn’t pitch this season due to an arm injury.

Pacha turned to Kies, who embraced the challenge.

Kies pitched well in his first appearance this season and has been a major contributing on the mound ever since.

“He’s always wanted to pitch,” Pacha said of Kies, who starts in centerfield when he isn’t pitching. “Jayden loves to compete. He came on strong for us with Schooley not being able to throw.

“We didn’t really start throwing Jayden until the middle of conference play and he just keeps improving.’

Kies consistently threw both his fastball and his off-speed pitches for strikes throughout Saturday’s game, which started 30 minutes later than originally scheduled due to rain.  

The Rockets had runners on second and third base with one out in the fourth inning, but Kies quelled the potential rally by recording back-to-back strikeouts.

“I’ve never really had an off-speed (pitch) or anything, just a fastball from the outfield,” Kies said. “To be honest, I haven’t even worked on it that much. I’ve just been super lucky so far this year.”

Luck might have something to do with Kies’ success on the mound, but it takes more than just luck to accomplish what he did on Saturday.

“Jayden is like a surreal athlete,” said Regina all-state catcher Trent Hoogerwerf. “He can do it all in the outfield, pitching and hitting. Yeah, he’s good.”

Kies returned the praise.

“It helps a lot (throwing to him),” Kies said of Hoogerwerf. “Especially those low curveballs that aren’t in the strike zone, but people like to swing at, he can just stop them or throw them out at first. That’s a big game changer when you have some wall behind you to stop the ball at least.”

Hoogerwerf also provided a spark at the plate by smacking a run-scoring single that expanded Regina’s lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning.

“My mindset was just try to hit the ball hard,” Hoogerwerf said. “I knew that one more run would really help us in that game.”

Regina added another run in the fifth inning on a throwing error and that was more than enough to secure the victory, given how well Kies was pitching.

Regina scored the first two runs in the game in the third inning. Schooley drove in the first run with a double. He also had a single and scored a run in the fifth inning.

The Rockets scored their only run in the fourth inning as third baseman Wyatt Klyn smacked a run-scoring double.

“That’s a really good team, and that’s the kind of team that we want to play as you’re preparing for state because they’re not going to beat themselves,” Pacha said of Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. “They’re very impressive with their lineup.”

E-B-F     000  100  0  –  1  4  2

Regina   002  020  x  –  4  6  1

Noah Strausser, Jard McCrea (5) and Joey Voyles; Jayden Kies, Ryan Schoot (7) and Trent Hoogerwerf

W – Kies                            L – Strausser

2B – EBF: Wyatt Klye; ICR: Ryne Schooley, Evan Suchomel