Senior shortstop Kellen Sweeney of Cedar Rapids Jefferson has been named a first-team preseason prep all-American by Rawlings, it was announced Wednesday.
Cedar Rapids Xavier senior pitcher Jon Keller was a second-team pick. The all-Americans were selected by Rawlings, in partnership with Perfect Game USA baseball club in Cedar Rapids.
Sweeney has recovered well from Tommy John surgery in his right elbow last fall. The brother of Oakland A’s outfielder Ryan Sweeney has committed to play college baseball at the University of San Diego.
Keller has committed to play at Nebraska.
The list of 400 Rawlings all-Americans …

KCRG-TV’s John Sears and The Gazette’s K.J. Pilcher and Jeff Linder talk about the basketball tournament.

Not too many high-school baseball coaches can say they’ve been a catcher for Philadelphia Phillies star pitcher Cliff Lee. Matt Thede can. 
Cedar Rapids Prairie has hired the former Wartburg College star and professional catcher to be its new varsity baseball coach, Prairie athletics director Rocky Bennett said.
“Cliff Lee was the pitcher for the very first pro bullpen I ever caught,” said Thede, who also played with Cleveland Indians all-star outfielder Grady Sizemore. “It’s amazing to think about things like that now.”
Thede has been the ninth-grade coach for Prairie. He played professionally in the Montreal Expos …

CEDAR RAPIDS — It no longer appears an issue of if.
It’s when.
Cedar Valley Christian, a small private school in southeast Cedar Rapids, looks to be headed toward sanctioning by the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union for interscholastic competition.
A preliminary meeting was held Monday night; a follow-up is scheduled for next week.
“We’re getting input from our families, and our school board is very interested,” said Jan Todd, the school’s athletics director. “We’re trying to determine how it will impact our families.”
Todd said that Cedar …

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) – Michael Rapaglia struck out seven over four-plus innings and Vincent Quinn slugged a three-run homer as Staten Island, N.Y., advanced at the Little League World Series with a 8-3 win Monday night over Urbandale, Iowa.
New York will play either California or Texas in the U.S. semifinals Wednesday. Rapaglia limited Iowa hitters until the fourth, when he struggled with his control and loaded the bases. But the 12-year-old got pinch-hitter Robert Vanderlinden to strike out to end the jam.
New York …

It wasn’t really his players Charlie Stumpff was concerned with. It was himself.
The Iowa City West baseball coach isn’t used to being awake when midnight approaches. That’s about the time his team’s games at the state baseball tournament got finished last week.
“The young kids deal well,” Stumpff said. “I’m the one you need to worry about.”
The Iowa High School Athletic Association is worried about everyone, which means there’s a strong possibility you’ll see a change in starting times for next year’s state tournament games. There are two daily sessions at …

He came up one pitch shy of history, but Dean McArdle insisted he didn’t care. He still got a piece of the history he wanted most.
The Sioux City North pitcher threw one of the most dominating games the state baseball tournament has seen in a while, giving up just Ryan Rumpf’s line-drive double with two outs in the seventh inning as North beat Iowa City West, 4-0, for the Class 4A title Saturday night at Principal Park.
McArdle (7-1) walked two, both on 3-2 pitches, and struck out 12 to give his …

You’d think he’d like to have a couple of those pitches back.
Maybe he could have gone curve there instead of fastball. Maybe his location should have been inside and not outside to that guy.
Eric DeSousa refused to second guess anything he did on the mound Saturday. The Dyersville Beckman pitcher knows that sometimes when things start snowballing, there’s nothing you can do to prevent from being run over.
“When it gets going …,” DeSousa said, after an eight-run second inning allowed Fort Dodge St. Edmond to beat Beckman, 11-8, in the …

Looking at the numbers each starting pitcher had made it appear this game might be a mistmatch.
It was, only the reverse way. Josh DeBoer pitched better than his season stats indicated, and Iowa City West hit, hit, then hit some more to destroy Johnston, 11-4, in a surprising Class 4A state baseball semifinal last night at Principal Park.
West (30-15) won its seventh game in a row and its 24th of 27 to make it to a championship game for the first time, against top-seeded Sioux City North (35-7). First pitch …

DES MOINES — Flatterys apparently will get you everywhere. At least at the state baseball tournament.
Fort Dodge St. Edmond got contributions from all four members of the family, including a game-winning single by Patrick Flattery in a four-run top of the ninth inning that toppled Solon, 8-4, in a Class 2A semifinal last night at Principal Park.
The dream of becoming the first school to win state championships in baseball, basketball and football in the same school year has ended for the top-seeded Spartans (37-6), who lost in the semis here …