Freshmen carry the day; Kennedy edges Xavier, 2

Cougars get a 3-hitter from Lily Knutson, a key catch from Emerson Swearinger and a home run from Teagan Chrisman

Jun. 7, 2023 9:54 pm

CEDAR RAPIDS — Lily Knutson pitched the gem.

Emerson Swearinger flashed the leather.

Teagan Chrisman provided the thunder.

Freshman. Freshman. Freshman.

Class 5A 13th-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy got major moments from its three starting ninth-graders and edged 4A No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier, 2-1, in a crisp Mississippi Valley Conference softball game Wednesday night at Bob Erusha Field.

"It's amazing how much of a difference one year of high school ball can make," Kennedy Coach Maddison LeClere said. "It shows in their demeanor and their approach.

"Our future is bright."

Let's not wish away the present, either. The Cougars improved to 10-3 overall, 7-2 in the MVC.

"We’re young, but we have a chance to be good for a long time," said Knutson (5-1), who limited the Saints (8-5, 4-5) to three hits and no earned runs. She struck out five, walked one and hit a batter.

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Kennedy struck immediately. With one out in the top of the first inning, Addy Alber smoked a first-pitch double off the center field fence, moved to third on a flyout by Ella Brown, then scored on Lilea Prahm's single.

The defensive play of the game — and one which surely will go down as one of the best of the season — came in the bottom of the third.

Xavier's Braylen Conlon lined a gapper to right-center field, but Kennedy center fielder Swearinger tracked it down near the fence.

"That was awesome," Knutson said. "Emerson goes 100 percent all the time, and it shows out."

Swearinger, who burst onto the preps scene during the track season, is a catcher by trade. But with Alber behind the plate for one more season, LeClere "had to find a spot on the field" for Swearinger.

"Somebody has to take charge out there, and Emerson sure did on that play," LeClere said.

With one out in the top of the fourth, Chrisman hit the first home run of her high school career, a solo shot to center field on a full count.

"That felt really good," she said. "My hitting has been a little off. I’d been chopping off the ball."

A Kennedy error opened the door for a Xavier rally in the fifth. After Taylor Kadolph reached, Elena Schmit bunted her to second and Conlon singled her home.

Xavier had two runners on in the fifth, but Knutson induced a ground ball to end the threat, then put the Saints down in order in the sixth and seventh.

At Bob Erusha Field

C.R. Kennedy 100 100 0 — 2 5 1

C.R. Xavier 000 010 0 — 1 3 1

Lily Knutson and Addy Alber. Duanna Coyle and Claire Walter. W — Knutson (5-1). L — Coyle (5-3). HR — CRK: Teagan Chrisman (1).

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