Sports

The Waukon softball team book-ended a busy latter half of the week with some success, winning two of what amounted to just four full games played this past week. The Indians opened the week with a 9-6 victory in nine innings at MFL/MarMac Wednesday, June 1 before being swept in a Northeast Iowa Conference home doubleheader, 14-2 in five innings and 12-1 in six innings, with Charles City Thursday, June 2. The Indians then wrapped up the week with a 3-2 win in eight innings over Class 3A 14th-rated Iowa Falls-Alden in the only full game they played at the Jerry Newton Classic hosted by Charles City, also leading Belmond-Klemme, 6-1, in the second inning before rain put an end to that event Saturday, June 4.

The Waukon baseball team picked up its first win of the season in a week that resulted in just three games played due to some weather interference. That win came in a big way, 18-4 in five innings, over MFL/MarMac Wednesday, June 1, but was sandwiched by a pair of scoreless losses, 15-0 in four innings at Class 3A defending State Champion Waverly-Shell Rock Tuesday, May 31 and 12-0 in five innings to Kee at home Friday, June 3. That Waverly-Shell Rock date was supposed to be a doubleheader, but stormy weather only allowed one game and forced postponement of the other to a June 20 home date for the Indians with the highly-regarded Go-Hawks.

The Waukon baseball team got its 2016 season off to a winless start, including one loss to Mother Nature with the Tribe’s Friday, May 27 home game with Central Elkader/Clayton Ridge being postponed to June 21 due to rainy weather. Prior to that week-ending postponement, the baseball Indians had similar misfortune in the two games they did get to play, falling at home to North Fayette Valley, 17-0, in six innings Tuesday, May 24 and doing likewise on the road, 7-3, at South Winneshiek Thursday, May 23.
The Indians were next slated to open their Northeast Iowa Conference schedule at the home of Class 3A State  Tournament champion Waverly-Shell Rock Tuesday, May 31 before returning to a non-conference slate at home for the rest of the week, hosting MFL/MarMac Wednesday, June 1 and Kee Friday, June 3. The baseball Tribe will then host Charles City Tuesday, June 7 before playing at Turkey Valley Wednesday, June 8.

by Val Meyer

As the Kee softball team starts up another season, the squad is ecstatic to see what the upcoming season has in store. Last year, the Hawks had an outstanding season, winning 29 games and only losing 10. The final loss was the regional finals game against Bellevue-Marquette Catholic High School, a game in which the Hawks fell to the Mohawks, 2-1, to end up just one step shy of back-to-back State softball appearances.

“The final game of the 2015 season was definitely a hard pill to swallow,” Kee softball coach Liz Hill said. “But it has motivated the returning players to work hard in the off-season to make a State appearance this year.”

The Kee baseball team opened its 2016 season with a busy initial week of six games, managing just two victories in that six-game stretch. The Hawks got their season underway with a home doubleheader loss to Decorah Tuesday, May 24 by scores of 9-6 and 8-6 before splitting another doubleheader at Maquoketa Valley Thursday, May 26, an 8-6 Kee loss being followed by a 17-2 Hawk triumph. The Hawks then split another pair of games to finish third in their own Shooky Fink Tournament Saturday, May 28, falling by a narrow, 2-1 loss to Waterloo West in the opening round of the tournament before rebounding with a 10-0 rout of Osage in five innings to win the tournament’s consolation championship.

The Waukon softball team opened its season in convincing fashion before having that early-season momentum abruptly halted by a pair of ranked opponents to end the week. The Indians kicked off the season with a 12-0 romp at Central Elkader Tuesday, May 24 before being swept at home by Class 4A 13th-rated Waverly-Shell Rock by scores of 10-0 in five innings and 11-2 Thursday, May 26. The Indians wrapped up the week with a 6-0 loss at Class 1A fourth-rated Kee Saturday, May 28.

The Indians were next slated to play at MFL/MarMac Wednesday, June 1 before hosting a doubleheader with Charles City Thursday, June 2 and playing in the Charles City Tournament Saturday, June 4. The softball Tribe will then play another varsity pair at Decorah Monday, June 6 before playing at South Winneshiek Tuesday, June 7 and then at New Hampton Thursday, June 9.

by Val Meyer

The Kee softball team has its 2016 campaign off to an impressive start, not only mowing down all four of its first opponents of the season for an undefeated start but also keeping all four of those opponents from finding homeplate in posting a combined 39-0 scoreboard advantage in those first four games. Those victories included a 12-0 rout of Decorah at home in just four innings Tuesday, May 24 followed by a doubleheader sweep at MFL/MarMac Thursday, May 26 by scores of 9-0 and 12-0 in five innings, and ending with a 6-0 defeat of intra-county foe Waukon at home Saturday, May 28.

The 2016 Waukon softball team will return what dictates to be a full line-up - nine players - with varsity letterwinning experience from last season, but one of the most missed faces from that campaign will be at the top of the Indian softball totem pole, as head coach Joe O’Neill has been forced to step down from that position this season due to health reasons. O’Neill had assumed the softball Tribe’s lead post just last season, guiding the Indians to a 7-19 overall record that included a 2-13 mark that placed the Indians sixth in the final Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) standings.

Despite returning enough letterwinners - nine - to field an entire line-up, the Kee baseball team will still remain relatively young in experience for its 2016 campaign, as just two seniors return to lead this year’s squad. The Hawks graduated five seniors from last season’s team that posted an 11-22 overall record, including a 6-10 mark that placed the Kee diamond dwellers in sixth place in the final Upper Iowa Conference standings.

“We have plenty of letterwinners but are looking more for senior leadership than anything else,” second-year Kee head baseball coach Jim Mauss said. “We need both someone who can be vocal and also lead by example. Someone who hates losing so much that it rubs off on his teammates. I want to coach competitors, players that play 120% no matter what the score or situation is!”

The 2016 Waukon baseball team will be looking to answer some question marks, as graduation of seven seniors from last year’s squad that posted a 12-17 overall record took a majority of the Tribe’s starting line-up and statistical leadership. However, six returning letterwinners and some young talent will be looked to for answers to this season’s questions.

Within that veteran half dozen are four of this season’s five seniors, including Haden Hammel, Peyton Hesse, Will Keenan and Chris Miller. Fellow senior Zach Troendle rounds out an upperclassman crew that fourth-year Waukon head baseball coach Jerry Keenan is looking forward to leading this year’s diamond squad. Junior Tanner Mathis and sophomore Mitchell Snitker round out this year’s list of returning letterwinners for the baseball Tribe.