A double-header split.

Class 4A third-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson exploded for 15 hits in a 13-3 laugher in the opener, then Susanne Scieszinski handcuffed the J-Hawks as No. 14 Cedar Rapids Xavier claimed the nightcap, 2-1, in eight innings in a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header last night at Bob Erusha Field.

The J-Hawks (22-4 overall, 14-4 MVC) saw a 20-game win streak come to an end.

“We knew a split would be a lot better than getting swept,” Scieszinski said. “We made sure we came back out and played strong.”

Xavier (22-7, 15-5) tied the finale in the fifth inning when Scieszinski doubled home Shelby Woods, then won it in the bottom of the eighth, thanks to a leadoff walk and a pair of Jefferson errors, the J-Hawks’ only two miscues of the entire night.

Scieszinski allowed just two hits, retiring the final nine batters she faced.

“I think I was mixing it up pretty well. All of my pitches were working,” she said. “And the defense was behind me 100 percent. That makes a big difference.”

Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer shrugged off the loss.

“They’re a good team, they’re well-coached,” he said. “(The second game) was a tough game, and if you play long enough, you’re going to make a mistake.”

Jefferson blew open the first game by scoring five unearned runs in the top of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. The Saints crept within 6-3, but the J-Hawks answered with five more tallied in the top of the fifth.

Morgan Allee was 5-for-5 and Brittany Madsen was 3-for-4 and drove in six runs, including a three-run double in the fourth.

“We came ready to play,” Madsen said. “We were all hitting today in practice, and that helped us a lot.”

The senior from North Polk hit her 48th career homer in the Comets’ 4-0 win over Bondurant-Farrar. She surpasses Erica Martinez of Fort Madison.

He isn’t wild about the public seeing his team’s statistics on the Internet. And he certainly isn’t crazy about his players viewing them.

“I’m a team-first guy,” said White, head softball coach at Clear Creek Amana. “I’m just kind of concerned about kids being too concerned about their batting averages.”

Here, in a nutshell, is what viewers will find: The Clippers can hit. A lot.

Class 3A No. 1 CCA, which improved to 30-0 after winning a 16-team tournament last weekend at Oxford, has a team batting average of .428. It is averaging 8.4 runs per game — more than 1.4 runs per inning.

And here’s the real kicker: Four of the state’s top 10 run-scorers are Clippers. Ashley Akers leads the state with 50. Katy Sexton is second with 47. Melissa Walls is fifth with 36, freshman Caitlin Wnek is eighth with 34.

“We’ve put up some runs, that’s for sure,” White said. “The nice thing about our lineup is that kids in our 6, 7 and 8 spots can drive in runs.”

Wnek, a second baseman, has moved into the clean-up spot. She is batting .560, her 44 RBIs is a state-high and she has struck out only three times in 91 at bats.

“We knew what we had in her last year,” White said. “We probably got her into the lineup a little too late. She’s very good offensively, and she plays a very good second base.”

Six Clippers are hitting .400-plus. Sexton (.519) leads the state with 23 doubles.

Metro showdown

Tuesday’s Mississippi Valley Conference double-header at Cedar Rapids Xavier is a battle between divisional leaders.

Class 4A No. 3 Cedar Rapids Jefferson (21-3 overall, 13-3 MVC) has won 19 consecutive games and leads the Valley Division by three games. No. 14 Xavier (19-6, 12-4) has moved into a first-place tie with Dubuque Wahlert in the Mississippi Division.

First pitch is at 5:30 p.m. at Bob Erusha Field.

Warriors win one

Cedar Rapids Washington’s first win of the season came in dramatic fashion.

Marion Epperson hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Warriors a 7-6 win over Ballard at the Linn-Mar/Alburnett Invitational Tournament on Friday at Alburnett.

The Warriors were 0-22 before Friday’s triumph.

Last year, I think it came in September.

Countdown to the first football Friday: 60 days.

“No announcement has been made,” Ulfers said. “It’s just a rumor at this point.”

Football coach Ed Thomas was shot and killed Wednesday while supervising athletes in the school weight room.

Ulfers said, “I’m doing OK, I guess. Ed and I went back a long way.”

Nominations close July 4.

MALE

MIKE ANDRIES, Cedar Rapids Xavier

ZACH BOHANNON, Linn-Mar

SEAN BRANDHORST, Central City

ALEX BURKLE, North Linn

GAVIN CAVES, Alburnett

DREW CLARK, Marion

KEENAN DAVIS, Cedar Rapids Washington

SAM ELGIN, Center Point-Urbana

DEREK HUENECKE, Lisbon

COLE KRAMER, Cedar Rapids Jefferson

ABE KOS, Mid-Prairie

JASON McCORMICK, Cedar Rapids Jefferson

MATT MORRISON, Solon

ANDREW PORT, Springville

EYASU RUSSELL, Mount Vernon

SCOTT SCHEBLER, Cedar Rapids Prairie

JASON SHUPP, Cedar Rapids Kennedy

KYLE SLAYMAKER, Cedar Rapids Kennedy

DEREK ST. JOHN, Iowa City West

FEMALE

AMANDA BURGER, Cedar Rapids Jefferson

SARAH DAVIDSON, Springville

KATIE EIBEN, Springville

ABIGAIL FISHER, North Linn

CHANDA GOEDKEN, Cascade

JADE GRIMM, Cedar Rapids Kennedy

MADDY HALYARD, Cedar Rapids Washington

MELISSA HERSHBERGER, Mid-Prairie

SHELBY KINTZEL, Mount Vernon

CALLIE KLOUBEC, Springville

CAITLIN KRAY, Cedar Rapids Xavier

KENDRA KREGEL, Maquoketa Valley

EMMA KRIEGER-KITTLE, Iowa City West

CARLY MARTIN, Springville

JESSICA MARTIN, Lisbon

MARLEY McGURK, Cedar Rapids Prairie

SAM MEYER, Williamsburg

DANIELLE POHL, Center Point-Urbana

JAIME PRINTY, Linn-Mar

ASHLEY REED, Alburnett

SAM RINEHART, Marion

EMILY RYAN, Mount Vernon

SARA STOAKES, North Tama

Cedar Rapids Jefferson's Morgan Allee slides safely past Linn-Mar's Lindsey Harms on Thursday at the Jefferson Softball Complex. The J-Hawks swept the Lions, 4-0 and 11-1. (Photo by Cliff Jette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — A spectator made the observation early and accurately:

“This doesn’t seem like Jeff/Linn-Mar.”

Class 4A third-ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson struck for 22 hits and dominated rebuilding Linn-Mar, 4-0 and 11-1, in a Mississippi Valley Conference softball double-header Thursday night at the Jefferson Softball Complex.

The first game was kind of tense,” said Alex Jacobson, who had three of the J-Hawks’ 14 hits — including a home run — in the six-inning nightcap. “We knew we had to relax and wait for a good pitch to hit.”

For the last 15 years, this has been the premier softball matchup in the Metro.

Not this year. There wasn’t a big crowd. And there wasn’t much suspense of which team was superior.

Jefferson (16-3 overall, 13-3 MVC) extended its winning streak to 14 games. Linn-Mar (6-16, 2-12), meanwhile, returns only one starter (Leah Beck) from a team that advanced to the state tournament last year.

“We knew coming in that we were going to struggle at times,” said Linn-Mar Coach Jon Harms. “We lost so much in every category. The struggle has been greater than expected.”

The J-Hawks nickel-and-dimed their way to four runs in the opener, scoring single tallies in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. Four different girls scored, and four different girls delivered RBI hits.

In the second game, Jefferson broke open a 1-1 game with two runs in the third, four in the fourth, then a pair each in the fifth and sixth,

Hannah Petersen drove in three runs; Kasey Yoder was 3-for-3.

“We hit the ball tonight. And if we hit the ball, we’re a pretty good team,” said Jefferson Coach Larry Niemeyer, who crept within 26 victories of the 2,000-win plateau.

“We’re on a little bit of a win streak. Our pitchers are throwing well, and our defense will get a lot better by the end of the season.

“Kasey Yoder has been a big surprise. She’s getting some key hits and she’s playing a great first base.”

Petersen pitched a 10-strikeout one-hitter in the opener; Katie Naber scattered four hits in Game 2.

Jefferson, which enjoys a comfortable lead in the MVC Valley Division, travels to Cedar Rapids Xavier on Tuesday in a key league twinbill.

“We didn’t have TV then. I remember (former Gazette sports editor) Tait Cummins wrote a very warm summary after his death,” said Quinby, 77, a former NFL official who returned to Cedar Rapids after his retirement.

“It was pretty sad then. And this is very, very sad now.”

Quinby was refering to Wednesday’s death of Ed Thomas, the Aplington-Parkersburg football coach that was shot to death at the school’s weight room.

Mark Becker of Parkersburg was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Kinnick was the 1939 Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Iowa, who died as a Naval officer in 1943 when he was forced to ditch his plane that had developed an oil leak off the coast of Venezuela.

Cummins wrote: “Kinnick proved one thing, that college athletics could be beautiful. Everything that can be said that is good about college athletics he was. He didn’t represent it…he was it.”

Kinnick was the most famous Iowan involved in athletics to die before their time. Thomas was the most recent. Here’s a partial list of those who passed prematurely:

JACK TRICE (1923)

The namesake of the Iowa State University football stadium, Trice was the first black athlete at ISU. He died two days after suffering injuries in a game at Minnesota.

While there the night before the game, Trice wrote a letter to himself. It was found in his jacket pocket, shortly before his funeral:

“My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family and self are at stake. “Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will!

“My whole body and soul are to be thrown recklessly about on the field tomorrow. Every time the ball is snapped, I will be trying to do more than my part. … Be on your toes every minute if you expect to make good. Jack.”

NILE KINNICK (1943)

A native of Adel, Kinnick was less than four years removed from his Heisman season at Iowa when he was killed at sea at age 24.

In 1939, Iowa finished the year ranked ninth by the Associated Press with a 6-1-1 record. Kinnick threw for 638 yards and 11 touchdowns on only 31 passes and ran for 374 yards. All told, Kinnick set 14 school records.

He won virtually every major award in the country. He was a first-team All-American, won the Big Ten MVP and the Walter Camp Award.

Associated Press reporter Whitney Martin wrote of Kinnick’s Heisman acceptance speech: “You realized the ovation wasn’t alone for Nile Kinnick, the outstanding college football player of the year. It was also for Nile Kinnick, typifying everything admirable in American youth.”

FRANK “BUCKY” O’CONNOR (1958)

O’Connor was only 44 years old when he died in an auto accident near Waterloo.

He posted a 105-54 record in seven years as men’s basketball coach at Iowa, coaching the 1956 “Fabulous Five” to the NCAA title game.

Later on, he said: “My 1956 team was one of perfection. It’s impossible to find five boys who play so smoothly together again. It was a coach’s dream team.”

Quinby was a student at Iowa from 1950 to 1954, while O’Connor was the coach.

“(His death) was quite a shock,” he said.

ISU WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY TEAM (1985)

Later in the day that the Cyclones finished second at the NCAA meet at Milwaukee, a plane carrying seven people went down near the Des Moines airport.

All seven died, including three runners — Julie Rose and Susan Baxter of England, Sheryl Maahs of Spirit Lake — and coaches Ron Renko and Pat Moynihan.

“Some things defy explanation and understanding and require faith,” said then-ISU AD Max Urick. ”I think there’s a very, very common feeling of tremendous loss.”

CHRIS STREET (1993)

The junior forward on the UI men’s basketball team was killed on a January night when the car he was driving collided with a snow plow.

Street, who prepped at Indianola, was 20.

He was buried in his gold Hawkeye uniform, clutching a rose. He was averaging 14.5 points and 9.5 rebounds when he died and many predicted an NBA career.

The Hawkeyes postponed their next two games, then — fueled by inspiration and emotion — recorded unforgettable wins at Michigan State and home against Michigan’s Fab Five.

ED THOMAS (2009)

The preceding deaths of prominent Iowa athletes and coaches were accidents. Thomas died from multiple gunshots by a former player.

“To me, this was a senseless, senseless death,” Quinby said. “I met Ed Thomas once, and I could just tell he was an outstanding person. He made the world a better place through his coaching and Christian leadership.

Thomas compiled a career record of 292-84 with 19 playoff appearances and two state championships, in 1993 and 2001.

“It’s a sad day for a great man, and a sad day for life in general,” said Tom Stone, coach at Pekin High School.

An excess of either can lead to very bad things, said Jim Bellamy, retired football coach at Mount Vernon High School.

“Let’s just say that things like this can happen. People get excited and emotional. You hope it (subsides and) goes away.”

Bellamy was an associate of Aplington-Parkersburg Coach Ed Thomas, who was shot to death Wednesday morning at the school’s weight room.

Mark Becker, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting, which happened around 7:45 Wednesday morning at the weight room at Aplington-Parkersburg.

Becker played for Thomas at A-P. It has been reported that Becker was denied an assistant-coaching job by Thomas.

“(Thomas) was a class act, from all of my observations,” Bellamy said. “It’s hard to believe that something like this could happen. His program, his demeanor … what a class act.”

Bellamy said he received at least one threat during his coaching career.

“I’ll just say yes, and leave it at that,” he said.

“You deal with the youth of today, and you have to deal with their parents. You never know how far people are going to take things.

Tony Lombardi had coached in the Chicago suburbs, then moved to Cedar Rapids Washington. Lombardi said he has never questioned his safety.

“I’ve had some upset parents, but I’ve never been threatened,” he said. 

Said Tom Stone, veteran coach at Pekin: “The frightening thing is that it could happen to any of us. But of all of us, (Thomas would) be the last person you’d think it would happen to.”

Residence react to the shooting of Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas on Wednesday. (Photo by Jim Slosiarek)

Last May, Ed Thomas lost his home.

Wednesday, he lost his life.

But Thomas’ legacy won’t be that of a victim, according to Tom Stone.

“He had ‘WINNER’ written all over him,” said Stone, veteran football coach at Pekin High School. ”He touched so many lives. He brought out the best in so many people. He had a real knack in getting along with kids.”

Thomas, the iconic Aplington-Parkersburg football coach and athletics director who led the community’s rebirth after a devastating tornado, was shot and killed in the school’s weight room Wednesday morning. He was 58.

The shock waves were felt throughout Iowa within an hour of the shooting.

“Oh my gosh, what a shame,” said Cedar Rapids Washington Coach Tony Lombardi. “It’s inexplicable.

“Here’s the thing: We live in a time in which there are so few heroes. That man is a genuine hero. I’m sure he had opportunities to go to a bigger school, a bigger community. He pulled the entire community behind his program.”

Thomas coached 37 seasons, the last 34 at Parkersburg and A-P. His teams were state champions in 1993 and 2001 and finished second on four occasions. His career record was 292-84, with 19 playoff appearances.

But his defining moments came in the months following the tornado that ripped through Parkersburg — and leveled his home – last May.

“He will be forever remembered not so much for his many wins on the field, but for the exemplary manner in which he coached kids and led the Aplington-Parkersburg community and school. This was especially true last spring and summer,” Iowa High School Athletic Association executive director Rick Wulkow said in a statement. “He was overwhelmed with the ensuing gratitude from the efforts of the Iowa coaching community and others during the rebuilding.”

Aplington-Parkersburg’s first home game after the tornado was against West Marshall. It was Thomas’ only meeting against Ken Winkler, one of his closest friends.

Winkler got the news from his wife Wednesday morning.

“Shock is the only word to use,” Winkler said. “Ed is a great person who also happens to be a great football coach. Football was third to him. He had a very strong faith, and he was a very good family man.”

In the wake of the news, words like “sad,” “stunning,” “shocking” and “senseless” were common from those that knew Thomas best.

“It’s just sad beyond belief,” Lombardi said. ”He brought so many people so many wonderful things. This man made a difference.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said IHSAA information director Bud Legg. “Anybody that knows Ed knows what a terrific guy he (was). He’s so dedicated to the kids. If you’re going to pick an ideal person to coach your son, your daughter, your grandchild, it’s Ed Thomas.”

“It’s a sad day for a great man, and it’s a sad day for life in general,” Stone said. “It’s been a very difficult morning for me.”