Only once or twice have I been accused of inflicting a Q-C Times Varsity section cover jinx on local prep athletes.

Assumption senior Jared McIntosh hasn't been affected, though teammates have told him to watch out.

He's not only the ace of the pitching staff. McIntosh has become a power hitter to be feared.

He's hit six home runs in six MAC games and overall is hitting .451 with 22 RBIs in 51 at-bats. Those six homers match Willie Argo's total from last summer.

Last summer, he had just one long ball in 139 at-bats. He did have 13 doubles as a junior and only one this summer, so it's not a stretch to see that his increased power is turning through two-baggers into round-trippers.

It looked Monday night at Bettendorf like he's simply driving the ball father. He's also striking out just once every 17 at-bats, compared to once every five as a junior.

On the mound, he's 5-0 with a 2.07 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 27 innings.

And McIntosh is hardly the only Assumption player to already show marked improvement.

Battery mate Jake McAllister has matched his home run total from last summer already with four - also avoiding any Varsity cover jinx.

J. Golden has stepped up to play a fine third base and hit the ball well Monday.

No. 9 hitter Tommy Argo is also coming along as a sophomore.

Knights coach and father Billie Argo has his son in the lineup for defensive purposes in right field. But Tommy sure looked like he belonged against Bettendorf, notching several key RBIs and scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh during Game 2.

It's no wonder Assumption is 14-1 and ranked at the top of Class 3A. Having watched last year's team win the 2A title, it's not hard to envision this season's squad piling up runs in Des Moines soon enough.