WATERLOO - A little rest brought out the best in Waterloo West.

Told by head coach Jeremy Langner to enjoy a weekend away from the baseball diamond, the fifth-ranked Wahawks returned to action Monday with an impressive sweep of No. 9 Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 7-5 and 8-2.

"We're playing well right now," said West coach Jeremy Langner, whose team improved to 20-4.

"After our wins on Friday against Iowa City, I told our guys to take the weekend off, relax and come back today and get ready to lock it in. They responded well and played a good couple of games against a tough Jefferson team."

The Wahawks used solid hitting and strong pitching to claim the wins.

West piled on nine hits in both games with a home run from Connor McClain in the opener and a double in the nightcap and rode strong performances from both starting pitchers.

In the opening game, Max Shower went the distance. In game two, Max Nank gave the Wahawks six solid innings, allowing only two runs on five hits.

"Max gave us a great performance tonight," said Langer.

"It is definitely a positive to have a guy like Max who isn't in our top rotation, but is able to start for us and give us such a good game. He is a real reliable guy for us."

"I haven't been on the mound for a long time," said Nank. "I knew I had to prove myself, and I was just in a good rhythm and was hitting my spots."

The importance of the wins wasn't lost on Nank or his teammates.

"These were big wins for us," said Nank. "Right now it's all about seeding and placements for districts. We are on such a roll right now, and we hope we can grab the number one seed."

"This whole year we have been playing team ball," added Langner. "All year we have been asking our guys to step up and play their roles, and they have been doing that all year long, especially tonight."

The Wahawks will face another stiff challenge Wednesday when they travel to Cedar Rapids to tackle the seventh ranked Cedar Rapids Washington Warriors, followed by a Friday contest against fellow MVC foe Dubuque Senior.

FIRST GAME

C.R. Jefferson 300 020 0 - 5 3 1

Waterloo West 031 300 x - 7 9 2

Retmeier, Rooney (5) and McCormick; Shower and Wright. WP - Shower. LP - Retmeier. HR - Connor McClain (W).

SECOND GAME

C.R. Jefferson 010 001 0 - 2 5 1

Waterloo West 004 004 x - 8 9 1

Hollingsworth, Beir (6), and Higgens. Nank, Massina (6), and Wright. WP - Nank. LP - Hollingsworth.

2B - Connor McClain (W), McCormick (J).