Carroll, IA- The 2026 Iowa High School Class 1A State Baseball Tournament will have its first thrown on Monday, July 20th, at 11 am when #3 Newman Catholic quarrels with #6 Ankeny Christian. Yet, the team we will have our eyes on is #7 Burlington Notre Dame and their quarterfinal matchup against #2 South Winneshiek at 1:30 pm. Here’s a look at the matchup.
State Tournament History
#7 Notre Dame, who enters 22-7 for the season and finished tied atop the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division standings, is making their 10th all-time appearance and first since 2023. Since their runner-up finish in 1997, the Nikes have gone 0-4 in their last four trips being outscored 16 to 1 in their last two games.
#2 South Winneshiek, who nabbed the Upper Iowa-Small Division title and comes into the tournament with a 25-4 record, will be making their 7th appearance in program history and their 6th over the last eight seasons. The Warriors have yet to win a game a game at Merchants Park, getting outscored 35 to 8 and losing two 3 to 1 contests.
Burlington Notre Dame’s Season
An opening day no-hitter by Notre Dame’s Tatum Warner appeared to be a flash in the pan for the Nikes, as the squad proceeded to lose four games in a row, including three by two runs or less. By the 12-game mark, Notre Dame was sitting with a 6-6 record and looking up at possibly missing out on the state tournament for the third year in a row.
“You know, obviously there was a conversation that was had, you know, I think the kids knew what they needed to do, you know, but, you know, that first week, that 1-4 start, you know, really, I think, lit a fire underneath them, you know,” said head coach Chris Chiprez. “I mean, a lot of those four losses were due to, you know, miscues defensively, you know, it wasn’t our pitching, it wasn’t our hitting, but we talked to them a lot about their growth and their maturity, you know. I think early on, you know, we let close games or adversity during games get the best of us, you know, and to watch them about the second or third week into the season slowly start maturing where, you know, not a whole lot rattles them during games, you know, and they showed that no more than against Sigourney in the district championship and then against Linville-Sully where, you know, we told them that, you know, at some point, you’re going to have some adversity during those games and we did several different times throughout those two games and they handled it with poise and that’s why we’re in the position we’re in, I believe.”
Coach Chiprez’s squad caught on fire, winning 16 of their last 17 games in the process. The offense has handled most of the heavy lifting, averaging 10.8 runs per game over their last 17 games, but their pitching staff has been no slouch either posting a 1.94 ERA over the same span. It would move their team up from 17th to 7th in the state for ERA.
The pitching staff has been able to rotate four different arms throughout their postseason run with Tatum Warner being able to start three of the four games: coach Chiprez places that on his pitchers’ ability to put pressure on opposing hitters,
“… You know, the pitchers have done a great job of starting to head on hitters, you know, which makes it a little easier on them and just, you know, pounding the zone. You know, I think that’s key. You know, I think a lot of the problems that pitchers run into, or teams run into is, you know, you walk people and then you get one or two guys on and then they sneak a hit in. And now you’re down two runs already, you know, so I think. We preach pound the zone and let our defense make the plays.”
The Nikes have really impressed over their last two games, beating #8 Sigourney, 5-2, and #7 Lynnville-Sully, 7-3, for the Substate 6 championship. This success comes despite Landry Haberichter, 1st Team All-SEISC outfielder, and Eli Oleson, CO-SEISC-South Player of the Year, going a combined 3 for 15 in their last two matchups.
“You know, I keep saying, you know, we haven’t had our best output yet offensively in the postseason, so I’m hoping that’s going to come on Monday,” said coach Chiprez. “But, you know, we really preached a lot over the last month or so, you know. Let’s not be selfish. Let’s not worry about our own stats. Let’s find a way to help your teammates win, whether it’s a good defensive play, a good base running play or, you know, something at the plate that you can do, whether it’s moving a runner over with a sac fly, sac bunt, something like that, something that you can do to try to help your teammates win. And I really think they bought into that philosophy, and it’s been successful so far.”
#4 South Winneshiek’s Season
The Warriors have played exactly like a team ranked 4th in the Class 1A rankings should. They hit well with a team batting average of 0.309, they run well with 96 steals, they field well with a 0.950 team fielding percentage, and they pitch well with a team ERA of 2.33. The Warriors have nearly as many games beating opponents by double digits (12) as they do shutouts (7).
South Winneshiek has handled business throughout the postseason, breezing past Turkey Valley, 10-2, before squeaking past Starmont, 3-2, and thumping Don Bosco in the Substate 4 championship game, 12-2. Where the Warriors have been able to succeed is hitting base runners home with only 19 runners being left on base with 12 coming against Turkey Valley.
To that same extent, the Warriors have done a great job at limiting run production. In the postseason, opponents have generated 20 base hits in 74 tries for a 0.270 opponent batting average yet have only walked a total of seven times. This is a team that will rely on three batters: Braiden Todd, Carson Streeter, and Jordan Einck.
That trio combines for 19 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, and 87 of the team’s 209 RBIs. They are also the only three starters that bat over 0.290. Streeter also supplies a great arm on the mound with a 2.30 ERA and a 6-1 record in 10 starts, while Todd leads the team in strikeouts with 81 behind a 2.25 ERA.
The Matchup
By the time these two teams meet at 1:30 pm in Carroll it will be nearly 100° Fahrenheit outside. Focus and control will be the name of the game, and according to coach Chiprez who is there to have fun,
“I think they’re extremely close knit. You know, I think they feed off each other’s energy. You know, their work ethic is second to none. You know, I mean, this group, I mean, they’ve been going at it since November, you know. I know they didn’t like the way they started that first week of the season. I think they put their nose to the grindstone and just the way they pick each other up and they support each other. And, you know, we’re playing good baseball at the right time. And the guys are just having fun right now. You know, they’re just having fun. And I think that’s a that’s a big part of being successful is having fun in this game, because it’s hard enough to be successful in this game of baseball. But, you know, to try to tone down that pressure and try to have fun with it. I think that that goes a long way in being successful.”
Players to Watch: Eli Oleson (Burlington Notre Dame) and Braiden Todd (South Winneshiek)