Sports, July 17th

By Slaten Swords · Thursday, July 17th, 2025 at 6:37 am CDT

Postseason Baseball

Classes 1A and 2A will be heading to Merchants Park in Carroll, Iowa, to start their journey to the state championship on Monday, July 21st, for Class 1A and Tuesday, July 22nd, for Class 2A. Here’s the matchups.

To start off the day on Monday in Class 1A, #8 Hillcrest Academy will square off against #1 Remsen St. Mary’s at 11 am. 

#4 Martensdale-St. Marys will compete against #5 Kee at 1:30 pm, followed by #2 Lynnville-Sully facing off against #7 East Buchanan. The night cap at 7 pm will be #3 Saint Ansgar taking on #6 Logan-Magnolia.

For Class 2A, #1 Underwood will attempt to defend their first state title against #8 Cascade at 11 am.

#5 Mediapolis will play #4 Unity Christian at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 22nd. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 1:15 pm. Mediapolis head coach Rick Whitaker doesn’t foresee any first-time nerves with this squad,

“For sure. I’ll try to give him the lowdown of, like, you know, the process of what we’re going to do and kind of get them ready for that. But these kids play, you know, they play Perfect Game. They play just a ton of ball with some scouts in the crowd and stuff. So, I’m not sure, you know, I don’t know. They might have those jitters, but I don’t think this team will. I think we’ve played so much ball that it probably won’t matter.”

At 4:30 pm, #3 Van Meter will take on #6 Chariton and #2 Pleasantville and #7 West Lyon will end the night at 7 pm.

Classes 3A and 4A held their substate championships last night, here’s the list of state qualifiers.

Class 3A: Bishop Heelan (last year’s runner-up), Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Boone, Wahlert Catholic, Assumption, Pella, Carlisle, and Saydel.

Class 4A: Sioux City East, Waukee Northwest, Waukee, Johnston, Prairie, Iowa City High, Iowa City Liberty, and Bettendorf. 

Postseason Softball

Class 4A will begin the tournament on Monday, July 21st, with #1 Xavier tasked with #8 Pella at 10 am. #4 Dallas Center-Grimes will play #5 ADM at 10:30 am. #7 North Scott will be looking for the upset against #2 Norwalk, while #3 North Polk will attempt to take down #6 Western Dubuque.

Class 5A will hold the early afternoon contests with #1 Waukee Northwest playing #8 Dowling Catholic. #4 Ankeny Centennial will continue their rivalry with #5 Valley at 3 pm. #2 Linn-Mar will compete against #7 Pleasant Valley at 4:45 pm and #3 Southeast Polk will act as the home team against #6 Cedar Falls.

Class 3A’s bracket will be split between Monday and Tuesday, July 22nd, with the top half of the bracket being the nightcaps with #1 Wahlert Catholic facing off against #8 Center Point-Urbana and #4 PCM linking up with #5 West Liberty at 7:30 pm.

On Tuesday, #7 Washington will attempt to spoil #2 Williamsburg’s trip to Fort Dodge at 10 am and #3 Albia will take on #6 Estherville Lincoln Central at 10:30 am.

In Class 1A, Wayne grabbed the #1-seed with a 25-2 record and they will face off against the #8-seed Highland. #4 Riverside and #5 Newell-Fonda will link up in the early evening matchup. 

With a 28-4 record, #2 Clarksville will square off against #7 Newman Catholic with the winner scheduled to face off against the winner between #3 Wapsie Valley and #6 St. Edmond. 

Over in Class 2A, #1 Van Meter enters as the favorite as the Bulldogs look to defend their Class 2A title with an opening round matchup against #8 East Marshall. Grabbing the #4 and #5 seeds were Durant and West Fort, respectively.

#2 Louisa-Muscatine flew past Pella Christian 6-3 on their way to their first state tournament appearance since 2022. The Falcons will compete against #7 West Monona. Lastly, #3 West Lyon will take on #6 Cascade at 3 pm. 

Local Athletic Summer Camps

Tomorrow, July 18th, is the registration due date for two local volleyball camps: the Mediapolis volleyball camp for 3rd all the way through 9th graders starting on August 4th and the Danville youth volleyball camp for 2nd through 8th graders starting on the same date. 

The WACO youth volleyball camp for 5th through 8th graders and the high school camp’s registration due date is July 23rd. 

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees thrashed the Normal CornBelters last night 18-3. Caleb Seibers collected eight RBIs as he cracked a grand slam and a triple, while Kooper Schulte went 3 for 3 with a triple and four RBIs. The Bees head back home tonight against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes at 6:30 pm.

The Clinton LumberKings dropped their matchup against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp last night 11-2. The LumberKings will host the CornBelters at 6:30 pm tonight.

This Day in Sports History

1902 – The Baltimore Orioles forfeit to St. Louis having only five players available to play; they then forfeit their franchise back to the American League.

1936 – New York Giants future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Carl Hubbell begins MLB record 24 game winning streak, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-0 at Forbes Field.

1974 – Bob Gibson becomes the second pitcher to strike-out 3,000 (Cesar Geronimo).

Prep Baseball: Mediapolis is State Bound After Shutting Down MFL MarMac

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, July 16th, 2025 at 12:11 pm CDT

Solon, IA- It would have taken the entire town of Mediapolis to rip Lance Ludens off the mound in the Class 2A Substate 4 championship bout against another Bulldog squad in MFL MarMac, at least that’s what Mediapolis head coach Rick Whitaker thought,

“Yeah, if I came out there, he would be ticked.”

The strategy was to ride Ludens for all seven innings and the plan worked to perfection as he threw a complete game shutout, sending Mediapolis to their second state tournament appearance in program history with a 2-0 victory over MFL MarMac.

Ludens, a Central College commit, has been masterful throughout this postseason run having started against West Liberty and Durant, tossing 12.2 innings of scoreless ball and striking out 11 in the process.

MFL MarMac’s Parker Kuehl was poised to duel on the mound having also started the last two games for the Bulldogs, logging 11.2 innings allowing only five hits, two earned runs, and fanning 19.

There was little doubt that it might only take one run to win this contest as Mediapolis had failed to score more than four runs in the past four games after a spree of 85 runs scored in an eight-game span and MFL MarMac had gone from averaging 12.1 runs per game in their first 21 games of the season to 4.4 runs per game in their last nine showdowns.

Despite the recent use and a fastball with not as much steam behind it as it would with a typical rest period, Ludens was riding the adrenaline that comes from entering these big moments,

“Confident in my defense, so every game I just try to come out, stay relaxed, stay calm, throw some strikes, hopefully roll some ground balls and let my defense do most of the work tonight. I was a little hyped up, so I was feeling really good, and I think I got a few more strikeouts I normally do, but yeah, just coming in, staying calm and treating every game like the last. It’s a job. It’s a business. So just get the job done.”

He started the strikeout chain in the top of the 1st inning after getting Kuehl to popout on the first pitch of the game, sitting down Jacob Schellhorn and Brayden Gordon on strikes. Ludens saved the orange-and-black Bulldogs from going 1-2-3 in the bottom of the frame with a single but a groundout by Kyler Crow ended the inning an at-bat later.

Ludens would add another strikeout in the top of the 2nd inning before allowing his first baserunner in the 3rd inning on a leadoff hit-by-pitch to Kyler Nuehring. The future member of the Dutch proceeded to fan the next two batters before popping out Kuehl for the second time. Three innings down, no hits, no runs, one baserunner, five strikeouts.

Kuehl would get into trouble in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Henry Luttenegger and Braeden Oliver hit back-to-back two out singles to put runners on first and second base. Nevertheless, quick reflexes on the mound stopped a sharp grounder off Hayden Guegler’s bat, thwarting the threat. Moreover, a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the third kept the game even.

Kuehl was now through three innings, allowing only three hits and striking out two. Zeroes still on the scoreboard.

The defensive momentum carried over into the top of the 4th inning with a Schellhorn leadoff single. A strikeout and fielders choice left a runner on first base and two away when Jaxon Millage managed a single to put Bulldogs on first and second base. Then Ludens slammed the door again with his seventh strikeout of the game.

Around this time last year, Mediapolis was on the opposite end of a two-run walk-off home run by Anamosa in the District Championship. But, the nucleus of the team was set to return to the diamond for the 2025 season, still coach Whitaker knew some things would have to bounce their way,

“I knew we were going to have one of my better teams and I’ve had a I’ve had quite a few good teams, especially my first couple of years, but we just didn’t get the breaks. And you got to get the brakes when you play baseball sometimes… You know, you get a little bit of luck, and you have a good team. That’s when you go and I think, the chemistry and the camaraderie, it’s all got it’s all got to come together. So, I thought we had a chance. But I wasn’t 100% positive because anything can happen in Iowa baseball…”

Crow was the one to receive the break, on a 1-2 count, Kuehl hung a curveball. Expeditiously, the ball left the park over the left-centerfield fence, Mediapolis now led 1 to 0. Crow was also quick to move around the bases,

“I mean I it felt good off the bat, but it was a line drive, and I didn’t want to be in one of those situations where I pimped it, and then it didn’t go over. So, I just hustled to first and once I heard everyone cheer, then I slowed down and took my jog and made sure to put our team ahead in the game so we could go win it.”

Coach Whitaker also felt that same relief as the ball cruised over the fence,

“I thought it was gone right off the bat, but I wasn’t sure because they have a really tall fence here [Solon High School]. I don’t show a lot of emotion on the field during the game, but I did there.”

Nevertheless, the inning was not over yet as two errors by Millage at first allowed Max Griffin and Henry Luttenegger to get on base, leading to an Oliver RBI-single moving Mediapolis to a 2 to 0 lead.

A year ago, Oliver went 0 for 6 at the plate with three strikeouts. As a senior, he is now hitting over 0.370 at the plate.

“I love to talk about that kid [Oliver] because he’s our senior hitting the eight spot all year” said coach Whitaker. “Last year he was our right fielder… and I had to DH for him and he just worked his butt off in the offseason. And he’s been one of our better hitters all year. I’m superstitious, so I didn’t want to move him from that hole because he sees a lot of fastballs down there. So, I’m like, I’m just going to leave him down there and let those teams think OH 8-9 let’s go. And a lot of times throughout the year the bottom of the order has basically come through for us.”

That short spurt of offense was followed by both teams being set down in order in the 5th and 6th innings with Ludens collecting another strikeout, while Kuehl tabbed three more. MFL MarMac was down to their final three outs of the 2025 season and the Bulldogs were going to go down swinging.

Ben Krambeer started the top half of the frame with a single and Millage followed suit, redeeming his miscues in the field. No outs and the first two runners had reached. Ludens quickly responded by getting Wesley Corlett, who was pinch hitting for Kade Humble, to ground into a fielder’s choice at second base.

One out and runners at the corners. It was time for a rendezvous at the mound. Perhaps it was to calm his team down, maybe talk some strategy, or just maybe it was to settle his own nerves,

“But I still got anxious because these kids wanted it, so I want it so bad for the kids. Not for myself. I want it for those guys because you spend a lot. It’s summer baseball. I tell the kids all the time, you know, it’s different. It’s a different sport than you know, basketball, football because you’re during the school, summer. You’re just there’s no distractions. It’s just baseball, you know? And so, you spend a ton of time, you know, 30 some games and you’re together. I just wanted it for them, really. Because you become like a little family in the summer for sure.”

Ludens answered the call by striking out Nuehring for the second out of the inning. Tyce Wikner, an 8th grader, was now called to the bat. Ludens was there before, a kid with a dream of going to state and now he was one out away from living that dream.

One pitch, a flare into centerfield to the reliable glove of Crow and the game was over. Ludens had now thrown 19.2 innings, allowing zero runs on six hits, tabbing 20 strikeouts, and collected a 3-0 record in his postseason run. The man all about business on the mound earned a chance to live his childhood dream,

“Feels great. It’s been a long time coming. Ever since 8th grade, even before 8th grade, you know, when I was little, just putting the work in. I knew one day; I’d be in high school playing baseball and making the state tournament was something I always wanted to do. So finally getting be able to do it my senior year is a great feeling.”

Crow was quick to give his team the praise after the game for helping him play his best,

“I just like to give a big shout out to my team because you know it’s a team sport and they’ve helped me all the way through the year. Through my ups and through my downs, I couldn’t do it without them.”

The Bulldogs clinched the #5-seed a decade removed from their last trip to state, pinning them against the #4-seed Unity Christian at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 22nd, at Merchants Park in Carroll, Iowa.

Despite a 27-2 record, three-straight shutouts in the postseason, and a Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division title—a conference that has now sent seven teams to state in the last seven years including a state champion in New London, Crow knows Mediapolis will be considered longshots,

“You know, a lot of people have said we’ve had a bad schedule, or an easy schedule and a lot of people have put us down and I just mean I can’t wait to see their faces when they see that we’re on the ride to Carroll and a lot of the teams that they bet on aren’t so, you know, it feels great to be the underdogs. I mean, we’ve always been the underdogs in every tournament we go to. So, going to state is huge.”

KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 1:15 pm on Tuesday!

Sports, July 16th

By Slaten Swords · Wednesday, July 16th, 2025 at 6:28 am CDT

Postseason Baseball

In a battle of the Bulldogs, #5 Mediapolis clinched their first state tournament berth since 2015 after shutting out MFL MarMac 2-0 last night. Lance Ludens produced another gem on the mound, throwing the complete-game shutout while striking out nine. Ludens talked about his mindset heading into the substate championship,

“Confident in my defense, so every game I just try to come out, stay relaxed, stay calm, throw some strikes, hopefully roll some ground balls and let my defense do most of the work tonight. I was a little hyped up so I was feeling really good and I think I got a few more strikeouts than I normally do, but yeah, I just really just came in, staying calm and treating every game like the last. It’s a job. It’s a business. So just get the job done.”

Kyler Crow broke the tie in the fourth inning with a solo home run with Braeden Oliver adding an insurance run with an RBI single. Mediapolis head coach Rick Whitaker felt the nerves wash away as soon as Crow made the final out,

“But I still got anxious because these kids wanted it, so I want it so bad for the kids. Not for myself. I want it for those guys because you spend a lot. It’s summer baseball. I tell the kids all the time, you know, it’s different. It’s a different sport than you know, basketball, football because you’re during the school, summer. You’re just there’s no distractions. It’s just baseball, you know? And so, you spend a ton of time, you know, 30 some games and you’re together. I just wanted it for them, really. Because you become like a little family in the summer for sure.”

#5 Mediapolis will play #4 Unity Christian at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, July 22nd, for the Class 2A quarterfinals in Carroll, Iowa at Merchants Park. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 1:15 pm.

In Class 1A Substate 5, Hillcrest Academy squeaked out a 1-0 victory over Pekin last night to punch their ticket to the state tournament. Phoenix Anderson struck out seven in seven innings of work. The Ravens will square off against #1 Remsen St. Mary’s on Monday, July 21st, at 11 am. 

Postseason Softball

For the Class 3A Region 5 championship, Washington scored four runs in the final two innings to down Assumption, 6-4. The Demons grabbed the #7-seed and will take on #2 Williamsburg on Tuesday, July 22nd, at 10 am.

Here are the Class 1A and Class 2A, state tournament matchups for Tuesday. 

In Class 1A, Wayne grabbed the #1-seed with a 25-2 record and they will face off against the #8-seed Highland after the Huskies upset Iowa Valley 6-3. #4 Riverside and #5 Newell-Fonda will link up in the early evening matchup. 

With a 28-4 record, #2 Clarksville will square off against #7 Newman Catholic with the winner scheduled to face off against the winner between #3 Wapsie Valley and #6 St. Edmond. 

Over in Class 2A, #1 Van Meter enters as the favorite as the Bulldogs look to defend their Class 2A title with an opening round matchup against #8 East Marshall. Grabbing the #4 and #5 seeds were Durant and West Fort, respectively.

#2 Louisa-Muscatine flew past Pella Christian 6-3 on their way to their first state tournament appearance since 2022. The Falcons will compete against #7 West Monona. Lastly, #3 West Lyon will take on #6 Cascade at 3 pm. 

Local Athletic Summer Camps

Mt. Pleasant will be hosting Panther Hoopla: A Southeast Iowa Basketball Camp starting today and running through Friday, July 18th. Coaches will work with the campers in a fun and challenging environment, filled with drills, player development, and competitive games at the Mt. Pleasant High School gym.

The morning session is for 6th through 8th graders, and it runs from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The afternoon session will go from 1 pm to 3 pm for 3rd through 5th graders.

An upcoming registration due date is July 18th for the Mediapolis volleyball camp for 3rd all the way through 9th graders starting on August 4th and the Danville youth volleyball camp for 2nd through 8th graders starting on the same date. 

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees bounced back from a weekend sweep with a 9-0 dismantling of the Normal CornBelters. Danny Harris allowed only four hits in seven innings, fanning three in the win. The Bees will face off against the CornBelters tonight at 6:30 pm on the road. 

The Clinton LumberKings fell to the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp last night 6-0. The LumberKings will get their rematch tonight at 7:05 pm on the road. 

This Day in Sports History

1909 – MLB Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators play the longest scoreless game in AL history – 18 innings at Bennett Field in Detroit, Michigan.

1941 – Joe DiMaggio goes 3 for 4, hitting in his 56th straight game.

1994 – The Shreveport Pirates lose their first CFL home game, 35-34 to the Toronto Argonauts at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Sports, July 15th

By Slaten Swords · Tuesday, July 15th, 2025 at 6:31 am CDT

Postseason Baseball

For Class 3A Substate 6, Fairfield’s season came to an end last night against Pella in a 6-0 shutout. Two errors by the Trojan defense placed the squad in a bad spot, despite Voss Richardson tossing five strikeouts in five innings, allowing only one hit and one earned run in the process. Dain Burkhart collected a double on a 2 for 3 performance at the plate. Fairfield finished the season with a 21-11 record. 

In Class 1A, Pekin will square off against Hillcrest Academy tonight at 7 pm for the substate 5 championship. The two teams split their matchups from earlier in the season with the Panthers winning back in May, 8-7, and the Ravens claiming a 2-0 shutout in mid-June.

For Class 2A Substate 4, #5 Mediapolis will take on MFL MarMac for the substate championship tonight at 7 pm at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

Postseason Softball

Classes 1A and 2A held their regional championships last night, here are the upcoming state matchups for Tuesday, July 22nd, for both classes.

In Class 1A, Wayne grabbed the #1-seed with a 25-2 record and they will face off against the #8-seed Highland after the Huskies upset Iowa Valley 6-3. #4 Riverside and #5 Newell-Fonda will link up in the early evening matchup. 

With a 28-4 record, #2 Clarksville will square off against #7 Newman Catholic with the winner scheduled to face off against the winner between #3 Wapsie Valley and #6 St. Edmond. 

Over in Class 2A, #1 Van Meter enters as the favorite as the Bulldogs look to defend their Class 2A title with an opening round matchup against #8 East Marshall. Grabbing the #4 and the #5 seeds were Durant and West Fort, respectively.

#2 Louisa-Muscatine flew past Pella Christian 6-3 on their way to their first state tournament appearance since 2022. The Falcons will compete against #7 West Monona. Lastly, #3 West Lyon will take on #6 Cascade at 3 pm. 

For Class 3A Region 5, Washington will face off for the region champion tonight at 7 pm at Assumption. 

Local Athletic Summer Camps

Mt. Pleasant will be hosting Panther Hoopla: A Southeast Iowa Basketball Camp starting tomorrow, July 16th, and running through the 18th. Coaches will work with the campers in a fun and challenging environment, filled with drills, player development, and competitive games at the Mt. Pleasant High School gym.

The morning session is for 6th through 8th graders, and it runs from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The afternoon session will go from 1 pm to 3 pm for 3rd through 5th graders.

In other camp news, an upcoming registration due date to look out for is July 18th for the Mediapolis volleyball camp for 3rd all the way through 9th graders starting on August 4th and the Danville youth volleyball camp for 2nd through 8th graders starting on the same date. 

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees will face off against the Normal CornBelters on the road today. 

The Clinton LumberKings will host the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp tonight at 7:05 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1912 – Jim Thorpe placed in the top 4 in all 10 events for a then-Olympic record 8,413 points to win the Decathlon gold medal at the Stockholm Olympics. He had his medal stripped in 1913 due to playing pro baseball, reinstated in 1982.

1999 – The inaugural game at the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field held in Seattle, Washington.

2007 – MLB Philadelphia Phillies lose to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 10-2 to become the first franchise in major American sport with 10,000 all-time losses.

Sports, July 14th

By Slaten Swords · Monday, July 14th, 2025 at 6:32 am CDT

Postseason Baseball

The Class 1A Substate 5 District 10 championship was a masterclass of pitching between New London and Pekin with the Panthers exiting with the victory 2-1. The duo of Henry Adam and Nolan Glick allowed only two hits and struck out 12 in the victory, as Memphis Watson tabbed four strikeouts on the mound and scored the lone run of the game for the Tigers off a sacrifice by Gavin Menke-Bailey. New London finished the season with a 15-10 record.

Pekin will square off against Hillcrest Academy tomorrow, July 15th, at 7 pm for the substate championship.

Moving to Class 2A Substate 4, #5 Mediapolis’s Lance Ludens threw six innings of no-hit ball to down Durant over the weekend, 3-0. Ludens fanned seven in the win, while Kyler Crow collected a double and two RBIs. The Bulldogs will take on MFL MarMac for the substate championship tomorrow at 7 pm at Solon Recreation and Nature Area. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.

Over in Class 2A Substate 5, Central Lee fell to Chariton 3-2 in the District 9 championship. The Hawks tabbed a 19-5 record for the season.

For Class 3A Substate 5, Washington was dismantled by Assumption, 18-0. 

In Substate 6, Fairfield will travel to Pella tonight at 7 pm after the Dutch shutout Keokuk 8-0 over the weekend. 

Fort Madison finished the season with a 7-22 record after losing 12-2 to Xavier. 

For Class 4A Substate 3, Burlington held on to a 4 to 2 lead entering the sixth inning against Muscatine, but the Muskie offense struck in the bottom of the frame for 12 runs to exit with the win, 14-4. Evan Hecox slapped a double for an RBI in the loss. The Grayhounds finished the season with an 18-14 record. 

Postseason Softball

For Class 1A Region 1, Holy Trinity Catholic was unable to rally back against Seymour, falling a game short of the region championship in a 2-1 final. The Crusaders finished the season with a 20-8 record. 

For Class 3A Region 5, Mediapolis was unable to upset Assumption over the weekend, losing 8-2. Avery Bandy smacked an RBI-double in the loss. The Bulldogs ended the season with a 15-9 record. 

Washington made sure there would be no comeback this season, thrashing Central Lee for a 10-0 victory. The Salazars did most of the damage for the Demons with Isabella throwing a one-hitter and Leighton tabbing a triple and two RBIs. Washington and Assumption will face off for the region championship tomorrow at 7 pm at Assumption. 

In the Class 4A Region 3 bracket, Fort Madison lost to Norwalk 8-0. The Bloodhounds finished the season with a 13-15 record. 

Mt. Pleasant Summer Camps

Mt. Pleasant will be hosting Panther Hoopla: A Southeast Iowa Basketball Camp from July 16th through the 18th. Coaches will work with the campers in a fun and challenging environment, filled with drills, player development, and competitive games at the Mt. Pleasant High School gym.

The morning session is for 6th through 8th graders, and it runs from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The afternoon session will go from 1 pm to 3 pm for 3rd through 5th graders.

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees hung on to beat the Clinton LumberKings 8-5 to start off the weekend. Kooper Schulte knocked in two runs to help secure the win for the Bees. Unfortunately, the five-game winning streak was snapped by the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in a doubleheader sweep, 6-2 in game one and 11-7 in game two. The Bees will travel to the Normal CornBelters tonight at 6:30 pm.

The LumberKings bounced back last night with a Brayden Mulkey two-RBI walk-off double to lift them over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, 14-13. Clinton will host the Pistol Shrimp tomorrow, July 15th, at 7:05 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1951 – CBS televises the first sporting event in color: the Molly Pitcher.

1974 – Billy Martin is the first AL manager to be ejected by an umpire from two games in one day.

1987 -The MLB Rookie of the Year Award is renamed to honor Jackie Robinson.

Prep Postseason Baseball and Softball Scores (July 12th)

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, July 12th, 2025 at 11:23 pm CDT

Prep Baseball and Softball- District championships were won, substate and regional championships are now set, and Class 3A and Class 4A finally got their first round matchups in the books. Here’s a look at the scores for our local teams.

Baseball

Class 1A Substate 5

District 9 Championship: Hillcrest Academy 5, Sigourney 4

District 10 Championship: Pekin 2, New London 1

Class 2A Substate 4

District 7 Championship: Mediapolis 3, Durant 0

District 8 Championship: MFL MarMac 4, Beckman Catholic 1

The two Bulldog squads will meet on Tuesday, July 15th, at 7 pm. Location to be announced.

Substate 5

District 9 Championship: Chariton 3, Central Lee 2

District 10 Championship: Cardinal 6, I-35 0

Class 3A Substate 5

Assumption 18, Washington 0

Substate 6

Pella 8, Keokuk 0

The Dutch will host Fairfield on Monday, July 14th, at 7 pm.

Xavier 12, Fort Madison 2

Class 4A Substate 3

Muscatine 14, Burlington 4

Softball

Class 1A Region 1

Seymour 2, Holy Trinity Catholic 1

Class 3A Region 4

Assumption 8, Mediapolis 2

Washington 10, Central Lee 0

Class 4A Region 3

Norwalk 8, Fort Madison 0

Sports, July 12th

By Slaten Swords · Saturday, July 12th, 2025 at 6:30 am CDT

Postseason Baseball

For Class 3A Substate 5, Washington and Assumption had their game postponed to 2 pm today at Davenport North High School.

In Substate 6, Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield was one of the few games to actually complete action yesterday and despite the two combining for 68 runs in the first three matchups, the Trojans were able to win a pitching duel 3-1 to advance to the second round.

Dain Burkhart pitched a complete game, allowing only one hit over the final four innings and striking out two for Fairfield. The Panthers were led by Grayson Lowery, who tabbed two strikeouts on the mound and an RBI off a pair of singles at the plate. Mt. Pleasant finished the season with a 17-12 record.

Fairfield will await the winner between Pella and Keokuk, as their game was moved to 6 pm tonight.

Fort Madison will travel to Xavier today at noon.

For Class 4A Substate 3, Burlington and Muscatine had their contest paused in the bottom of the second inning with the game tied at zero. The game will resume today at noon.

In Class 1A, New London will act as the home team against Pekin for the District 10 Championship tonight at 7 pm at Sigourney High School. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. Tiger head coach Jayden Flowers knows how hard this senior class has worked to get back to this position,

“It’s huge. I mean, this is the senior class that was the freshman during the state championship run. The first two years were really tough for us and these senior boys have been absolutely incredible with keeping the culture and the program at the level that it takes to win and take it back to the district championship. So that was huge.”

Moving to Class 2A Substate 4 District 7, #5 Mediapolis will host Durant tonight at 5 pm.

Over in Class 2A Substate 5 District 9, Central Lee will venture back to Chariton tonight to face off against the Chargers at 7 pm.

Postseason Softball

For Class 1A Region 1, Holy Trinity Catholic and Seymour postponed their matchup last night. The two will link up tonight at 4:30 pm at the Monroe County Sports Complex in Albia.

For Class 3A Region 5, Mediapolis will play tonight at 7 pm against Assumption on the road.

Central Lee and Washington will meet tonight at 7 pm in Washington.

In the Class 4A Region 3 bracket, Fort Madison will travel to square off against Norwalk tonight at 7 pm.

Mt. Pleasant Summer Camps

Mt. Pleasant will be hosting Panther Hoopla: A Southeast Iowa Basketball Camp from July 16th through the 18th. Coaches will work with the campers in a fun and challenging environment, filled with drills, player development, and competitive games.

The morning session is for 6th through 8th graders, and it runs from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The afternoon session will go from 1 pm to 3 pm for 3rd through 5th graders.

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees scored three in the top of the ninth inning to pick up their fourth straight win last night, beating the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 8-5. Kooper Schulte collected an RBI in the win. The Bees will host the Clinton LumberKings tonight at 6:30 pm.

The Clinton LumberKings handled the Quincy Doggy Paddlers last night 11-3. Brett White went a perfect 5 for 5 with a home run and four RBIs. Game two saw play suspended in the top of the 5th inning with the LumberKings leading 7-5, the game will be resumed on July 22nd.

This Day in Sports History

1901 – Cy Young wins his 300th baseball game.

1949 – Baseball owners agree to erect warning paths before each fence.

1979 – “Disco Demolition Night” at Comiskey Park: fans go wild destroying disco records and cause the White Sox to forfeit the second game of a doubleheader to the Detroit Tigers due to the damage caused on the field.

Prep Postseason Baseball: Fairfield’s Dain Burkhart Shuts Down Mt. Pleasant in First Round Showdown

By Slaten Swords · Friday, July 11th, 2025 at 11:53 pm CDT

Fairfield, IA- Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield combined for 68 runs through their first three matchups of the season with the lowest score being seven runs by the Panthers in the first game. Offense is flashy but defense is reliable and the Trojans defense shut down the Panthers, advancing to the second round of the Class 3A Substate 6 bracket in a 3-1 victory.

History

Fairfield entered as the favorites having swept the Panthers in their regular season series and collected the Southeast Conference (SEC) title for the second consecutive season after outdueling Burlington 3-2 in the regular season conference winner-takes-all finale.

Still, winning four games against one opponent is never a guarantee, especially when that opponent helped aid your conference championship aspirations by downing the Grayhounds 11-7 in the second game of their doubleheader to set up the tiebreaker. Oh, also, Mt. Pleasant had taken the Trojans to the wire the last time the two clashed at Fairfield Middle School.

“Yeah, I was talking to the coaching staff earlier today, you know, they beat us by 14 the first game, they beat us by 8 the second game, they only beat us by one at their place last time we played them” said Panther head coach Brent Broeker. “So, you know, we’re making progress. We just gotta, you know, get that, get that big hit when we need it.”

The Panthers put up four runs in the top of the 7th inning to lock the score at nine with and produced two outs in the bottom of the frame before a Dayson Workman walk-off solo home run, the first home run of his career, ended the game in Fairfield’s favor, 10-9.

Tensions were high between the SEC foes with Mt. Pleasant watching two games against the Trojans slip through their fingers, while Fairfield was still bitter after the Panthers yanked away a postseason win on a game-winning single by Zerek Venghaus at Mapleleaf, 4-3 the final after nine innings and two days.

Something was going to break on a Friday night.

The Game

Well, Mother Nature had other ideas with the threat of severe weather hovering around first pitch time at 7 pm. Officials opted to move the game up to a 1 pm start time. So, not under the lights, but a Friday matinee in mid-July with temperatures touching 90 degrees certainly sets the tone as well.

The starting pitching matchup pinned Fairfield’s ace Dain Burkhart, who entered with a 2.50 ERA for the season, and Grayson Lowery, the team leader in ERA at 2.14, for Mt. Pleasant against one another. Burkhart had eight runs (two earned) in his win over the Panthers in game two, while Lowery lasted only 0.2 innings in game one against Fairfield with a similar situation to Burkhart.

With a 1:05 pm first pitch time, Payton Walker for Mt. Pleasant led off the game with a single up the middle, but a Brayton Hutson fielder’s choice led to the two flipping running responsibilities with Hutson immediately nabbing second with his sixth steal of the season.

The top of the first inning looked to end without a run getting pushed across after Zach Newton hit a grounder towards Cason Miller at short, but a blooper off his glove prolonged the inning for Grayson Lowery, who expeditiously poked one into left field for an RBI-single. Lowery’s 20th RBI of the season gave the Panthers a 1 to 0 lead to end the first half-frame.

In the bottom of the first inning, Burkhart was plucked by a pitch and Luke Konczal singled, eventually leading to a Miller sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.

A scoreless second inning by both teams was highlighted by Lowery’s first strikeout of the game and some momentum for the Panther bats for the top of third inning. Hutson and J.C. Sitar collected back-to-back singles to put runners on first and second with two outs away.

Again, it was the bat of Lowery that looked to put the Panthers ahead as the righty sliced a line drive into shallow right field in front of Aiden Kreuter. Hutson’s speed on the basepath left no question that he was going to go galloping around third base and head home on the straightaway.

Kreuter fired from right field, a one-hopper to Aiden Westercamp covering the plate. Hutson, sprinting to the bag, was beaten to the bag by the ball and was unable to juke past the tag.

Hutson was out at home, the top of the frame was over, the game still knotted at one.

Another single by Konczal was all the Trojans could muster in the bottom half of the inning as Lowery rang up Westercamp to end the inning.

Spoiler, Mt. Pleasant would register one more hit for the rest of the game, as Burkhart would retire the side in the fourth inning. A pitching change for Mt. Pleasant would bring to the mound senior, Liam Marshall. The Trojans jumped on him early with three consecutive singles to load the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning, no outs.

But, Marshall chipped away, generating a tapper right back to him as he got the force out at home. One out and the game still tied at one. Unfortunately, a Dayson Workman hit-by-pitch pushed the go-ahead run across and a fielder’s choice off the bat of Burkhart would give the Trojans a 3 to 1 lead after four innings.

Mt. Pleasant appeared poised to answer back in the fifth inning after Briar Bender executed the bunt single to lead off the inning. A textbook 6-4-3 double play instantly deflated the inning as Hutson went down on strikes, Burkhart’s first of the game.

Marshall would sit the Trojans down in order in the bottom of the fifth inning, but an error by Chase Countryman on a Lowery groundball did not provide the opportunity needed for Mt. Pleasant as the top of the sixth inning came and went without any runs.

A lead off single by Fairfield’s Ethan Bisgard in the bottom of the sixth frame brought in Zach Newton for the Panthers and he forced Burkhart to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the sixth inning with the game still within reach, 3 to 1 in favor of Fairfield.

With a thunderstorm on the horizon, Burkhart was the one to strike as he sat down Griffin Jones, popped up Marshall, and caused Bender to ground out to Miller. Another 1-2-3 inning for Burkhart as he picked up the complete game win, fanning two. Fairfield moved to 9-4 in games decided by three runs or less, their sixth clutch win in-a-row.

Mt. Pleasant finished the season with their third consecutive winning record of 17-12, but with a feeling that the season was closing too soon. The Panthers will say good-bye to 10 seniors: Landen Seymoure, Payton Walker, Brayton Hutson, Zach Newton, Liam Marshall, Owen Baker, Cooper Coleman, Dane Cook, J.C. Sitar, and Briar Bender.

This collection of seniors helped bring the Maroon and Gold back to their winning ways and two postseason wins over their four seasons. Now, it is up to next year’s team to continue the tradition.

Upcoming

Fairfield will take on either Pella or Keokuk on Monday, July 14th, at 7 pm as the Dutch and Chiefs had their game postponed to Saturday with a 6 pm start time due to the weather.