Prep Baseball- The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released their 5th rankings of the season and southeast Iowa touts one team in the rankings.
In Class 1A, Newman Catholic holds on to the top spot with a 20-2 record followed by Kingsley-Person in 2nd and Remsen-St. Mary’s in 3rd. Lynnville-Sully is the only team in any of the rankings that is still undefeated on the season (18-0). Coming in at the 8th spot is Burlington Notre Dame with a 20-6 record.
The Nikes have had quite an impressive season with their losses coming against ranked opponents. But they have also defeated #5 North Linn, 12-2, and #7 Don Bosco, 8-5. Caden Schwenker leads the team at the plate with a 0.410 batting average, two home runs, and 30 RBIs. Hunter Shipley, Payne Prottsman, and Jaxon Sadler provide a combo on the mound that is hard to beat.
Van Meter is the king in Class 2A with Mid-Prairie right behind them with a 15-6 record. One of the Nikes’ losses comes against #7 Cascade. Anamosa rounds out the top 10. Pleasantville is also receiving votes with a 17-6 record along with West Lyon touting a 14-2 record.
Class 3A has Western Dubuque as the top dog—or cat—with a 22-6 record for the Bobcats. Lewis Central and North Polk follow in the rankings, respectively. Knoxville has just one loss on the season, but that loss occurred against unranked Gilbert, 11-2, thus locking them in the 4th position. Ballard rounds out the top 10. Benton, Bondurant-Farrar, and MOC-Floyd Valley are all receiving votes for the top 10.
Ankeny Centennial is the #1 team in Class 4A with Johnston, last year’s champion, coming into this week’s rankings at #3. Dallas Center-Grimes and Indianola round out the top 10, respectively. Bettendorf is receiving votes with a 15-6 record.