High School Baseball

Fairfield will take on Pella tonight at 7:30 pm for their final game of the regular season.

Mt. Pleasant will face off against Davenport Central tonight at 7 pm at home. 

High School Postseason Baseball

Postseason baseball officially got underway over the weekend for Class 1A and Class 2A and here’s how our local teams fared. 

In Class 1A Substate 6, Gavin Menke-Bailey’s complete game shutout led New London to a 3-0 win over Pekin. He struck out five batters and added an RBI at the plate. Memphis Watson led the Tigers with a two-RBI double in the 2nd inning.

New London will make the trip to take on Burlington Notre Dame tomorrow, July 9th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Danville’s season ended with a 4-1 loss to Keota. The Bears finished the season with a 4-15 record. 

In Class 2A Substate 5, Winfield-Mt. Union defeated Louisa-Muscatine 4-1 with a dominating performance by Trevor Phillips. He started the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning and pitched six innings of one-hit ball, striking out 10 batters. Head coach Nick Swanson talked about his ace’s performance after the game,

“Yeah, I’ve been saying it all year. Trevor Phillips is probably one of the better kids in the state. If he can throw strikes and that’s not a knock to him, it really isn’t. But when he throws strikes, he is dangerous, and you know he’s got two more years with us. So, we’re super excited for him. You know? We’ll shut him down this weekend and you know, hopefully his brother can do some damage for us.”

The Wolves will travel to Anamosa tomorrow to take on the Blue Raiders in the quarterfinal at 7 pm. 

Mediapolis pitched their way to the quarterfinals as Lance Ludens and Max Griffin combined for a near perfect game, shutting down West Burlington 8-0. Ludens also added two RBIs at the plate with a triple in the first inning with Kyler Crow adding his own two RBI triple in the sixth inning. The Falcons ended the season with a 7-14 record.

Mediapolis will take on Mid-Prairie tomorrow at 5 pm at Anamosa. 

For Class 2A Substate 6, Central Lee’s five-run third inning propelled the Hawks to an 8-4 win over Centerville to advance in the postseason. Cory Jones slugged a triple and tabbed three RBIs in the win. The Hawks will face off against Pleasantville tomorrow at 7 pm at Pleasantville. 

Van Buren County fell to Cardinal 8-2. The Warriors finished the season with an 8-17 record. 

High School Softball

Fairfield competed in a tournament at Ottumwa over the weekend and was swept. Game one was a nail biter with the Trojans scoring two runs in the top of the 7th to tie the game, but Ottumwa would walk it off for the 3-2 victory. Game two saw Assumption crush Fairfield 10-1. Leah Helmick led the Trojans with five hits for the weekend. Fairfield will square off against Knoxville tomorrow, July 9th, at 7:30 pm at home. 

West Burlington will take on Burlington tonight in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm. 

Central Lee will take on Cardinal tonight in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis will compete in a doubleheader tonight against Davis County on the road with game one at 5:30 pm. 

High School Postseason Softball

For Class 1A Region 6, New London will be playing host to Danville tonight at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Pekin tonight at 7 pm at home. 

WACO will hit the road to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic at 7 pm tonight

For Class 2A Region 5, Van Buren County will face off against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Wednesday, July 10th, at 7 pm at home. 

For Class 4A Region 8, Mt. Pleasant will travel to Central DeWitt on Thursday, July 11th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. The winner of the matchup will face off against Burlington in the semifinals.  

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant’s optional summer runs, available for 7th through 12th graders, are scheduled Monday through Thursday. The runs will often be led by upperclassmen as coaches may not be present for every run.

On Mondays and Wednesdays the runs will start at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they will be at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm. 

If you have any questions, contact Coach Murray at 319-850-0867. 

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees picked up their second shutout win of the season with a 5-0 victory over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes over the weekend. David Theriot Jr. went 6.2 innings, allowing only four hits while fanning four. Bryce Brown led the offense with a double and two RBIs. The Bees had their game against the Normal CornBelters last night postponed to July 27th. 

The Bees will face off against the Lucky Horseshoes tonight on the road at 6:30 pm. 

The Clinton LumberKings had a doubleheader on Saturday against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, winning the first game 10-3 but losing game two 5-2. Rayth Petersen and Gage Franck each went deep in game one.

Last night their rematch was halted in the bottom of the 3rd inning with the LumberKings leading 9-5. The game will resume on July 10th. The LumberKings will take on the Cornbelters tomorrow, July 9th. 

This Day in Sports History

1889 – John L. Sullivan successfully defends the last officially sanctioned, bare-knuckle world heavyweight prizefighting championship; Jake Kilrain’s trainer throws in the towel after 75 rounds in Mississippi.

1991 – Major league umpire Steve Palermo and former NFL defensive lineman Terence Mann are shot trying to help two waitresses from being robbed.

2010 – During the first round of the John Deere Classic, Paul Goydos became the 4th and oldest player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59; the round included 12 birdies and six pars.

Prep Baseball- June has come and gone along with twenty or so regular season baseball games, leading the state of Iowa to dive into postseason play for Class 1A and Class 2A last night. Despite the temperate weather, pitching took center stage for the opening round.

Class 1A

Substate 6 District 11 witnessed New London and Danville travel to Keota for the Tigers to face off against Pekin and the Bears taking on the host team, the Eagles.

The first game of the night had New London jump on Pekin for three runs in the 2^nd inning after a two-RBI double from the bat of Memphis Watson. Gavin Menke-Bailey started the game on the mound and picked up the win for the Tigers 3-0 to improve to 8-14 on the season.

The Tigers will stay on the road for the district 11 semifinals as they are set to take on Burlington Notre Dame on Tuesday, July 9^th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call.

Cole Kindred’s five innings on the bump, allowing only three hits and one run while fanning seven led the charge for Keota’s 4-1 win over Danville last night as Blake Baker added three more Ks to the stat line in relief.

Danville finished the season with a 4-15 record as the Eagles will take on Moravia on the road on Tuesday.

District 12’s Lone Tree upset Highland 9-3, while Hillcrest Academy snuck past HLV 5-4, and BGM took down Wapello 5-3.

Class 2A

KILJ’s double feature in Mediapolis starred four teams and two matchups for Substate 5 District 10: Winfield-Mt. Union versus Louisa-Muscatine and Mediapolis versus West Burlington.

Game one was a rematch of last year’s first round matchup where the Wolves pulled off the upset to win their first postseason game since 2020. This season it was Winfield-Mt. Union who entered as the favorite attempting to beat Louisa-Muscatine for the third time.

Winfield-Mt. Union’s Trevor Phillips was given the ball for the start and for head coach Nick Swanson it was his ace up his sleeve,

“Yeah, I’ve been saying it all year. Trevor Phillips is probably one of the better kids in the state. If he can throw strikes and that’s not a knock to him, it really isn’t. But when he throws strikes, he is dangerous…”

He was dangerous to say the least, allowing only one run on one hit in six innings of work. Additionally, the sophomore fanned 10 Falcons on the night; however, five walks and one hit batter was his only flaw of the night. Phillips also brough his bat with an RBI single in the first inning putting the Wolves on the board first.

Cole Milks added an RBI double and Tyson Kaalberg finished with an RBI himself as the Wolves exited with the 4-1 victory. Hayden Cantrell had the lone hit and RBI for Louisa-Muscatine as they finished with a 5-16 record.

The Wolves will now face off against Anamosa on Tuesday at 7 pm on the road. Coach Swanson talked about his team’s focus heading into the matchup,

“Yeah, just doing the little things. It’s kind of like our approach all year. You know, we want to make sure that we do the little things right, you know. We throw strikes. We make them earn it. You know, I’m a firm believer in, you know, baseball, anything can happen. So, we’re definitely going to be ready to go.”

Mediapolis gave the home crowd something to cheer about in game two with the Bulldogs taking on West Burlington. Lance Ludens and Max Griffin combined for a near perfect game with an error providing the only blemish against the Bulldogs, defeating the Falcons 8-0.

Officially, Ludens went 5.1 innings, tallying seven strikeouts, while Griffin finished the game with two strikeouts. On offense, Ludens got the game rolling with a two-RBI triple that he attempted to extend into an inside-the-park home run.

Kyler Crow knocked in two runs off his own triple in the sixth inning. West Burlington finished the season with a 7-14 record. The Bulldogs will also make the trip to Anamosa to take on Mid-Prairie at 5 pm on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the district 10 championship.

Lastly, we look to Substate 6 District 12 where Van Buren County made the trip to Central Lee. The Warriors were tasked to take on Cardinal in the opening round and held a one-run lead briefly, but Cardinal responded by scoring eight runs in the first four innings. The Comets surrendered a run, but eventually won 8-2.

Van Buren County ended the season with an 8-17 record, while Cardinal advanced to take on Interstate 35 on Tuesday at 7 pm.

On the bottom half of the bracket, Central Lee exploded for five runs in the third inning to take a 5 to 3 lead and never looked back, winning 8-4 over Centerville. Brayden Wyrick finished with a double on two hits and two RBIs. Cory Jones led the team with three RBIs as he smacked a triple for the Hawks.

Central Lee will hit the road to compete against Pleasantville on Tuesday at 7 pm at Pleasantville.

Class 3A and Class 4A will begin their postseason matchups on Friday, July 12^th, at 7 pm. KILJ will be on the call as Mt. Pleasant hosts Fort Madison for Class 3A Substate 5.

High School Baseball

Fairfield lost to Solon last night 5-1. Luke Konczal blasted a solo home run for the Trojans. Fairfield will take on Pella on Monday, July 8th, at 7:30 pm for their  final game of the regular season.

Mt. Pleasant will face off against Davenport Central on Monday at 7 pm at home. 

High School Postseason Baseball

New London will travel to Koeta tonight to take on Pekin in the Class 1A Substate 6 first round at 5 pm. 

Danville will square off against Keota at 7 pm tonight on the road. 

Burlington Notre Dame will await the winner of Pekin versus New London on Tuesday, July 9th, at home at 7 pm. 

Mediapolis will host the first round of the Class 2A Substate 5 postseason matchups tonight with Winfield-Mt. Union facing off against Louisa-Muscatine at 5 pm and the Bulldogs taking on West Burlington at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for both games with the pregame show at 4:45 pm. 

Central Lee will start their Class 2A Substate 6 playoff journey tonight at home against Centerville at 7 pm. 

Van Buren County will play Cardinal at 5 pm tonight at Central Lee. 

High School Softball

Mt. Pleasant fell to Burlington last night 11-0. 

West Burlington split their doubleheader last night, losing game one 3-2  in extra innings and taking game two 9-1. Logan Kelley smacked a two-run homer in game one, while Lauren Krieger and Madelyn Thomas both went deep in game two. The Falcons will take on Burlington on Monday, July 8th, in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm. 

Fairfield will face off against Ottumwa today at 12:30 pm on the road. 

Central Lee will take on Cardinal on Monday in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis will compete in a doubleheader on Monday against Davis County on the road with game one at 5:30 pm. 

High School Postseason Softball

For Class 1A Region 6, New London will be playing host to Danville on Monday, July 8th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Pekin on Monday at 7 pm at home. 

WACO will hit the road to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic at 7 pm on Monday. 

For Class 2A Region 5, Van Buren County will face off against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Wednesday, July 10th, at 7 pm at home. 

For Class 4A Region 8, Mt. Pleasant will travel to Central DeWitt on Thursday, July 11th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. The winner of the matchup will face off against Burlington in the semifinals.  

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant’s optional summer runs, available for 7th through 12th graders, are scheduled Monday through Thursday. The runs will often be led by upperclassmen as coaches may not be present for every run.

On Mondays and Wednesdays the runs will start at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they will be at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm. 

If you have any questions, contact Coach Murray at 319-850-0867. 

Prospect League

In the rubber match of their three-game series, the Clinton LumberKings clobbered the Burlington Bees 11-3. Bryce Brown injected early excitement into the game with a two-run homer for the Bees, but the offense struggled to produce. The LumberKings toed the line of aggressive yet patient offense, tabbing 12 hits and walking eight times. Karson Grout and James Hackett each finished with two RBIs. 

The Burlington Bees will stay at home to face off against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes at 6:30 pm tonight.

The LumberKings will resume a rain-out game against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp today, leading 2-0 in the bottom of the 3rd inning. The two will play a full game after the conclusion of game one. 

This Day in Sports History

1887 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Lottie Dodd becomes the youngest ever Wimbledon champion (15 years, 285 days); she beats Blanche Bingley 6-2, 6-0.

1956 – MLB Commissioner Ford Frick inaugurates the Cy Young Award, to honor baseball’s outstanding pitcher of the season.

1980 – MLB Philadelphia Phillies starter Steve Carlton fans seven Cardinals to reach 2,836 strikeouts, the most by a left-handed pitcher in MLB history at the time. Later passed by Randy Johnson.