Prep Baseball- The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) released the brackets for Class 3A and Class 4A. The brackets for Classes 1A and 2A were released last week. Here’s our local matchups and a bit of insight into the contests. The first round is July 12^th at 7 pm with the semifinals taking place on July 15^th.

Class 3A

The Southeast Conference runs Substate 5 with five of the six clubs competing in this bracket with two conference matchups to kick off the postseason.

At the top of the bracket, Washington will have to make a road trip to #6 Central DeWitt. The Sabers are the top seeded team for the Substate, but the Demons are no stranger to pulling off an upset with a conference victory over Fairfield midway through the season.

Players to Watch: Caleb Zieglowsky (Washington) and Jacob Maher (Central DeWitt)

The winner of that contest will face off against the winner between Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant with the Panthers acting as host. Mt. Pleasant has won the past three matchups against the Bloodhounds by a combined score of 36 to 3 at Mapleleaf.

Players to Watch: Ben Newton (Mt. Pleasant) and Luke Hellige (Fort Madison)

On the bottom half of the bracket, Assumption will host Davis County at Iowa City High with the winner advancing to the semifinals.

Waiting for them in the semifinals will be either Fairfield or Keokuk as the Trojans will host the Chiefs in the first round. Of their last 10 matchups, Fairfield is 8-2, including a five-game winning streak over the Chiefs with a run differential of +34.

Players to Watch: Brenton Hoard (Keokuk) and Dain Burkhart (Fairfield)

Class 4A

The last of our local teams will be in Substate 8 with Burlington taking on #10 Davenport North in a road matchup. The series has been even between these two schools with the largest deficit in the past five games being four runs.

Unfortunately, that loss came this year against the Grayhounds, 6-2, after they had won the previous four matchups.

Players to Watch: Christos Kantzavelos (Burlington) and Brandon Bea (Davenport North)

If you would like to see the matchups for Class 1A and Class 2A, then follow this link: Classes 1A and 2A Postseason Brackets

High School Baseball

West Burlington surrendered 11 runs in the 4th inning to eventually fall to Waterloo East 16-8 last night. Levi Fletcher-Bates led the Falcon offense with two RBIs. 

West Burlington will square off against Mediapolis tomorrow, June 28th, at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Van Buren County lost to Davis County last night 14-6. The Warriors will host Central Lee tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Central Lee’s two-run 5th inning proved to be enough to take down Keokuk last night 3-1. Bo Herdrich completed 6.2 innings, striking out nine while adding an RBI at the plate. 

Mt. Pleasant will hit the road to face off against Fort Madison tonight at 7:30 pm. 

New London will travel to Lisbon tonight at 7 pm. 

Fairfield will look to complete the sweep over Keokuk tonight at home at 7:30 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will travel to Highland tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Danville will take on New London tomorrow at 5:30 pm on the road. 

High School Softball

Winfield-Mt. Union resumed their game against Wapello last night and a three-run 4th inning sealed the win for the Arrows 5-2. Ada Boysen tossed 14 strikeouts in the complete game win along with hitting a triple and collecting an RBI. The Wolves will travel to Highland tonight at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant fell to Davis County last night 13-3. Keagyn Coleman and Linzy Striegel each tabbed an RBI for the Panthers. Mt. Pleasant will take on Fort Madison tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Central Lee lost to Keokuk last night 8-4. Gracie Thompson led the Chiefs with three RBIs. The Hawks will face off against Van Buren County tonight on the road at 7 pm. 

Fairfield will look to win their series against Keokuk tonight at home at 7:30 pm. 

WACO will play against Lone Tree tonight at 5:30 pm at home. 

Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to Mt. Pleasant tomorrow, June 28th, at 5:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 5:15 pm. 

Mediapolis will take on West Burlington tomorrow at 7:30 pm at home. 

New London will host Danville tomorrow at 7 pm. 

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released their postseason brackets yesterday. Follow this link to see our local matchups: Postseason Outlook

High School Softball Rankings

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released their sixth round of rankings and a local team made a reappearance into the top 15 after a brief hiatus. 

In Class 3A, Washington’s five game losing streak caused the Demons to tumble down the rankings but not out, stopping at #13. Their offensive output has slowed, averaging 2 runs a game in their last five contests compared to 11.4 runs per game in the five matchups before. 

Central Lee remained put at #14 with a 22-6 record on the season thus far. The Hawks hang their hat on their offense with the #1 slash line in all of Class 3A with a team batting average of 0.420, on-base percentage of 0.497, and slugging percentage of 0.618.

Lastly, Burlington reentered the top 15 at #13 for Class 4A after winning five of their last seven matchups, including a doubleheader sweep of Washington. Saydee Plummer is back in the lineup for the Grayhounds after a brief stint on the injured list and the team will look to lean on her 0.78 ERA and 0.400 batting average. 

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 held a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the 9th inning before the Jackson Roackabillys walked it off with an RBI single to cap off a five run 9th inning. Corey Boyette finished with two RBIs in the loss. The two will have a rematch tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

The Clinton LumberKings will host the Normal CornBelters tonight at 6:30 pm.  

This Day in Sports History

1890 – Canadian boxer George Dixon becomes the first black world champion when he stops English bantamweight champion Edwin “Nunc” Wallace in 18 rounds in London, England.

1894 – Annie Londonderry [Annie Kopchovsky] sets out from Boston to become the first woman to bicycle around the world; she completes the journey in September of 1895.

1999 – Tony Hawk is the first skateboarder to land a “900”, (a 2-½ revolution aerial spin), at the X Games in San Francisco, California.

Prep Softball- The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) released postseason brackets for all five classes. We will highlight our local teams and their matchups and provide a bit of insight. The first round will take place on July 8^th at 7 pm for Classes 1A and 2A and July 11^th for Classes 3A, 4A, and 5A.

Class 1A

Region six will feature most of our local teams, including some Southeast Iowa Super Conference rivals matched up in the opening round.

Renewing a heated rivalry, New London will be hosting Danville. The two played against one another at Danville with the Tigers fighting back with eight unanswered runs to win 9-5. Of their last ten matchups, New London has taken six.

The winner will move on to play Twin Cedars in a road game.

Players to Watch: Megan Lee (New London) and Alivia Bauer (Danville)

Holy Trinity Catholic will face off against the renewed program of WACO at home. The two teams have not played against one another since 2010 when the Warriors shut out the Crusaders 9-0.

Players to Watch: Natalie Wagner (WACO) and Emily Ross (Holy Trinity Catholic)

Winfield-Mt. Union will get to host their opening round matchup against Pekin. The two have split their season contests, the Wolves won their game 16-0 and Pekin took their game 6-4. In their last 12 games, Winfield-Mt. Union has won 10.

Players to Watch: Makiah Lower (W-MU) and Myah Bainbridge (Pekin)

The winners of WMU/Pekin and WACO/HTC will compete against one another for round two. The Crusaders hold the highest seed of the quartet.

Region eight will feature Highland taking on Keota and Wapello going against Hillcrest Academy in their opening round matchups.

Class 2A

Van Buren County won’t have to worry about a round one matchup as they will have to wait until July 10^th to host Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont at 7 pm. The Rockets have won their past three matchups by a combined score of 26 to 3.

Players to Watch: Alicia Cumberland (VBC) and Lanie Batterson (EBF)

The top team of the bracket is #5 Cardinal.

Class 3A

Region three will have Fairfield competing against Albia in a road matchup at 7 pm. The two will compete on July 3^rd in Albia as the Trojans won their past matchup in 2022, 7-1. In their past 10 matchups two teams have evenly split their contests.

Players to Watch: Laney Norris (Fairfield) and Grace Pence (Albia)

The winner of this game will face off against the winner between Mid-Prairie and Chariton in the semifinals.

Region Eight: West Burlington has experienced some time in the top 15, meaning Mediapolis will have a formidable opponent in their road first round matchup. The Bulldogs will be searching for their first victory over the Falcons since 2016 as West Burlington won their last matchup 12-0.

Players to Watch: Payton Harris (Mediapolis) and Logan Kelley (West Burlington)

The winner of this game will take on the winner between Assumption and Tipton.

In the bottom half of the bracket, #13 Washington will get to host Midland. The two have no prior games against one another.

Players to Watch: Leighton Salazar (Washington) and Mollie Ries (Midland)

The winner will face off against the winner between #14 Central Lee and Camanche at Central Lee. Similarly, the two have no previous contests against one another.

Players to Watch: Kenna Sandoval (Central Lee) and Kennady Bigwood (Camanche)

Class 4A

Region five will exhibit a Southeast Conference rivalry to start off the postseason between Fort Madison and Keokuk with the Bloodhounds playing host. Nevertheless, Keokuk has won both matchups thus far this season 9-7 and 7-4, ending the Bloodhounds 19-game winning streak.

Players to Watch: Gabrielle Ruble (Fort Madison) and Ada Wood (Keokuk)

The winner will hit the road to face off against Xavier on July 13^th at 7 pm.

Lastly in region eight, Mt. Pleasant will travel to Central DeWitt in their first contest against one another since at least games started being archived online.

Players to Watch: Emma Starr (Mt. Pleasant) and Adalyn Appleby (Central DeWitt)

The winner will tango against #13 Burlington in Burlington on July 13^th at 7 pm.

Stay tuned to KILJ to see who we will be broadcasting live.