Mount Pleasant, IA- The race for the softball Southeast Conference (SEC) crown features two of the best teams in their respective classes getting ready to clash for their three-game series next week, but there’s plenty of other meaningful matchups to discuss.

At the top of the conference standings, #7 in Class 3A Washington is a perfect 10-0 against other SEC opponents having outscored their foes by 93 runs. Their series against Keokuk will be interrupted tonight with a rescheduled game against Fairfield.

The Demons offense has impressed thus far, scoring 10 or more runs in nine of their conference showdowns. Add in a team earned-run-average (ERA) of 2.48 and the Demons are a tough squad to surmount.

Players to Watch: Isabella Salazar, Ella Greiner, and Alyvia Anderson

Burlington had been neck-and-neck with Washington, but a freak injury to senior star Saydee Plummer has led to a slew of losses for the Grayhounds: 2-4 in their last six games. Understandably, Plummer rocked a 0.81 ERA and 0.412 batting average before the injury.

Their struggling offense has been exposed during this streak, scoring four runs or less in half of their contests. This led to a 3-1 loss to Fort Madison in game one of their Monday doubleheader this week before they answered with an 11-1 thrashing in game two.

The Grayhounds (9-1 in SEC play) will need to exit with the win tomorrow against the Bloodhounds to have an opportunity to defend their conference title.

Players to Watch: Kylee Hill, Lillian Hand, and Aubrey Hesler

Fort Madison sits tied with Keokuk in terms of record at 4-6, but the Bloodhounds have a -1-run differential compared to a -33-run differential for the Chiefs. In their head-to-head matchups, Keokuk boasts a 2-0 record, winning 7-4 in game one and 9-7 in game two.

Despite committing seven errors between the two games, Keokuk hit over 0.300 in game one and nearly 0.470 in game two. The Bloodhounds held the lead in game two at one point, but their defense and pitching struggled.

The Chiefs will attempt to upset the Demons tomorrow, while Fort Madison will look to win the series against Burlington.

Players to Watch (Keokuk): Ada Wood, Ellianna Brewer, and Suzie Whitaker

Players to Watch (Fort Madison): Gabrielle Ruble, Lauryn Helmick, and Alivia Holmes

Fairfield entered this week without a win against an SEC opponent (not in a tournament setting). After Monday’s handling of Mt. Pleasant, the Trojans escaped the cellar and tout a 2-8 mark in conference play with a -38-run differential.

In their eight losses, the Trojans managed only 21 runs but in their two games against the Panthers the offense woke up and scored 24 runs. Pitching has been the biggest question mark since the Trojans saw their ace Coty Engle graduate last year, their staff ERA is 6.67.

The Trojans will take on the Demons tonight before finishing their series against the Panthers tomorrow.

Players to Watch: Laney Norris, Savannah Hollander, and Leah Helmick

Mt. Pleasant is one of, if not the youngest roster in the state of Iowa as the Panthers routinely start four 8^th graders and a freshman. The inexperience has led to some growing pains as the Panthers are 2-17 on the year overall and 1-9 in the conference.

Offense has been the biggest issue for the Panthers as they have been shutout in seven of their losses and managed just five runs in their past six games. There have been bright spots this season with such as holding Burlington to a 2-2 tie until the 5^th inning.

Mt. Pleasant will be looking for revenge against Fairfield tomorrow and their first season of multiple conference victories since 2020.

Players to Watch: Emma Starr, Chaley Cook, and Kynlee White

Mount Pleasant, IA- The Southeast Conference baseball season is rapidly wrapping up and the race to the top of the standings is heating up, so it seems to be a perfect time to investigate the matchups tomorrow, June 20^th, and how the standings will be affected.

At the top of the standings, Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield will have their rubber match in Mt. Pleasant after the two split their Monday night doubleheader, 9-3 in favor of the Trojans and 12-7 for the Panthers.

Mt. Pleasant started their conference run with sweeps of Washington and Keokuk, while Fort Madison took a game from Fairfield, but the Trojans responded with sweep of Burlington. Washington and Burlington would defeat Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant, respectively, to keep the standings consistent.

The series between Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield has been consistently competitive as the record in the last ten matchups sits at 5-5, including five one-run finishes. As it stands, Mt. Pleasant is 8-2 in the conference with a +26-run differential, while Fairfield is 7-3 at +28.

KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm and first pitch at 7:30 pm.

Players to Watch: Dain Burkhart and Aiden Kreuter (Fairfield), Payton Hagans and Carson Andreasen (Mt. Pleasant)

After being swept by Fairfield, Burlington has responded by going 3-1 in their last four conference showdowns, including narrow wins over Fort Madison last Monday 8-7 in game one and 7-4 in game two. Logan Messer had four RBIs between the two wins.

Since a 4-3 conference win over Washington, Fort Madison has dropped their last seven games, allowing 75 runs in that stretch and scoring just 14.

Despite the recent success or lack thereof, both teams are locked at 5-5 records in the conference with the Bloodhounds holding a run advantage in run differential (+2 versus +1). Burlington will look to make it seven consecutive wins against Fort Madison.

Players to Watch: Luke Hellige and Hunter Cresswell (Fort Madison), Noah Krieger and Gabe Robinson (Burlington)

The last matchup will be Washington’s attempt to escape the conference cellar for the first time since the 2021 season. The Demons helped themselves out by upsetting Fairfield 5-4 on June 10^th and defeating Keokuk 15-11.

Keokuk has been able to knock off wins against the Grayhounds and Bloodhounds before winning game one of the doubleheader 7-2. Heading into the matchup Keokuk is 3-7 with a -22-run differential and Washington is 2-8 with a -35-run differential.

From June 26^th of 2017 to June 13^th of 2022, Washington won 17 games in a row over Keokuk. Since then, Keokuk has gone 6-2, averaging 8.5 runs per game.

Players to Watch: Caleb Zieglowsky and Luke Beenblossom (Washington), Brenton Hoard and Blake Chase (Keokuk)

High School Baseball

Offense was the name of the game last night in New London as the Panthers and Tigers combined for 33 runs. A strong wind to left field led to a J.C. Sitar two-run blast to get Mt. Pleasant on the board in the top of the first inning. The Panthers appeared in control after adding a run in the top of the second inning, but the Tigers responded by batting around in the bottom of the second and scoring six runs, including a two RBI double off the bat of Memphis Watson.

The Panthers and Tigers traded two runs in the third and a run in the fourth, which still kept New London in front 9 to 7 heading into the 5th inning. A leadoff double by Payson Coleman set the tone for the inning as he would gather two more hits before the end of the inning. Every starter would finish with an RBI in the 5th inning for the Panthers as they put up 16 runs. An RBI single by Gage Burden would cement the final score of 23-10 in favor of Mt. Pleasant. 

One of the senior leaders for the Panthers Payson Coleman, who tabbed two RBIs in the win and got the rally started, talked about his team’s success at the plate, 

“You know, we’ve really, I think we’ve swung it well all year. It was one of those tonight that we knew that coming into this game with playing Fairfield last night, that this was easily one we could have dropped and we just, you know, couldn’t show up. And you know, just because they didn’t have a winning record just. You know, didn’t want to drop this game, so we knew coming in that we were gonna have to put it on him. And you know, we struggled on the mound a little bit. And in the field. But our bats were there all night. And, you know, we’ve been working every day in the cage getting our swings in and it showed tonight.”

New London will stay at home to take on West Burlington on Friday, June 21st, at 5:30 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield tomorrow, June 20th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm. 

Fairfield fell to Mid-Prairie last night 12-6. Sam Weaton went 1 for 3 with two RBIs for the Trojans.

Winfield-Mt. Union will host West Burlington tonight at 5:30 pm. 

West Burlington snuck away with a one-run win against Danville last night 5-4. Brock Thuleen and Isaac Beard tallied two RBIs apiece as they notched five of the seven team’s hits. The Bears will face off against Mediapolis tomorrow, June 20th, at home at 5:30 pm. 

Van Buren County will take on Wapello tonight at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis will travel to Highland tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Central Lee lost to Burlington Notre Dame last night 11-4. Brayden Wyrick led the Hawks with two RBIs. Central Lee will face off against Hillcrest Academy on the road today. 

Burlington Notre Dame will host Regina Catholic tonight at 7 pm. 

High School Softball

West Burlington utilized a 12-run second inning to put Danville away after three innings, 18-1. The Falcons will square off against Winfield-Mt. Union tonight at 6 pm on the road. 

Winfield-Mt. Union fell to Pekin last night 6-4. Jessi Renken finished 2 for 3 with a triple in the loss.  

Van Buren County’s offense woke up late in the game to down Mediapolis 12-6 last night. The Warriors scored 11 of their 12 runs in the final three innings, while shutting down the Bulldogs. The Warriors will compete against Wapello tonight at 5:30 pm on the road. 

Mediapolis will take on Highland tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

Central Lee lost to Washington 12-2 last night. Isabella Salazar slugged two doubles and brought home six RBIs for the Demons, while Colbie Greiner added two RBIs towards the win. The Hawks will take on Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow, June 20th, in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm. 

Holy Trinity Catholic smacked New London last night 12-2. The Tigers will stay on the road to face off against Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 5:30 pm. 

WACO scored their season high in runs last night, but it was not enough as Columbus exited with the win 19-7. The Warriors will travel to Winfield-Mt. Union tomorrow at 6 pm. 

Mt. Pleasant will travel to Cardinal tonight at 7 pm.

Fairfield will face off against Washington tonight at 7:30 pm at home. 

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant’s optional summer runs officially get underway this week. The runs are a great way to get in shape and to run with others. The runs are available for 7th through 12th graders and 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 could not stop the cascade of runs last night, losing 17-9 against the O’Fallon Hoots. Merrick Mathews finished 3 for 6 at the plate with a team leading three RBIs. The Bees will finish their matchup from June 13th against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp that was halted in the 5th inning with the Bees up 11-10 tonight and then start another game against the Pistol Shrimp at the conclusion of game one.

The Clinton LumberKings’ 9th inning rally ended up one run short of forcing extras as the Pistol Shrimp came out on top 4-3 last night. RJ Sherwood rocked a two-run homer to left field for the LumberKings. Clinton will get their rematch tomorrow, June 20th, at home at 6:30 pm. 

This Day in Sports History

1943 – NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers merge to become the Steagles.

1999 – Stanley Cup, Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, NY: the Dallas Stars edge the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in triple overtime for a 4-2 series win; Brett Hull clinches the series with infamous “No Goal” ruling.

 1970 – Jim Bouton’s controversial baseball diary “Ball Four” is published.