Postseason Baseball
Classes 1A and 2A will be heading to Merchants Park in Carroll, Iowa, to start their journey to the state championship today for Class 1A and tomorrow, July 22nd, for Class 2A. Here’s the matchups.
To start off the day 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 tomorrow, #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. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 1:15 pm.
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.
Class 3A and Class 4A will be heading to Lewis and Clark Park in Sioux City for a one-year layover before returning to Cedar Rapids next season. Here are the matchups.
In Class 3A, #1 Wahlert Catholic enters as the favorite as they take on #8 Boone to start today’s slate of games at 11:30 am. The winner of that matchup will face off against the winner between #4 Assumption and #5 Saydel. On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Pella will compete against #7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton at 5 pm and #3 Bishop Heelan will have their showdown with #6 Carlisle.
Class 4A will get started on Tuesday morning with #6 Waukee attempting to upset #3 Iowa City High at 11:30 am. At 2 pm, #2 Johnston and #7 Prairie will square off, followed by #4 Waukee Northwest versus #5 Iowa City Liberty at 5 pm. #1 Sioux City East and #8 Bettendorf will be the night cap at 7:30 pm.
All-Southeast Conference Baseball Team
The Southeast Conference (SEC) released the All-Conference teams yesterday and Fairfield led the way, fielding five 1st Teamers, while Mt. Pleasant put up three on the 1st Team.
Fairfield successfully defended their SEC title this season, turning in a 13-2 conference record. Dain Burkhart was named 1st Team pitcher after leading the conference with eight wins and tossing the third lowest ERA with a 2.18. Additionally, his slash line of 0.391/0.496/0.427 percentages and 24 RBIs helped his campaign to be named SEC Player of the Year.
Luke Konczal and Cason Miller found a spot on the 1st Team Infield as Konczal led the conference with a 0.481 batting average and an 0.673 slugging percentage, clouting a league-high 12 doubles and Miller also touted a 0.600 slugging percentage with five doubles, two triples, and a home run as he knocked in 18 runs.
Lastly for the 1st Team, Aiden Westercamp found a spot for the outfield and Dayson Workman was named 1st Team utility. Westercamp held a conference-high 40 RBIs on nine doubles and a triple, while Workman yielded 29 walks for the third highest on-base percentage.
Voss Richardson (pitcher), Zandrik Allison (catcher), and Ethan Bisgard (outfielder) were named to the 2nd Team, while Archer Kreuter and Jacob Crew were named Honorable Mentions.
Mt. Pleasant was headlined by sophomore 1st Team pitcher Grayson Lowery. Despite the limited experience entering the season, Lowery quickly grabbed onto the team’s ace status with a 1.98 ERA, conference best, striking out 41 and earning six wins.
Payton Walker was named 1st Team catcher as he turned in a 0.386 season average with a 0.545 on-base percentage due to his 20 hit-by-pitches taken, leaving him two shy of the Mt. Pleasant school record held by Blake Heitmeier, who is the head coach of the state bound Carlisle Wildcats.
After a slow start to the season, J.C. Sitar caught fire and finished the season with two home runs on a 0.411 batting average, 0.500 on-base percentage, and a 0.589 slugging percentage. He also collected 39 RBIs and 11 doubles, both ranked second in the conference.
Zach Newton (pitcher) and Brayton Hutson (infielder) were named to the 2nd Team, while Liam Marshall and Cooper Coleman were named Honorable Mentions.
Burlington’s Evan Hecox (pitcher), Logan Messer (infielder), Ian Mason (outfielder), Caden Zaugg (outfielder), and Fort Madison’s Tateum Schelich (utility) rounded out the 1st Team.
Postseason Softball
Class 4A will begin the state tournament today 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 today and tomorrow, 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.
Tomorrow, #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 will compete against #7 West Monona. Lastly, #3 West Lyon will take on #6 Cascade at 3 pm.
All-Southeast Conference Softball Team
Washington picked up their first outright conference title since 2013 after rattling off a 14-1 record in SEC play as they compete for a state title. Helping them reach that point was Leighton Salazar as she earned Conference Player of the Year honors. The junior touted a slash line of 0.530/0.577/0.659, which held top marks in the conference, while collecting 34 RBIs. She also led the conference with 53 steals.
Fairfield had three Trojans earn a spot on the 1st Team in Olivia Hollander, Leah Helmick, and Lilly Bergren. Helmick destroyed the ball with five home runs and 14 doubles on her way to lead the conference with 50 RBIs. Bergren held sneaky power with four home runs and two triples as she knocked in 29 runs. Lastly, Hollander hit for a 0.453 average and worked 21 walks to finish the year with a 0.567 on-base percentage.
Faith Jones and Laney Norris were named to the 2nd Team and Haylee Eklund and Emma Septer were Honorable Mentions.
Mt. Pleasant had Saige Burchett and Keagyn Coleman earn spots on the All-SEC 2nd Team. Coleman led the team with 20 RBIs as the sophomore finished the season batting above 0.300 and tossed out five runners from behind the plate. Burchett’s return to the diamond was gradual, but eventually the power returned as she slugged six doubles and rallied in 17 runs on a 0.267 batting average.
Parker Coleman and Izzy Sloat were named All-SEC Honorable Mentions for the Panthers.
To finish out the 1st Team, Washington: Leighton and Isabella Salazar, Ella and Colbie Greiner, and Alyvia Anderson. Burlington: Ava Bradenburg and Keirah Wiseman. Keokuk: Ada Wood and Kylie Sisk. Fort Madison: Brylie Lorence.
Local Athletic Summer Camps
The WACO youth volleyball camp for 5th through 8th graders and the high school camp’s registration due date is Wednesday, July 23rd.
Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees smacked the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes over the weekend 15-4 to extend their winning streak to five. Caleb Klein hit a grand slam in the effort. The Bees will face off against the Normal CornBelters tomorrow, July 22nd, on the road at 6:30 pm.
The Clinton LumberKings had two of their three games postponed or canceled over the weekend, defeating the Thrillville Thrillbillies 10-1 in the one game they were able to get in. The LumberKings will resume their matchup against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers tomorrow, leading 7-5 in the top of the 5th inning, before starting game two of their doubleheader at 6:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1945 – At Shibe Park the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers play 24 innings and settle for a 1-1 deadlock.
1968 – PGA Championship Men’s Golf, Pecan Valley GC: Julius Boros (48) becomes oldest winner of a major; wins by 1 stroke from Bob Charles & Arnold Palmer.
1985 – British Open Men’s Golf, Royal St George’s GC: Scotsman Sandy Lyle wins his only Open title by 1 stroke from runner-up Payne Stewart; last time the event featured double cut (after 36 and 54 holes), introduced in 1968.
Karen Arlene (Brown) Wells was born May 24, 1950, in Fairfield, Iowa to Paul LaVerne Brown and Ruth Arlene (Bradfield) Brown of Stockport, Iowa. She graduated from Van Buren High School in 1968. After graduation, Karen married the love of her life, Larry Lee Wells, on June 22, 1968, sharing beautiful memories with their growing family in various locations, but established long-term residency in Des Moines, Iowa.