Postseason Baseball
Classes 2A and 4A held their quarterfinal matchups yesterday and there was no room for errors in any of the contests.
For Class 2A, #1 Underwood and #8 Cascade were involved in a pitchers duel until Gavin Miles smoked a three-run homer for the Eagles in the only source of offense for the game, as the defending champs defeated the Cougars 3-0.
In the second matchup of the day, #5 Mediapolis struck first against #4 Unity Christian after Will Luttenegger singled home Braeden Olivier, who opened the third inning with a triple. But a controversial call said Oliver missed the first base bag after appearing to double home two runs; instead, the runs were taken away and the Knights took advantage, scoring four of their five runs with two outs over the fourth and fifth innings to beat the Bulldogs, 5-1. Mediapolis head coach Rick Whitaker was emotional talking about his trio of seniors after the game,
“I broke down a little bit in the huddle…Those guys have been with me for five years as 8th graders all the way up here and just their personality, you know, all the kids are different. But you know, Lance is a bulldog. He’s a fighter. We got Brayden Oliver, who just had a fantastic year. You know, didn’t have the greatest couple of years and then he just had a huge year. He had two hits there, you know. And then Payton, he’s almost caught every inning behind the plate, you know, 95° weather and he’s as tough as nails. He’s one of the better catchers in Class 2A, I for sure love those guys.”
Mediapolis finished the season with a 27-3 record.
#4 Unity Christian will get their rematch against #1 Underwood tomorrow, July 24th, at 4:30 pm.
The dramatics were on full display in the early evening matchup between #3 Van Meter and #6 Chariton, as a pair of errors allowed the Bulldogs to push across three runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to force extra innings, then Chariton reclaimed the lead in the 8th inning before throwing out a Bulldog trying to advance on a single to win the game in upset fashion, 7-6. Keagen Evans led the squad with three RBIs in the win.
#7 West Lyon attempted to comeback against #2 Pleasantville, but the Trojans slammed the door to escape with the 5-4 victory. JJ Phillips led the way with two RBIs. #2 Pleasantville will take on #6 Chariton tomorrow at 7 pm.
Class 4A had #3 Iowa City High produce three runs in the sixth inning to beat #6 Waukee 5-3. #7 Prairie will meet Iowa City High in the semifinals at 5 pm tomorrow after Tait Tierney tossed a complete game shutout against #2 Johnston to win 6-0.
#4 Waukee Northwest defeated #5 Iowa City Liberty 4-1 and the nightcap held the biggest surprise as #8 Bettendorf handed #1 Sioux City East a 2-1 loss as Jackson Hatler pitched all seven innings, striking out nine in the victory. The Wolves and Bulldogs will compete tomorrow at 7:30 pm in the semifinals.
For the Class 1A semifinal matchups, #4 Martensdale-St. Marys and #8 Hillcrest Academy will meet up today at 4:30 pm, while #7 East Buchanan will play #3 Saint Ansgar tonight at 7 pm for the night cap.
In Class 3A, #1 Wahlert Catholic will face off against #5 Saydel at 5 pm and #2 Pella will take on #3 Bishop Heelan at 7:30 pm.
Postseason Softball
In the bottom half of the Class 3A bracket, #7 Washington’s defense fell apart late as #2 Williamsburg escaped with a 7-2 win over the Demons. Colbie Greiner crushed a two-run homer.
#3 Albia snuck past #6 Estherville Lincoln Central 2-1. The Raiders and Lady Dees will meet up today at 4:45 pm.
Washington will take on Estherville Lincoln Central today at 10 am in the consolation bracket.
In Class 2A, #1 Van Meter crushed #8 East Marshall 11-3 and #5 West Fork downed #4 Durant 7-1. The Bulldogs and Warhawks will link up today at 3 pm, while East Marshall will take on Durant in the consolation bracket today at 10:30 am.
In the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Louisa-Muscatine struck quick, scoring four runs in the first inning before cruising to a 5-2 victory over #7 West Monona. Kamryn Taylor knocked in three runs for the Falcons.
#3 West Lyon outsprinted #6 Cascade in their 10-8 win. #2 Louisa-Muscatine and #3 West Lyon will compete at 5:15 pm tonight, while #7 West Monona and #6 Cascade will participate in their consolation matchup today at 12:15 pm.
In Class 1A, #8 Highland threw everything they had at #1 Wayne but still fell short, losing 7-4. Adisyn Prottsman smacked a double for two RBIs. The Falcons will take on #4 Riverside at 7 pm tonight after the Bulldogs defeated #5 Newell-Fonda 14-6.
#8 Highland and #5 Newell-Fonda will meet up in the consolation bracket at 12:45 pm today.
Lastly, #2 Clarksville will face off against #6 St. Edmond in the semifinals tonight at 7:30 pm after Clarksville snuck past Newman Catholic 5-4 and the Gaels clobbered #3 Wapsie Valley 11-2. The Knights and Warriors will play today at 2:30 pm for their consolation matchup.
In the consolation bracket showdowns:
In Class 4A, #1 Xavier defeated #4 Dallas Center Grimes 2-0 and #2 Norwalk bested #6 Western Dubuque 10-9.
For Class 5A, #5 Valley crushed #8 Dowling Catholic 12-3 and #7 Pleasant Valley beat #3 Southeast Polk 11-9.
In Class 3A, #8 Center Point-Urbana won their consolation bracket bout against #5 West Liberty yesterday 5-4.
In the championship bracket for Class 4A, #5 ADM will play #8 Pella in the semifinals today at 10 am. #7 North Scott will look for another upset against #3 North Polk today at 12:15 pm.
For the Class 5A semifinal matchups, #1 Waukee Northwest and #4 Ankeny Centennial will meet today at 10:30 am. #2 Linn-Mar will take on #6 Cedar Falls today at 12:45 pm.
In the top half of the Class 3A bracket, #1 Wahlert Catholic and #4 PCM will face off today at 2:30 pm.
Local Athletic Summer Camps
The WACO youth volleyball camp for 5th through 8th graders and the high school camp’s registration due date is today.
Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees had their five-game win streak snapped last night, falling to the Normal CornBelters 5-4 in extra innings. The Bees are back at home at 6:30 pm tonight to start a two-game series against the Thrillville Thrillbillies.
The Clinton LumberKings split their doubleheader against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers last night, losing game one 8-7 and taking game two 17-13. The two will engage in a rubber match today in Quincy at 6:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1866 – Cincinnati Baseball club, also known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, forms.
1931 – France announces it can’t afford to send a team to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics due to the Great Depression. They eventually manage to send a team.
2009 – Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox becomes the 18th pitcher to throw a perfect game in MLB history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0.
