Postseason Baseball

State championship Friday is in the books and four new champions have been crowned. Here’s how the games played out.

The day started in Sioux City with the Class 3A and Class 4A championship contests and a couple of schools looking for their program’s first title. In Class 3A, #2 Pella had Teagan Hoekstra pitch a complete game gem, notching seven strikeouts in a 3-1 victory over #1 Wahlert Catholic. Landyn Bethards claimed two RBIs to earn the Dutch’s first state title in program history. 

For Class 4A, it was another pitching gem that claimed another school’s first state title as #3 Iowa City High’s Jaxton Schroeder tossed eight strikeouts over the seven innings in the 4-1 win over #8 Betterndorf. Drew Nye helped the cause with two RBIs. 

We now move over to Merchants Park in Carroll for the Class 1A and Class 2A championship showdowns and again the team to score first was the one to win as #3 Saint Ansgar took down #4 Martensdale-St. Marys 4-1 for the Class 1A championship, their program’s first. Jayce Schwiesow went the entire seven innings, allowing only two hits and fanning four. 

In the Class 2A championship game, #2 Pleasantville buried #4 Unity Christian early, scoring five runs in the first inning before clobbering the Knights 9-1. JJ Phillips was halfway to the cycle with a double and a home run, tabbing three RBIs in the win.

High School All-District Teams

The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released the All-District teams and seven of our local teams had players earn a spot on the First Team for the Southeast District.

In Class 1A, Burlington Notre Dame had three Nikes earn a spot on the First Team with Payne Prottsman, who threw a 1.29 ERA for the season, Landry Haberichter, and Eli Oleson, who combined for 65 RBIs. 

New London’s Memphis Watson was the lone Tiger to earn a spot on the First Team as an outfielder. He produced a slash line of 0.500/0.590/0.671 for 20 RBIs, six doubles, and four triples. He also broke the school record for stolen bases in a season with 42.

Izaak Loeffler of Van Buren County was named First Team utility as he knocked in a team-leading 16 RBIs and seven doubles for a 0.452 batting average. 

Over in Class 2A, Mediapolis had two selections: First Team pitcher Lance Ludens and First Team outfielder Kyler Crow. Ludens collected 11 of the team’s 27 victories and sported a 1.09 ERA with an 0.72 WHIP. He was nearly unhittable during a six-game stretch that saw him toss 45 strikeouts in 39.2 innings for a 0.35 ERA, including a no-hitter against Durant in the postseason.

Crow slugged a 0.663 with two home runs, four triples, and seven doubles as he tabbed 30 RBIs in his junior campaign. 

West Burlington’s Brock Thuleen produced another season batting above 0.400 as he knocked in 16 runs off six doubles, which led the team, and two home runs. 

For Class 3A, Fairfield, the Southeast Conference champions, led the way with three First Team nominations. Dain Burkhart was named First Team pitcher as the SEC Player of the Year claimed an 8-2 record on the mound with a 2.18 ERA. 

Luke Konczal earned First Team 1st baseman as he led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and doubles. Aiden Westercamp grabbed First Team outfielder as he led the team with 40 RBIs and had an 0.955 fielding percentage. 

Payton Walker was the lone First Team selection for Mt. Pleasant as a catcher. Walker caught five would-be base runners, bringing his total to 13 caught stealing over the last two years. He totaled 26 RBIs for the season and 20 hit-by-pitches, leaving him two short of tying the school record. 

For a full list of the All-District Teams, then follow the link: All-Southeast District Teams 

Postseason Softball

#2 Williamsburg’s 3-2 win over #1 Wahlert Catholic yesterday claimed the Raiders’ third straight state title for Class 3A. Jersey Metz struck out three in the complete game victory. Washington’s Ella Greiner earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.

#3 Albia breezed past #4 PCM 9-1 for the bronze. 

8th inning fireworks gave #1 Van Meter the thrilling 8-7 victory over #3 West Lyon for the Class 2A championship. Ava Hohenadel sent the Bulldog fans home happy with the walk-off solo shot, her lone hit of the game. 

#2 Louisa-Muscatine took home 3rd place with a 5-3 win over #5 West Fork.

For the Class 1A championship, #2 Clarksville took home their second title in the last five years after defeating #1 Wayne 4-1. Sydney Lovrien struck out nine from the circle and nabbed two RBIs.

#6 St. Edmond upset #4 Riverside 5-4 in the third-place bout.

High School Softball All-District Teams

The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released the All-District Teams for Southeast Iowa and 11 local players cracked a spot on the list.

In Class 1A, Holy Trinity Catholic’s Sydney Jarvis and Quinn Zweibohmer of Wapello each found a spot on the team as they each grabbed over 155 strikeouts and sub-2.35 ERAs.

For Class 2A, Lilly Coil of Columbus’s 0.537 batting average and Van Buren County’s Ashlynn Huff’s 22 RBIs earned spots on the All-District team.

Class 3A was crowded with Central Lee’s Kenna Sandoval, Leah Helmick of Fairfield, Payton Harris of Mediapolis, West Burlington/Notre Dame’s Lyndsey Kelley, and Washington’s Leighton Salazar and Ella Greiner making the team.

Lastly, Keirah Wiseman of Burlington snatched a spot on the Class 4A All-District squad. 

For a full look at the teams, follow the link provided: Iowa Softball All-District Teams 

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees defeated the Clinton LumberKings last night 11-5 thanks to a late surge of offense. Owen Nowak led the team with three RBIs, while Kooper Schulte found his 42nd RBI of the season. The LumberKings will host the rematch tonight at 6:30 pm.

This Day in Sports History

1933 – Joe DiMaggio ends his 61 game hitting streak in the minor league Pacific Coast League.

1948 – “Babe Ruth Story” premieres, it would be Babe Ruth’s last public appearance.

1992 – Nolan Ryan strikes out his 100th batter for the 23rd consecutive season.

Prep Softball- The Iowa Girls Coaches Association released the All-District Team for the five classes and ten of our local teams had a player make the All-Southeast District Team for the 2025 season.

Class 1A

Holy Trinity Catholic

Sydney Jarvis was the lone member of a 20-win Crusader squad to make the squad and for good reason, she destroyed the softball. Jarvis produced an arcane slash line of 0.573/0.620/0.899 with 15 doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 49 RBIs. She struck out just once this season.

To compliment her skills at the plate, the sophomore was nearly unhittable with a 16-6 record from inside the circle with a 2.30 ERA. Jarvis tabbed 159 strikeouts in 131 innings of work.

Wapello

The future is bright for the Arrows as the squad will graduate only one starter that was a senior and their lone All-District honoree was 8^th grader Quinn Zweibohmer. The nascent star batted 0.395 at the plate, slugging five doubles and a home run for 13 RBIs.

The 8^th grader also produced a 2.12 ERA in the circle, earning nine wins while fanning 187 for the season.

Class 2A

Columbus

Lilly Coil grabbed a spot on the All-Southeast team as the senior finished the season with a 0.537 batting average and a 0.985 slugging percentage. She supplied the power with 15 doubles, three triples, and three home runs, bringing home 38 runs. She finished the season with a team-leading 17 walks and no strikeouts.

Coil also had success in the circle with seven wins and a 2.59 ERA with 70 strikeouts.

Van Buren County

Ashlynn Huff will be a key piece for the Warriors next season as the junior produced another All-District nomination. Huff led the team with a 0.449 batting average with 22 RBIs. She also hit seven doubles, which tied for the team lead.

Class 3A

Central Lee

Kenna Sandoval’s junior campaign built upon her sophomore season as she smacked eight home runs and 11 doubles for 28 RBIs. The junior also had a slash line of 0.472/0.544/0.865 with twelve walks and only three strikeouts. She also led the team with 19 steals.

Fairfield

The Trojans were in need of a superstar, and they found one in sophomore Leah Helmick. The sophomore led the team with a 0.467 batting average and a 0.705 slugging percentage, swatting five home runs and 14 doubles for an otherworldly 50 RBIs.

She complimented that with 12 wins from within the circle, allowing a 0.200 batting average with a 3.73 ERA, fanning 72 opponents.

Mediapolis

Freshman Payton Harris was the catalyst for Mediapolis’ first winning season since 2017 as supplied the power at the plate and shut down opponents from within the circle. Harris clouted six home runs, eight doubles, and two triples for an 0.814 slugging percentage as she totaled 22 RBIs.

Harris also touted a 3.47 ERA with 63 strikeouts as the freshman collected 11 wins in 107 innings of work.

West Burlington/Notre Dame

Lyndsey Kelley did all she could for the Falcons in her senior campaign, striking 11 doubles and six home runs to the tune of 35 RBIs. Her 0.670 slugging percentage led the team.

Washington

The Demons snatched their first outright Southeast Conference championship since 2013 and earned a state tournament berth as they won 29 games this past season. Leighton Salazar, the SEC Player of the Year, and Ella Greiner certainly helped that become a reality.

Salazar led the team with a 0.522 batting average as she slapped 56 singes and 15 doubles, earing 16 walks and being a menace on the basepath with an absurd 54 stolen bases. Greiner leaned on her power with 10 doubles and three home runs, resulting in 46 RBIs.

Class 4A

The last local player to land a spot on the All-District team was Burlington’s Keirah Wiseman. The senior led the Grayhounds with a batting average of 0.430 and an on-base percentage of 0.521. Moreover, her seven doubles led the team as she nabbed 11 RBIs.

If you would like to see a full list of the All-District Teams, then follow the link: Iowa High School Softball All-District Teams

Prep Baseball- The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released the All-District teams for 2025 for all four classes and 12 of our local team’s players found a spot on the First Team for Southeast Iowa, as selected by the head coaches from each district.

Class 1A

Burlington Notre Dame

Burlington Notre Dame led the charge for the First Team in the Southeast District with Payne Prottsman (pitcher), Landry Haberichter (outfield), and Eli Oleson (utility). The Nikes were knocked out in the District 10 semifinals and finished the season with a 16-10 record.

Payne Prottsman, a junior, has been pitching for the Nikes since his freshman season but this year he was the certified ace for the squad, dealing his fourth straight season of sub-3 ERA ball.

Prottsman was even better than that stat indicates. The junior finished the season with a 9-2 record on the mound with a 1.29 ERA, striking out 57 for the season. Prottsman allowed only seven earned runs in his 38 innings pitched, keeping opponents to a batting average of 0.146.

Eli Oleson and Landry Haberichter finished first and second on the team in batting average, respectively, with averages of 0.453 and 0.437. Oleson took the term clean-up hitter literally with seven doubles and four homeruns producing 44 RBIs, 23 more than the next Nike.

Coincidentally, the next Nike was Haberichter, who had nine doubles, one triple, and one home run along with 22 walks for an on-base percentage of 0.584 to lead the team. Both were speedsters on the basepath with Oleson nabbing 18 bags and Haberichter stealing 26 bases.

Additionally, Haberichter committed just two errors on the season. Notre Dame will be happy to have them back for their senior campaigns.

Grabbing spots on the Second Team were Jeremiah Crow (1^st Base), the lone senior, and sophomore Maddox Diewold (utility). Crow finished the year with 20 RBIs and led the team with 17 hit-by-pitches, while Diewold finished the season with a batting average north of 0.400.

New London

The Tiger senior class were freshman when New London won the state championship in 2022 and there was a quiet determination amongst the group that they would attempt to make it back. Unfortunately, the dream ended at the District Championship, but the Tigers did get back to their winning ways with a 15-10 record.

A big reason for their success was senior superstar Memphis Watson, the lone First Team selection for the outfield. Watson did it all with a slash line of 0.500/0.590/0.671 to go along with his 20 RBIs and six double and four triples.

On the basepath, Watson broke the single season school record with 42 stolen bases for the season as he crossed home plate 35 times. He also turned in a 2.44 ERA on the mound with 30 strikeouts for a 4-3 record in 37.1 innings of work.

On the Second Team, seniors Gavin Menke-Bailey (shortstop) and Tate Welcher (catcher) earned a spot. Menke-Bailey hit for average this season with a 0.403 batting average, knocking in a team-leading 24 RBIs. Welcher tossed out 23 runners from behind the plate, while hitting 0.347 and supplying 17 RBIs of his own.

Van Buren County

The Warriors finished the season with a 9-15 record, which featured close games throughout the season including a one-run loss to Martensdale-St. Marys. Izaak Loeffler finished his career with a First Team nod as a utility.

Loeffler was a force at the plate with a 0.452 average and led the team with 16 RBIs and seven doubles. The senior also stole 29 bags and led the team with a 3.06 ERA, notching 16 strikeouts.

For a full list follow this link: Class 1A All-District Teams

Class 2A

Mediapolis

Without much surprise, Mediapolis led the pack with two First Team nods as the Bulldogs finished the season as Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Champions, District Champions, Substate Champions, and State Qualifiers for the second time in school history.

Collecting 11 of the team’s 27 victories was First Team pitcher Lance Ludens. The senior was nearly unhittable with a 1.09 ERA and 0.72 WHIP in his nearly 70 innings of work. Ludens had a six-game run where he tossed 45 strikeouts in 39.2 innings for a 0.35 ERA.

Additionally, the senior had not allowed a run in his last four starts leading up to the state tournament, including a no-hitter against Durant. He also led the team with a 0.526 batting average, while knocking in 25 runs.

Also finding a spot on the First Team was Kyler Crow as an outfielder. The junior batted 0.410 and slugged 0.663 with two home runs, four triples, and seven doubles for 30 RBIs. He hit the go-ahead solo home run against MFL MarMac in the Substate Championship contest.

Earning a spot on the Second Team was junior Will Luttenegger at 3^rd base. Luttenegger had the range of a second baseman over at the hot corner resulting in some web gems. Moreover, Luttenegger used that speed to lead the team in stolen bases with 25. The junior also hit 0.330 for the season with more walks (20) than strikeouts (15).

West Burlington

The Falcons were bounced in the first round of the postseason to finish the season with an 8-12 record, but not because of the effort displayed by First Team utility member Brock Thuleen.

Thuleen had another season batting over 0.400 as he placed second on the team with 16 RBIs to go along with his 0.636 slugging percentage with six doubles, which led the team, and two home runs, tied for the team lead. He also stole 22 bases and pitched 24 innings for a 5.54 ERA.

For a full list follow the link: Class 2A All-District Teams

Class 3A

Fairfield

The Southeast Conference (SEC) champs for the second consecutive year produced a 21-11 overall record and a 13-2 record against the conference. With that success on the diamond, recognition was quick to follow as SEC Player of the Year Dain Burkhart was named First Team Pitcher.

Burkhart tossed 54.2 innings for an 8-2 record, allowing a 0.234 opponent batting average. He pitched to contact with only 28 strikeouts, but the weak contact resulted in outs and a 2.18 ERA and only a 1.12 WHIP. His accuracy was exceptional with only nine free bases allowed.

Furthermore, Burkhart also raked in 24 RBIs with a 0.391 batting average.

Luke Konczal made the First Team as a 1^st baseman. The senior went off at the plate, leading the squad in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and doubles with 12. He also had a triple and two home runs, racking up 24 RBIs in the process.

The last Trojan to make the First Team was Aiden Westercamp in the outfield. The junior batted 0.394 and led the team with 40 RBIs on nine doubles and a triple, while swiping 15 bases. He had a 0.955 fielding percentage and even caught a Panther base runner trying to score a run during their postseason bout to keep the game tied at one.

Dayson Workman found a spot on the Second Team as the junior led the team with 29 walks and had 24 RBIs of his own on nine doubles and a home run.

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers finished third in the conference and 17-12 overall for their third consecutive winning season. Their lone First Teamer was catcher Payton Walker. If he was not pitching, then you could find the senior behind the plate.

Walker would catch five would-be steals, bringing his total to 13 over the past two seasons. The most impressive aspect of his game was his ability to get on base. He finished second on the team with 14 walks and 20 hit-by-pitches, bringing his career total to 52, just two behind the school record. He also brought home 26 runs at the plate.

The guy who led the team in batting average and on-base percentage with marks of 0.414 and 0.553, respectively, was senior Brayton Hutson, who was Second Team 2^nd baseman. The senior clocked a triple and three doubles for 18 RBIs and stole five bases. Additionally, he produced a 0.926 fielding percentage.

For a full list follow the link: Class 3A All-District Teams

Class 4A

Burlington watched the conference slip through their fingertips as the Grayhounds finished with an 18-14 record for the season, losing 3-2 to Fairfield in the winner-takes-all showdown for the SEC.

Logan Messer (1^st base), Caden Zaugg (outfield), and Evan Hecox (utility) made the Second Team. Messer slapped a 0.423 batting average to go along with a 0.568 on-base percentage. Zaugg led the team with 25 RBIs as he had five doubles. Lastly, Hecox hit 0.299 and picked up three wins on the mound with a 2.08 ERA, leading the team with 42 strikeouts.

For a full list follow the link: Class 4A All-District Teams