Postseason Baseball

Classes 1A and 3A got the 2025 state tournaments underway yesterday and upsets were not plentiful, but they were impactful.

To start off the day in Class 1A, #8 Hillcrest Academy, behind six-masterful innings from Seth Ours, held #1 Remsen St. Mary’s to only three hits for the day in a 3-1 upset victory for the Ravens. 

#4 Martensdale-St. Marys finally broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the 6th inning as Jack Gavin smacked an RBI-double for the 2-0 win over #5 Kee. The Blue Devils and Ravens will meet up tomorrow, July 23rd, at 4:30 pm.

In the most surprising conclusion yesterday, #7 East Buchanan knocked off last year’s champion #2 Lynnville-Sully in six innings, routing the Hawks 12-1. Keenan Pals went 3 for 3 with two RBIs in the win. The Buccaneers will play Saint Ansgar tomorrow at 7 pm after the Saints defeated #6 Logan Magnolia 3-1. 

In Class 3A, #1 Wahlert Catholic took down #8 Boone 3-1. In the only upset of the bracket, #5 Saydel slipped past #4 Assumption 6-4. The Golden Eagles will link up with the Eagles tomorrow at 5 pm. 

On the bottom half of the bracket, #2 Pella surged past #7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 12-5, while #3 Bishop Heelan had Ethan Erickson single home the winning run in walk-off fashion to down #6 Carlisle 3-2. The Crusaders and Dutch will play tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

For Class 2A today, #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. For senior Lance Ludens, this moment has been a long time coming.

“Feels great. Ever since 8th grade, even before 8th grade, you know, when I was little, just putting the work in. I knew one day; I’d be in high school playing baseball and making the state tournament was something I always wanted to do. So finally being able to do it my senior year is a great feeling.”

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 4A will get started this 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.

Postseason Softball

Class 4A started the day with their own #1 and #2-seeds being dumped in the quarterfinal round as #8 Pella trounced #1 Xavier 5-1 and #7 North Scott skipped past #2 Norwalk 7-1. 

Makenna Pitlick’s double and RBI helped lift #5 ADM over #4 Dallas Center-Grimes 4-1. The Tigers will play the Dutch in the semifinals tomorrow, July 23rd, at 10 am. #3 North Polk snuck away from #6 Western Dubuque 8-7 to advance to the semifinals. The Lady Lancers will await the Comets tomorrow at 12:15 pm. 

In the consolation bracket, #1 Xavier will tangle with #4 Dallas Center-Grimes at 10 am and #2 Norwalk and #6 Western Dubuque will have first pitch at 10:30 am.

A pair of shutouts highlighted the early play for Class 5A as #1 Waukee Northwest blanketed #8 Dowling Catholic 4-0 and #4 Ankeny Centennial smacked #5 Valley 9-0. The Wolves and Jaguars will meet tomorrow at 10:30 am. 

#2 Linn-Mar’s Emma Barnes slugged #7 Pleasant Valley to the consolation bracket after a late home run gave the Lions the lead and the eventual victory 5-1. Barnes finished with two RBIs. In the only upset of the bracket, #6 Cedar Falls outpaced #3 Southeast Polk to the tune of a 12-11 victory. The Lions and Tigers will play tomorrow at 12:45 pm.

In the consolation bracket, #8 Dowling Catholic will meet up with #5 Valley as 12:15 pm today and #7 Pleasant Valley will take on #3 Southeast Polk at 12:45 pm today. 

The top half of the Class 3A bracket saw #1 Wahlert Catholic pass their test against #8 Center Point-Urbana, winning a tight one 1-0. Julia Roth fanned 10 in the complete-game two-hitter. #4 PCM put up three runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to walk-off #5 West Liberty 5-4 as Libby Winters clobbered a triple for two RBIs in the win. 

Wahlert Catholic and PCM will face off tomorrow at 2:30 pm, while Center Point-Urbana and West Liberty will square off at 2:30 pm today in the consolation bracket. 

The bottom half of the Class 3A bracket will finish up quarterfinal play today. #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. 

Local Athletic Summer Camps

The WACO youth volleyball camp for 5th through 8th graders and the high school camp’s registration due date is tomorrow, July 23rd. 

Check out this link for other local summer athletic camps: School Summer Camps

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees will face off against the Normal CornBelters tonight on the road at 6:30 pm.

The Clinton LumberKings will resume their matchup against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers tonight, 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

1923 – Washington Senators future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson becomes the first to reach the 3,000 career strikeout milestone (enroute to 3,508) with 5 K’s in 3-1 win over Cleveland.

1997 – Greg Maddux threw a complete game with just 78 pitches.

2018 – Seattle basketball guard Sue Bird plays a record 500th WNBA game as the Storm go down 87-74 to the Atlanta Dream; finishes career with 508 games for Seattle.

Mt. Pleasant, IA- Washington still has some softball left to play after the Demons knocked off Assumption in the Regional Championship to earn the #7-seed in the Class 3A state tournament. Along the way, Washington earned their first outright SEC title since 2013.

SEC Player of the Year

There was little question on who was going to come away with Player of the Year honors as Leighton Salazar, a junior, led the conference in batting average at 0.530, on-base percentage, doubles (15), and steals with 53.

Add in a fielding percentage of 0.911 and her reliable glove proved to be more than enough to present her with the honor.

Washington

Isabella Salazar joined Leighton on the 1^st Team along with Ella and Colbie Greiner and Alyvia Anderson. Isabella is the ace for the Demon team, collecting a 15-3 record on the season, holding teams to an opponent batting average of 0.255 with a 2.66 ERA on 95 strikeouts.

Colbie attracted seven wins on a 5.38 ERA with 92 strikeouts in only 65 innings of work. She also batted 0.407 with 13 doubles, four home runs, and 39 RBIs. Ella could slug herself with nine doubles, one triple, three home runs, and 45 RBIs, while providing some patience at the plate with a conference-leading 22 walks.

Anderson clubbed two home runs for 30 RBIs as her 0.358 batting average ranked 16^th in the SEC.

Halle Cuddeback, a senior, was the lone 2^nd Team honoree as knocked home 16 runs with 10 doubles and a home run.

Makenzie Messer and Natalie Hartman grabbed spots on the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.

Fairfield

The Trojans completely reversed fortunes from their 2024 form to 2025, going from 4-11 in conference last year to 11-4 this year and finishing in second place. Additionally, after a two-year hiatus, Fairfield got back to their 20-win season ways.

A big reason for that success was their trio of 1^st Team members: 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. Helmick also brought home 12 wins in the circle with a 3.73 ERA.

Lilly 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, who batted 0.310, and Laney Norris, who touted 25 RBIs, were named to the 2nd Team and Haylee Eklund and Emma Septer were Honorable Mentions.

Burlington

After two consecutive seasons of finishing atop the conference standings, the Grayhounds found themselves taking home an 8-7 record in the SEC and a 13-14 mark for the season. The squad did have three members bat over 0.400 for the season, including two members of the 1^st Team.

Kierah Wiseman finished the year with a 0.430 batting average with a 0.521 on-base percentage, bringing home 11 runs with two triples. Ava Brandenburg had the 9^th-best batting average, while collecting 24 RBIs with five doubles.

Bricelyn Patton, who finished right behind Brandenburg with a 0.410 batting average, was the sole member of the 2^nd Team for Burlington. Sophie Brown and Lilly Hand made the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.

Fort Madison

The Bloodhounds advanced past the first round of the postseason, defeating Keokuk to do so, and finished with an overall record of 13-15 with a 7-8 conference record.

Brylie Lorence slugged her way onto the 1^st Team with a conference leading 14 home runs, which also ranked 7^th in Class 4A. Her 1.070 slugging percentage ranked 2^nd in the class as she brought in 49 runs with another nine doubles.

Kylie Lumino, Laci Gathers, and Jordyn Marshall all earned spots on the 2^nd Team, while Lucia Darnell and Emma Snaadt were placed on the Honorable Mention list.

Mt. Pleasant

For the first time since 2019, the Panthers finished outside of last in the SEC standings with a 3-12 mark and 6-30 overall record. They got there by ending two 15-plus win streaks against them by beating Fort Madison and Burlington—a 4-0 shutout, which was their first shutout since 2021—and a victory over Keokuk. Amazingly, all those wins were on the road.

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, an 8^th grader, and Izzy Sloat, a freshman, were named All-SEC Honorable Mentions for the Panthers.

Keokuk

The Chiefs fell hard back to earth after going 8-7 in conference last year to finishing in last place with a 2-13 SEC record with an overall record of 3-30.

Ada Wood finished on the 1^st Team with a slash line of 0.456/0.515/0.644, which all ranked within the top six of the conference. Wood collected 16 RBIs with 13 doubles and two triples.

Kylie Sisk’s 0.312 batting average was good enough to get her on the 1^st Team with a home run and 12 RBIs.

Gracie Thompson earned a spot on the 2^nd Team and Suzie Whittaker and Kenadi Ames grabbed a spot on the All-SEC Honorable Mention list.

Full List

1^st Team

Ava Brandenburg 9 Burlington

Keirah Wiseman 12 Burlington

Lilly Bergren 12 Fairfield

Olivia Hollander 12 Fairfield

Leah Helmick 10 Fairfield

Brylie Lorence 12 Fort Madison

Ada Wood 12 Keokuk

Kylie Sisk 11 Keokuk

Leighton Salazar 11 Washington

Isabella Salazar 12 Washington

Ella Greiner 12 Washington

Colbie Greiner 10 Washington

Alyvia Anderson 12 Washington

2^nd Team

Bricelyn Patton 9 Burlington

Faith Jones 11 Fairfield

Laney Norris 12 Fairfield

Kylie Lumino 10 Fort Madison

Laci Gathers 12 Fort Madison

Jordyn Marshall 9 Fort Madison

Gracie Thompson 12 Keokuk

Saige Burchett 11 Mount Pleasant

Keagyn Coleman 10 Mount Pleasant

Halle Cuddeback 12 Washington

Honorable Mention

Sophie Brown 12 Burlington

Lilly Hand 11 Burlington

Haylee Eklund 9 Fairfield

Emma Septer 11 Fairfield

Lucia Darnell 8 Fort Madison

Emma Snaadt 10 Fort Madison

Suzie Whittaker 12 Keokuk

Kenadi Ames 11 Keokuk

Parker Coleman 8 Mount Pleasant

Izzy Sloat 9 Mount Pleasant

Makenzie Messer 9 Washington

Natalie Hartman 9 Washington

All-Conference Academic

Sophie Brown Burlington

Keirah Wiseman Burlington

Emmelia Miller Fairfield

Caroline Van Pelt Fairfield

Maddy Martin Fairfield

Faith Jones Fairfield

Emma Septer Fairfield

Lilly Bergren Fairfield

Laney Norris Fairfield

Olivia Hollander Fairfield

Kaitlyn Sissel Fort Madison

Olivia Buckner Fort Madison

Ava Taylor Fort Madison

Taylor Huffman Fort Madison

Laci Gathers Fort Madison

Brylie Lorence Fort Madison

Bella Crew Keokuk

Kylie Sisk Keokuk

Destiny Tedrow Keokuk

Gracie Thompson Keokuk

Suzie Whitaker Keokuk

Saige Burchett Mt. Pleasant

Leighton Salazar Washington

Alyvia Anderson Washington

Halle Cuddeback Washington

Ella Greiner Washington

Isabella Salazar Washington

Mt. Pleasant, IA- The baseball teams of the Southeast Conference (SEC) are done for the 2025 season with Fairfield advancing the furthest in the postseason, falling in the Substate semifinals. The end of the season brings reflections and the presentation of the All-SEC Teams.

Burlington appeared poised to reclaim the conference crown after going undefeated in the first half of conference play, but losses to Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant led to a duel for the crown in Fairfield. The Trojans clawed away with their second consecutive SEC title in a 3-2 final, going 13-2 in conference play.

Appropriately, Fairfield led the conference in 1^st Team members and housed the SEC Player of the Year.

SEC Player of the Year

Mt. Pleasant head coach Brent Broeker said Fairfield’s Dain Burkhart was a named to look out for at the start of the season and the junior displayed why after leading the conference with eight wins and tossing the third lowest ERA with a 2.18.

To help along with his efforts was a superb infield glove and a slash line of 0.391/0.496/0.427 as he pushed across 24 runs to run away with the honor. Burkhart was the one to nab the postseason victory over the Panthers in a pitching duel against another 1^st Team pitcher.

Fairfield

Joining Burkhart (pitcher) on the 1^st Team was Luke Konczal and Cason Miller for the infield. 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.

In the outfield, Aiden Westercamp took home 1^st Team honors after producing a league high 40 RBIs on nine doubles and a triple. Moreover, he also threw a dart home from right field to tag Mt. Pleasant’s Brayton Hutson out at home to keep the game tied in their postseason showdown.

Lastly, Dayson Workman made the 1^st Team as he yielded 29 walks for the 3^rd highest on-base percentage in the conference of 0.559. He also hit his first career home run for the season and knocked in 24 RBIs.

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.

Richardson threw 24.2 innings for a 2.27 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP with 30 strikeouts compared to 21 walks, Allison threw out five runners and had a 0.971 fielding percentage, and Bisgard smacked two home runs for a 0.333 average.

Burlington

The Grayhounds finished a respectable 18-14 and 12-3 in the conference despite the tough finish to close out the season. Still, four members of the squad managed to find a spot on the 1^st Team.

On the mound, Evan Hecox posted the second-best ERA in the league with a 2.08 mark, including 42 strikeouts as he amassed three wins in 37 innings thrown.

Logan Messer, a senior, earned 1^st Team All-SEC honors for the infield. The senior finished second in the conference with a 0.423 batting average, slapping six doubles and scoring 24 runs himself. He also had an 0.568 on-base percentage.

Ian Mason and Caden Zaugg populated the 1^st Team outfield for the Purple and Gray. Mason provided a bit more power with one home run and five doubles with 21 RBIs, while Zaugg had five doubles of his own with a 0.397 batting average.

For the 2^nd Team, freshman Cohen Schroeder, who started the year by throwing back-to-back no-hitters and Michael Kantzavelos, who batted 0.389, found a spot for the Grayhounds. Austin Donahoe and Noah Krieger were named 2^nd Team utilities.

Brody Guernsey and DeAndre Taylor were All-SEC Honorable Mentions.

Mt. Pleasant

The Panthers finished 3^rd in the conference, sweeping Fort Madison, Washington, and Keokuk and knocking off Burlington to go 10-5 in the conference and 17-12 overall. The highlight of the season was a 7-2 win over Class 1A’s #2 Sigourney at Mapleleaf.

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.

Lowery also batted 0.326 with 20 RBIs with three doubles, while earning more walks (13) than strikeouts (8).

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 career school record of 54 held by Blake Heitmeier, who is the head coach of the state bound Carlisle Wildcats. He also hosed five runners on the basepath.

Walker also had a 3.46 ERA in 26.1 innings with 23 strikeouts, while ranking second on the team with 26 RBIs.

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.

Sitar did not register an RBI until the fifth game of the season, when he hit a monster two-run home run against Muscatine. The senior did not stop there as he went on two different stretches of tabbing at least RBI in a game of six and eight. He collected 10 RBIs and 18 RBIs during those streaks, respectively.

Zach Newton (pitcher) and Brayton Hutson (infielder) were named to the 2nd Team, while Liam Marshall and Cooper Coleman were named Honorable Mentions.

Newton finished with a 4.29 ERA for the season with 45 strikeouts and five wins on the mounds, while Hutson led the team in batting average with a mark of 0.414. Helping Hutson were hit streaks of 11 and eight.

Fort Madison

The Bloodhounds was the first squad to defeat Burlington for the season but struggled against the upper brass of the SEC, accruing a 1-8 mark against the top three teams in the conference to finish 7-8 and 7-22 overall. The clutch gene was the biggest factor with just a 2-7 mark in games decided by three runs or less.

Senior Tateum Schlich (utility) was the lone member of the 1^st Team as he swatted a slash line of 0.359/0.378/0.410 with 10 RBIs, striking out just 10 times for the season.

Owen Huffman, a freshman, provides a glimpse into the future for Fort Madison as he took home 2^nd Team honors as a pitcher. Huffman’s 2.86 ERA ranked 6^th in the conference as he allowed only a 0.209 opponent batting average, while forcing 38 whiffs.

Reece Huey and Brody Cashman were named Honorable Mentions.

Washington

The Demons finished 2-13 in the conference and 4-23 overall.

Conner Leyden found a spot on the All-SEC 2^nd Team in the outfield. Leyden led the team with a 0.295 batting average as he tabbed 12 RBIs with six doubles.

Nate Edmonds and Blayze Richardson found a spot on the Honorable Mention list.

Keokuk

The Chiefs won in the clutch twice this season, beating Van Buren County 1-0 and Washington 5-4, concluding the season with a 2-21 overall record and a 1-14 conference record.

Bennett Church (infield) and Lincoln Wray (outfield) earned a spot on the All-SEC 2^nd Team. Church’s eight RBIs led the team as he had one of the team’s eight doubles. Wray led the team in batting average as he was the only Chief to bat over 0.300, smacking three doubles and the team’s only triple.

Mason Claus was named All-SEC Honorable Mention.

Full List

1^st Team

P Grayson Lowery 10 Mt. Pleasant

P Evan Hecox 12 Burlington

P Dain Burkhart 11 Fairfield

C Payton Walker 12 Mt. Pleasant

IF Luke Konczal 12 Fairfield

IF Cason Miller 12 Fairfield

IF J.C. Sitar 12 Mt. Pleasant

IF Logan Messer 12 Burlington

OF Ian Mason 12 Burlington

OF Caden Zaugg 10 Burlington

OF Aiden Westercamp 11 Fairfield

UTL Dayson Workman 11 Fairfield

UTL Tateum Schelich 12 Ft. Madison

2^nd Team

P Owen Huffman 9 Ft. Madison

P Zach Newton 12 Mt. Pleasant

P Voss Richardson 10 Fairfield

C Zandrick Allison 10 Fairfield

IF Cohen Schroeder 9 Burlington

IF Michael Kantzavelos 11 Burlington

IF Brayton Hutson 12 Mt. Pleasant

IF Bennett Church 12 Keokuk

OF Ethan Bisgard 10 Fairfield

OF Conner Leyden 12 Washington

OF Lincoln Wray 10 Keokuk

UTL Austin Donahoe 11 Burlington

UTL Noah Krieger 11 Burlington

Honorable Mention

Brody Guernsey 12 Burlington

DeAndre Taylor 10 Burlington

Archer Kreuter 11 Fairfield

Jacob Crew 11 Fairfield

Reece Huey 9 Fort Madison

Brody Cashman 12 Fort Madison

Mason Claus 11 Keokuk

Liam Marshall 12 Mount Pleasant

Cooper Coleman 12 Mount Pleasant

Nate Edmonds 12 Washington

Blayze Richardson 10 Washington

Academic All-Conference

Ian Mason Burlington

Noah Krieger Burlington

Michael Kantzavelos Burlington

Kohl Lair Burlington

Dylan Chenoweth Burlington

Matt Mercer Burlington

Evan Hecox Burlington

Adrian Perez-Hall Burlington

Austin Donahoe Burlington

Luke Konczal Fairfield

Cason Miller Fairfield

Dain Burkhart Fairfield

Aiden Westercamp Fairfield

Jacob Crew Fairfield

Carson Elmore Fairfield

Archer Kreuter Fairfield

Spencer McCready Fairfield

Dayson Workman Fairfield

Tateum Schelich Fort Madison

Karson Dixon Fort Madison

Hunter Cook Fort Madison

Luke Hellige Fort Madison

Mason Claus Keokuk

Payton Walker Mt. Pleasant

Owen Baker Mt. Pleasant

Colton Syfert Mt. Pleasant

Kellen Kohorst Mt. Pleasant

Jaymisen Rich Mt. Pleasant

Nate Edmonds Washington

Kael Williams Washington

Luke Schiebel Washington