High School Postseason Baseball

In Class 2A, Van Buren County played tough, but their comeback attempt fell just short as West Lyon advanced to the semifinals after winning 6-5. The Warriors found themselves down 6 to 0 after three innings of play, but came roaring back to life in the 4th inning with an RBI double by Dylan Richardson, four total walks, three wild pitches, and an RBI groundout by Taylor Sprouse made the game 6 to 5.

Lucas Fett entered the final two innings on the mound and struck out four Wildcats to provide Van Buren County a chance. Despite a two out double by Izaak Loeffler, the Warriors just could not find that big hit. Van Buren County finished the season with a 26-4 record and Coach Scott talked about how much he enjoyed this season.

Beckman Catholic slipped past Pella Christian 5-4 after forcing the game to go into extra innings. The Trailblazers will face off against West Lyon tomorrow, July 20th. Underwood cruised past Williamsburg 7-2, while Cascade defeated Woodward-Granger 7-6. The Eagles will take on the Cougars tomorrow.

In Class 4A, Johnston defeated Iowa City Liberty yesterday 9-3. The Dragons will face off against Dowling Catholic after the Maroons snuck past Dallas Center-Grimes 4-3.

Cedar Falls pulled off the upset knocking out Southeast Polk in resounding fashion, 11-1. Ames followed suit by taking down the #2 seed Iowa City High 9-7 to move on to the semifinals. Both games will be played tomorrow.

In Class 1A, Kingsley-Pierson will take on Lisbon and Remsen St. Mary’s and Lynnville-Sully will face off today.

In Class 3A, North Polk and Carlisle will compete today.

Western Dubuque and Wahlert Catholic will square off tonight.

High School Postseason Softball

In the Class 1A state tournament, Martensdale-St. Marys beat St. Edmond 1-0 and Wayne took down Remsen St. Mary’s 8-2. In the bottom half of the bracket, Sigourney fell to North Linn 1-0 and Clarksville surprised Southeast Warren 7-1 to advance to the semifinals. The winners bracket and the consolation bracket will play today.

In Class 2A, Regina Catholic and Interstate 35 will compete in the winners bracket after the Regals took down Northeast 4-3 and Lisbon fell 9-5 to Interstate 35. Van Meter defeated Missouri Valley 6-1 and Central Springs won 8-2. Both sides of the bracket will compete today.

In Class 3A, Williamsburg will take on Estherville Lincoln Central in the semifinals.

The #2 seed Assumption defeated Saydel 5-0 and Wahlert Catholic handled Benton 10-0. In the consolation bracket, Davis County won against Albia 5-4. The semifinals and the consolation bracket will continue today. 

In the consolation bracket for Class 4A, Carlisle took down ADM 7-5 and North Polk defeated Western Dubuque 8-2. 

In the winners bracket, Winterset will square off against Fort Dodge and North Scott will compete against Norwalk today.

In the consolation bracket for Class 5A, Bettendorf defeated Valley 8-3 and last year’s champion Waukee Northwest won against Ankeny 6-4. 

In the winners bracket, Ankeny Centennial will face off against Southeast Polk and Muscatine will take on Pleasant Valley today.

Mt. Pleasant Basketball

The Panther Hoopla basketball camp has been moved from Mt. Pleasant High School to the Middle School for today and tomorrow due to the air condition project at the high school.

Use the entrance on the northeast side of the middle school.

Mt. Pleasant Cross Country

On Mondays and Wednesdays, runs will begin at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre at 6:30 am.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, runs will start at 7 pm at Saunders Park by the swimming pool.

The runs will continue throughout the summer until the middle of August. If you have any questions, reach out to Coach Murray at 319-850-0867.

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees fended off the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp last night to win 8-7. Trent Rice clobbered a two-run shot to deep left field to aid the winning effort. The teams will compete in a rematch tomorrow, July 20th, on the road. 

The Clinton LumberKings were shutout by the Cape Catfish last night 5-0. Trevor Burkhart finished the game 2 for 4. The LumberKings will face off against the Quincy Gems tonight on the road. 

This Day in Sports History

1877 – First Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: 27-year-old English rackets player Spencer Gore wins inaugural event; beats William Marshall 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

1884 – Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Maud Watson becomes inaugural female champion by beating her sister Lillian Watson 6–8, 6–3, 6–3.

1910 – Cy Young wins the 500th game of his Baseball Hall Of Fame career as the Cleveland Naps beat the Washington Senators, 5 – 2, in 11 innings; only pitcher in MLB history to reach milestone.

Baseball

Class 2A

Beckman Catholic 5, Pella Christian 4 (F/8 innings)

West Lyon 6, Van Buren County 5

Cascade 7, Woodward-Granger 6

Underwood 7, Williamsburg 2

Class 4A

Johnston 9, Iowa City Liberty 3

Dowling Catholic 4, Dallas Center-Grimes 3

Cedar Falls 11, Southeast Polk 1

Ames 9, Iowa City High 7

Softball

Class 1A

Martensdale-St. Marys 1, St. Edmond 0

Wayne 8, Remsen St. Mary’s 2

North Linn 1, Sigourney 0

Clarksville 7, Southeast Warren 7

Class 2A

Regina Catholic 4, Northeast 3

Interstate 35 9, Lisbon 5

Van Meter 6, Missouri Valley 1

Central Springs 8, West Monona 2

Class 3A

Assumption 5, Saydel 0

Wahlert Catholic 10, Benton 0

Consolation Bracket

Davis County 5, Albia 4

Class 4A

Consolation Bracket

Carlisle 7, ADM 5

North Polk 8, Western Dubuque 2

Class 5A

Consolation Bracket

Bettendorf 8, Valley 3

Waukee Northwest 6, Ankeny 4

Carroll, IA- Van Buren County’s comeback effort in the Class 2A state quarterfinal round came up just short against West Lyon as the Warriors fell 6-5 in Carroll. The contest got underway almost an hour after its scheduled time and lasted over two and a half hours, but the thrill of the game kept the entire crowd engaged.

West Lyon took advantage of some miscues by the Van Buren County defense as the first run scored on an error to start the game. A two-out rally by the Wildcats in the second inning put three more runs on the board to give West Lyon a 4 to 0 lead.

The Warriors looked poised to do some damage in the third inning after singles by Lucas Fett and Jackson Manning and walk by Taylor Sprouse loaded the bases up with no outs. However, the ball bounced the way of the Wildcats for most of the afternoon as a line drive was caught by Evan Faber at third base and he stepped on third for an unassisted double-play. A subsequent strikeout ended the inning with no runs coming to cross home plate.

The game appeared to be over when the Wildcats added two more runs in the bottom of the third inning with Faber collecting 3 RBIs in the contest. This also ended the day for Sprouse on the mound as Dylan Richardson took over in relief with the Wildcats leading 6 to 0.

Nevertheless, the top of the 4^th inning saw a leadoff walk and Richardson RBI double to give Van Buren County their first run of the game. Three more walks, an RBI groundout by Sprouse, and three wild pitches suddenly had the Warriors down just one run, 6 to 5.

The Warriors did not surrender another run the rest of the game and Head Coach of Van Buren County Chad Scott expressed his pleasure for the job Richardson and Fett did in relief.

“Can’t say enough about Richardson and Fett both coming in and keeping us in the ballgame…”

Unfortunately, the Warriors could not score either with their best chance coming in the 7^th inning. Down to their final out, Izaak Loeffler knocked a double to keep their hopes alive. But a diving play by Carter Ver Meer at the shortstop position ended the game.

The Warriors graduated seven seniors from this year’s squad: Jackson Manning, Taylor Sprouse, Anthony Duncan, Wyatt Mertens, Dominic Meierotto, Dylan Richardson, and Sam Warth. It was an emotional end to the season for Van Buren County.

“Can’t ask for a better group of kids and just appreciate everybody’s support that followed us up here and throughout the season and you know without them their what makes us special” said Coach Scott.

The Warriors finished the season with a 26-4 record, their first time winning 20 games in a season since the 2016 season. This was also their fourth time making it to the state tournament.