|
Prep Baseball and Softball: SEC Standings Heading into the Final Conference Showdown of the Season
Southeast Conference- Heading into the final conference game of the season tomorrow, June 29th, and with the champions already set there’s still a couple spots up for grabs.
On the baseball side of things, Burlington enters with only 1 loss in conference play, which came at the hands of Mt. Pleasant, 9-7 back on June 15th. This is the Grayhounds third straight outright conference championship as they tied for first in the 2019-20 season with the Panthers.
There’s a fight for second place between Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant with the advantage leaning towards the Trojans after winning their series 2 games to 1 against the Panthers. The heat was even between the two; however, Fairfield’s sweep of Keokuk on Monday and the Panthers splitting their road doubleheader against Fort Madison, winning 19-11 and losing 8-5, put the Trojans ahead by a game with an 8-6 record versus Mt. Pleasant’s 7-7 record.
Fort Madison and Keokuk are locked with a 5-9 conference record with the Chiefs having the edge in the season series nearly sweeping the Bloodhounds back in mid-June.
Washington sits in last place in the conference standings with a 4-10 mark. The Demons do have a conference series win against the Panthers after sweeping their home doubleheader 4-1 and 9-8 back on May 30th.
Moving to softball but seeing a similar result with Burlington on top of the conference standings with only one loss to the record coming at the hands of Washington. A big reason for that has been the emergence of Kylee Hill, an 8th grader for the Grayhounds, as she has ripped 13 home runs on the season, 2nd in Class 4A, with 40 RBIs and a 0.459 batting average.
Washington sits in second place with an 11-3 record and will stay in the runner-up position with their losses coming against Burlington, Fairfield, and Fort Madison. Fairfield will finish in third place with an 8-6 record after sweeping Fort Madison and Mt. Pleasant this season.
Fort Madison will take fourth place in the conference with a sweep against Keokuk and an upset win over Washington highlighting their resume.
Keokuk has a two-game advantage over Mt. Pleasant in the conference standings with a 3-11 record versus the Panthers’ 1-13 record. The Panthers’ lone conference win came against Keokuk at home with a 12-6 final. Addison Clark went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, and 5 RBIs in the contest.
Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk will meet again in the first round of the postseason.
Postseason Baseball: Class 3A and 4A Brackets are Here
Prep Baseball- The brackets for Class 3A and 4A have been released with the first round of the substate games beginning on July 7th. Here is a look at our local matchups.
In Class 3A Substate 4, Washington will take on the #2 seed Davenport Assumption at 5 pm. The Knights and Demons have squared off three times in the past with Assumption taking all of the games, including last year’s first round matchup 10-0.
In Class 3A Substate 5, we will see a Southeast Conference matchup to start off the playoffs with Mt. Pleasant hosting Fairfield at 7 pm. The Trojans won 2 games of the 3-game series against the Panthers, outscoring the Panthers 22-3 in the games that they won.
Fort Madison will travel to take on Benton and Keokuk is on the road to face off against Cedar Rapids Xavier with both games taking place at 7 pm.
Benton enters as the #2 seed as this is the Bobcats first winning season since their 13-12 record in the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 season. Benton did make the state tournament that year. The last time Fort Madison made the state tournament was their state championship 2000 season when they beat Denison-Schleswig 3-2.
Xavier, at the time of article, is 15-16 and the #3 seed. The Saints have enjoyed a successful run the past couple of years including a state championship in 2019, but this could be their first losing season since the 2016-17 season, where they finished 18-21. Keokuk has not made the state tournament since 1948.
Class 4A will have 8 substates with brackets of 6 teams. Each team will have an opponent for the first round with the highest winning seed getting a bye to the substate final. Burlington will take on North Scott in Substate 6 as the #4 seed.
The Grayhounds split their doubleheader with the Lancers on May 26th. Burlington won game one 8-7 with Moise Cordero hitting a 2-RBI double to help the winning effort. The Lancers made quick work of the Grayhounds in game two, winning 17-0.
For a full look at the brackets follow this link: IHSAA Postseason Brackets
Pedestrian Fatality in Fort Madison Update
Wednesday, June 28, 2023
The following is an update to the Monday night, June 26th, 2023, pedestrian fatality in the 3400 block of Avenue L.
On Monday, June 26th, 2023, at approximately 11:00 PM, LeeCom received a 911 call of a traffic collision involving a pedestrian in the 3400 block of Avenue L. Officers arrived and found that a 64-year-old female had been struck by a pickup truck while crossing the highway mid-block.
The female victim has been identified as Shirley V. Rodhouse (64) of Fort Madison. It was confirmed that Rodhouse was on foot near the centerline of the four-lane when hit by a pickup, driven by Robert Lynn Vaughn (56), also of Fort Madison. Vaughn immediately stopped at the scene and cooperated with authorities. Although life-saving efforts were administered by paramedics and firefighters, Rodhouse succumbed to her injuries hours later at the Fort Madison Hospital.
As supported by witness accounts and security video, investigators confirmed that Rodhouse was crossing mid-block in a darkened area when struck, and no evidence of impairment or traffic violations on the driver was found.
Regardless, the investigation continues, and advance case reports have been forwarded to the Lee County Attorney’s Office for review.
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident, and has not been interviewed, is encouraged to contact the Fort Madison Police Detective Bureau at 319-372-2525.
This is Fort Madison’s first traffic fatality for 2023.
Sports, June 28th
High School Baseball
Mt. Pleasant will face off against Fort Madison tomorrow, June 29th.
Central Lee will face off against Keokuk tonight.
Mediapolis will face off against Clear Lake tomorrow at the Mt. Mercy Alumni Coaches Classic.
Winfield-Mt. Union will compete against Burlington Notre Dame today.
In Southeast conference (SEC) play, Fairfield will compete against Keokuk and Washington will square off against Burlington tomorrow.
High School Postseason Baseball
The postseason contests for Class 1A and 2A begin this Saturday, July 1st, and here’s a look at our local matchups.
In Class 1A Substate 5: District 9, New London will face off against Highland in the opening round with the first pitch taking place at 7 pm at Highland. KILJ will be on the call with pregame at 6:45 pm. Burlington Notre Dame enters as the #1 seed and will take on the winner of New London and Highland on July 5th.
In District 10 for Class 1A, Danville will face off against Sigourney on July 1st on the road.
Shifting our attention to Class 2A, our local teams will be beating up one another to see who makes it out of Substate 5: District 10. Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Louisa-Muscatine at 5 pm and Central Lee will face off against West Burlington at 7 pm.
Van Buren County garnered the top seed and a first round bye. The Warriors will compete against the winner of Winfield-Mt. Union and Louisa-Muscatine. Mediapolis also earned a bye and will take on either the Hawks or the Falcons. The second round will be played on July 5th.
The brackets for Class 3A and 4A will be released by tomorrow, June 29th.
High School Softball
Mt. Pleasant will host Davis County tonight.
In SEC games, Burlington will take on Washington and Fairfield will square off against Keokuk tomorrow.
High School Postseason Softball
The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union released the postseason brackets for all the classifications and here’s the matchups for our local teams.
In Class 1A Region 8, New London will travel to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic and Wapello will host Winfield-Mt. Union with both games taking place on June 30th at 7 pm.
In Class 2A Region 7, Van Buren County earned a first-round bye. The Warriors will take on the winner between Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and Pella Christian on July 5th at 7 pm at home.
In Class 2A Region 8, Danville will travel to take on Durant at 7 pm on June 30th. Mediapolis will face off against Louisa-Muscatine on the road on July 5th at 7 pm.
Central Lee and Washington will square off on July 6th at Washington and West Burlington will host Fairfield on July 6th with both games taking place at 7 pm for Class 3A Region 8.
In Class 4A Region 6, Mt. Pleasant and Keokuk will compete in a conference matchup at Joyce Park on July 6th at 7 pm. Knoxville will host Fort Madison with the winner taking on Burlington at Burlington.
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 game against the Lucky Horseshoes scheduled for last night was postponed due air quality issues. The game will be made up tomorrow in a doubleheader with the first game at 5:30 pm. Last night’s tickets will be honored at any future home game.
The Clinton LumberKings will take on the Jackson Rockabillys tomorrow with first pitch at 6:30 pm at home.
This Day in Sports History
1959 – Philadelphia Phillies’ Wally Post is the only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in an inning twice, in a 6-0 loss to Giants at Seals Stadium, San Francisco, California.
1987 – Boston outfielder Don Baylor sets MLB career hit-by-pitch mark at 244 when plunked by Rick Rhoden in Red Sox, 6-2 win over NY Yankees.
2007 – Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros becomes the 27th member of the 3000 hit club, going 5 for 5 against the Colorado Rockies.
House Fire in Burlington
On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, at approximately 10:23 am, West Burlington Fire was dispatched to a residence at 410 Summer in West Burlington on a report the home was full of smoke. Burlington Fire was also dispatched to this address on automatic aid.
The house was occupied at the time and the residents reported not seeing any flames but lots of smoke. They safely exited the residence prior to the fire department’s arrival.
Fire units arrived within 5 minutes to find smoke coming from the rear bedroom of the residence. Fire crews from both West Burlington and Burlington located fire inside a bedroom on the mattress and box spring. The fire was officially declared extinguished at 10:40 am. West Burlington Fire remained on-scene until 12:04 to perform overhaul, monitor the room and pick up equipment used. Burlington Fire was released from the scene, with the last unit clearing at 11:38 am.
There were no injuries reported. The bedroom and its contents sustained moderate smoke and heat damage. Several rooms of the residence sustained minor smoke damage. The residence is insured.
The cause of the fire is believed to be electrical in nature but has been listed as “Undetermined” at this time for an exact cause.
Assisting was the West Burlington Police Department, West Burlington Public Works, and Alliant Utilities – Gas and Electric.
Air Quality Advisory in Effect
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has issued an air quality advisory for the entire state with the worst air quality expected in the eastern third of Iowa. Eastern Iowa is currently recording fine particulates at concentrations the EPA considers unhealthy. At this level sensitive groups of people, as well as the general public, may experience health effects.
Fine particulate levels near or above EPA health standards are expected to increase throughout the day and persist in these areas through tomorrow. Elevated levels of fine particulates may be a concern over the next several days as the smoke continues to move through the state.
The DNR recommends people reduce long or intense outdoor activities, and take more breaks during outdoor activities until air quality conditions improve.
The national standard for fine particulate matter is 35 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) averaged over a 24-hour period, and this level is considered “unhealthy for sensitive groups.” Groups sensitive to particulate matter include people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teenagers, and outdoor workers. Fine particulate levels could reach levels considered “unhealthy” where even healthy adults should consider limiting their activities.
Burlington Man Arrested – Threatened People with a Handgun
Just before noon on June 26, 2023 Burlington Police Officers were dispatched to the 500-block of South Gunnison following a complaint of a man threatening people with a handgun. The complainant told officers the male suspect began cursing and yelling at the complainant’s grandmother and then pointed a handgun at a group of people while saying, “I’ll shoot everyone out here.” The complainant said the suspect then got into a vehicle and left the area.
While the officers were still in the 500-block of South Gunnison, the suspect vehicle returned to the area but turned around to leave when the driver saw the police in the area. A few minutes later, the complainant told officers the suspect was running in the alley behind her residence. Officers observed the suspect, dressed in dark clothing and wearing a facemask, stop and bend down as if he was placing something on the ground. The suspect began running again and was apprehended near the intersection of Gunnison and Spray. At that time the suspect was identified as Jaki Johnson. Officers returned to the area where Johnson was seen bending down and they located a black 9mm G27 with a laser sight attached to it.
Johnson was arrested and taken to the Des Moines County Correctional Facility where he was held on bond.
ARRESTED: JAKI ROYSHAUN JOHNSON, 18
BURLINGTON, IOWA
CHARGES: 1ST DEGREE HARASSMENT (AGGRAVATED MISDEMEANOR)
INTERFERENCE WITH OFFICIAL ACTS (SIMPLE MISDEMEANOR)
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT (AGGRAVATED MISDEMEANOR)
PERSONS INELIGIBLE TO CARRY FIREARMS (SERIOUS MISDEMEANOR)