Mt. Pleasant, IA- Over half of the regular season is in the books for baseball and softball and exactly half of the Southeast Conference (SEC) slate of contests in the rearview mirror. Two teams have cemented themselves as the favorites to grab the crown, but there’s still plenty of ball left to play.
Baseball SEC Standings
- Burlington (8-0)
- Fairfield (6-2)
- Pleasant (5-3)
- Fort Madison (3-5)
- Washington (2-6)
- Keokuk (0-8)
Last night’s doubleheader was a true test of where every team lies on the spectrum of the SEC. Burlington had the helpful advantage of home field advantage and took that opportunity to outperform Iowa’s #15 offense in terms of batting average to win game one 9-8, then displayed their top #10 offense in a 10-3 victory.
When it comes down to conference games for Burlington, their offense has been unstoppable, averaging over 10 runs per game, while keeping their opponents to less than three runs per game.
Fairfield has on the defensive end with three of their games being decided by three runs or less, two of which against teams with a losing record in conference. Surprisingly, their team ERA sits at a fair 3.49, which is first in the conference.
Mt. Pleasant just cannot get out of their own way early in the season with a team ERA of 10.40 in their seven losses this season. It gets even worse against the best in the conference, allowing 20, 14, and 12, respectively, as they were swept by Fairfield and lost to Burlington.
Moreover, the Panthers have the unfortunate distinction of either being tied with or leading after the fourth inning in two of the three games. An appealing sight for Mt. Pleasant’s conference hopes was a sweep of Fort Madison and getting complete game finishes from Zach Newton and Grayson Lowery. Panther head coach Brent Broeker said they were chasing Fairfield and Burlington for the crown in a preseason interview; the race officially heats up on Thursday, June 19th, in Fairfield at 7:30 pm with KILJ on the call.
There’s no answers for Fort Madison, just pain. The Bloodhounds swept Keokuk to start the year without much resistance and held a Fairfield offense to just two runs, though falling 2-1 in the contest. That loss has been a microcosm for the season, as their 6-4 loss to Mt. Pleasant last night marked their fifth loss in conference and their fifth loss of the season by two runs or less. Moreover, the Bloodhounds are still winless in non-conference games.
Washington might have a losing record but look out for the Demons for the rest of the season. This squad has led in four of their losses and even forced extras against Fort Madison. The clobbered Keokuk last night, scoring 12 runs in both contests. A confident Washington squad could create some noise in Burlington on Thursday to start the second half of SEC play.
The Chiefs have not scored more than three runs in one game this season and have only one win. They currently have a negative run differential of 72 runs against the Southeast Conference. They will get an opportunity to flip the script on Thursday at home versus Fort Madison.
Softball Rankings
- #9 Washington (8-0)
- Fairfield (5-3)
- Fort Madison (4-4)
- Burlington (4-4)
- Pleasant (2-6)
- Keokuk (1-7)
Washington has been tested a handful of times this year with three conference wins coming by three runs or less. Still, the Demons have also beaten four of their five conference foes by at least nine runs. The Salazars have the Demons cooking with Leighton hitting above 0.500 from the plate and nabbing 28 bags on the basepath, while Isabella is dealing a 3.12 ERA, all conference leaders.
Fairfield is smoking the ball through half of the season with a conference leading batting average of 0.344, which is helping the Trojans produce 7.6 runs per game. However, in their three conference losses Fairfield has been outscored 39 to 13. Leah Helmick has cemented herself as a star for the Trojans with a conference leading 23 RBIs and a team leading 4.63 ERA as a sophomore.
Fort Madison has hit a cold spell in the conference, inversing their 3-1 start in SEC play, including dropping their first game to Mt. Pleasant since 2020 in last night’s mayfly infested doubleheader. Without Brylie Lorence, this team would be in trouble as she poses a slash line of 0.452/0.511/0.905, while slugging five home runs and knocking in 17 RBIs.
Burlington’s lack of pitching has reared its ugly head for the first time since the mid-2010s with a team ERA of 4.94. Their star player, Kylee Hill, has appeared in only six games this season and has done wonders in the circle, twirling a 1.91 ERA with 41 strikeouts, but is hitting just 0.143 for the season. Burlington will try to avoid losing their third straight game against Washington on Thursday, June 19th, in front of their home crowd.
Mt. Pleasant has now won multiple conference games in a season since 2020, matching their two wins in the COVID-shortened year. The Panthers are a young team and certainly play one with bursts of offensive production at times overrun by defensive miscues as they have held only three of their 19 opponents under seven runs this season. Still, plenty reason to celebrate a team batting near 0.300 for the year as Paityn Ensminger is swinging at a 0.396 average for four doubles, a home run, and 11 RBIs. Mt. Pleasant will travel to Fairfield on Thursday.
It has been a season to forget for Keokuk, nabbing just two wins in 18 tries this season after returning three of their main producing seniors from a squad that won double digit games a year ago for the first time since 2018. The issue? Those three seniors are producing their best seasons at the plate and while Ada Wood has taken a step back in the circle, the Chiefs are furiously searching for young talent to step up. A home game against Fort Madison on Thursday will see how gauge how motivated this squad is for the rest of the season.