Prep Baseball- The first round of postseason baseball for the state of Iowa is slated to start on Friday, July 3rd, for Classes 1A and 2A and the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) has released the brackets ahead of the action. Here’s a look at our local teams.
Class 1A Substate 6
Starting in District 11, Van Buren County earned the pleasure of hosting New London in their first-round matchup. The Tigers have won the last three matchups, but the last four matchups have all been decided by four runs or less. The winner will head to Sigourney on Tuesday, July 7th.
Players to Watch: Cree Kite (VBC) and Gavin Strawhacker (NL)
Burlington Notre Dame will welcome Danville to town for their first-round meet up. It would be the ultimate upset if the Bears come out with the victory, as Danville has not beaten Notre Dame since 2014, putting the losing streak at 22 games. Additionally, the Bears are still looking for their first win of the season.
The Nikes possess a strong senior class and the last group (excluding Maddox Diewold) from the squad that made the state tournament during the 2023 summer season, and they are determined to make it back to Carroll.
Players to Watch: Landry Haberichter (BND) and Zander Stotlar (Danville)
Wapello will make the trip to Highland for their first-round showdown. The Huskies are one a five-game winning streak over Wapello, outscoring them 46 to 8. The winner will advance to play the winner between Notre Dame and Danville on July 7th.
Players to Watch: Bryce Hazelett (Highland) and Kinnick Richenberger (Wapello)
Class 2A Substate 4
A pair of our local teams will be dueling in District 8, as Mediapolis eyes a return trip to the state tournament. Nevertheless, the Bulldogs earned a first-round bye and will host either Mid-Prairie or Monticello on July 7th. Mediapolis touts a strong senior class headlined by Kyler Crow, who leads the team with a 0.73 ERA in 28.2 innings of work.
On the top half of the bracket, Winfield-Mt. Union will welcome Louisa-Muscatine to town for round one. The Falcons hold the overall series lead since 2009, but the Wolves have won the last 7 of 8 in the series. Nevertheless, the last three games have each been decided by one run. The winner will advance to play Regina Catholic.
Players to Watch: Trevor Phillips (W-MU) and Owen Klocksiem (L-M)
Substate 5
The rest of our local teams were dispersed into District 9. Central Lee, who has managed to beat Mediapolis this year, will also get a bye into the quarterfinals. They will await the winner between Davis County and Pella Christian on July 7th.
On the top half of the bracket, West Burlington will fly to Albia. This will be the first matchup between the two programs since Bound started tracking. West Burlington is a better offensive team on paper but allows more runs per game compared to Albia. The Falcons do have a distinct advantage in terms of errors (17 vs 45), so if they can put the ball in play, it could be a rough day for the Blue Demons.
The winner will take on Cardinal on July 7th.
Players to Watch: Bryson Reed (Albia) and Silas Lotzow (West Burlington)
More
Stay tuned to KILJ for a breakdown of both the Class 3A brackets and the softball brackets when they are released; along with our postseason broadcast scheduled as the first-round looms closer.