Postseason High School Baseball
For the Class 1A Substate 6 championship, Burlington Notre Dame pulled off their second upset of the tournament and punched their ticket to the state tournament after defeating Lynnville-Sully last night, 7-3. This will be Notre Dame’s 10th trip to the state tournament and first since 2023.
Joining the Nikes will be: Remsen St. Mary’s, Newman Catholic, Ankeny Christian, South Winneshiek, North Linn, Moravia, and Coon-Rapids Bayard.
In Class 2A Substate 4, Mediapolis struck first after an RBI-triple off the bat of Hayden Gugeler and a passed ball gave the Bulldogs a 2 to 0 lead, but the Durant bats were too much to overcome in a 9-4 loss. Mediapolis head coach Rick Whitaker talked about his core of seniors after the game,
“Yeah, we have six seniors that are moving on. And, yeah, they’ve been with me since a lot. You know, four of them have been with me since they were 8th graders. You know, they’ve won close to 80-some games together as a core four or five. So, yeah, it’s going to be different next year. But, we’ve got some young kids that will come up. But, those seniors mean a lot to me.”
The Bulldogs finished the season with a 16-10 record, a testament to how tough coach Whitaker’s squad truly was in the face of adversity,
“Yeah, I knew that we had a gauntlet there at the end that I scheduled. You know, Sigourney, Cascade, Regina, Clinton. And, we took some L’s. And, there for a while I was wondering if they would come back. But, they did. That’s this core team. That’s the seniors and the juniors that came back. Played good ball. Beat the number three team in the state, Regina. A really good ball club to get here. And, fought tonight. You know, in the seventh inning, you know, it just showed that, you know, we weren’t giving up. Just wasn’t our night tonight.”
Joining Durant will be West Lyon, Roland-Story, Cascade, Pleasantville, Beckman Catholic, Ridge View, and Unity Christian.
The Class 1A and Class 2A state tournament will start on Monday, July 20th, from Carroll’s Merchants Park.
All-Southeast Iowa Super Conference Baseball Team
The Southeast Iowa Super Conference (SEISC) released their All-Conference squads last night and Burlington Notre Dame’s Eli Oleson and Central Lee’s Blake Davis were named CO-SEISC-South Player of the Year, while Bryce Hazlett of Highland grabbed North Player of the Year honors.
For the South, Notre Dame led the charge with six members being named to the First Team, as Tatum Warner was named First Team Pitcher, Curtis Randall and Payne Prottsman found a spot on the Infield, Landry Haberichter and Oleson were named to the Outfield, and Maddox Diewold claimed a spot as a Utility.
Mediapolis’s Rick Whitaker was named SEISC-South Coach of the Year, as five members made the First Team in Parker Lange (Catcher), Gannon Gunn (Infielder), Will Luttenegger (Infield), Kyler Crow (Outfield), and Max Griffin and Kael Wischmeier (Utility).
Central Lee placed Davis as First Team Pitcher, Kellen Weber at Catcher, Caedon Newton in the Infield, and Ward Fraise in the Outfield. West Burlington’s Ayden Figuereo (Outfield) and Silas Lotzow (Infield) and Van Buren County’s Eli McKinney (Utility) rounded out the list.
On the North Side, Winfield-Mt. Union put Trevor Phillips (Pitcher) and Tyson Kaalberg (Outfield) on the First Team, while Wyatt Marlette (Utility) and Treyton Schultz (Infield) each found a spot for Wapello.
Postseason High School Softball
In Class 3A Region 8, Fairfield fell to West Liberty last night, 10-2. The Trojans finished the year with a 19-18 record.
In Class 4A Region 5, #12 Burlington held off North Scott last night to punch their ticket to the state tournament, winning 3-2 after 8 innings last night. Kylee Hill delivered two strikeouts in the complete game effort.
All-Southeast Iowa Super Conference Softball Team
The All-SEISC teams were released yesterday and headlining the teams were Louisa-Muscatine’s Grace Kissell, the North Player of the Year, and Central Lee’s Kenna Sandoval, the South Player of the Year.
Starting with the South Division, Payton Harris of Mediapolis and Holy Trinity Catholic’s Sydney Jarvis were named First Team Pitcher. Claiming a Spot for First Team Catcher was Delaney Griffith of Mediapolis, Holy Trinity Catholic’s Cadyn Holmes, and Central Lee’s McKenna Fransk. The Infield was highlighted by Kenna Jankowski of Mediapolis, New London/Winfield-Mt. Union’s Quin Smith, Olivia Day of Central Lee, Danville’s Brynley Wenig, and Ashlyn Huff of Van Buren County. Placed in the Outfield was Central Lee’s Jali Hawk, Kenna Gittings of Holy Trinity Catholic, Mediapolis’ Maycie Thornburg, Van Buren County’s Kayley Snowgren, and Lacie Felkins of West Burlington/Notre Dame. Lastly, Madelyn Thomas of West Burlington/Notre Dame, Alivia Holmes of Holy Trinity Catholic, Danville’s Elizabeth Jensen, and Rylee Caviness of Van Buren County were named as Utilities.
Coach of the Year for the South was awarded to Emily Parks of New London/Winfield-Mt. Union.
Wapello highlighted the First Team in the North Division for our local teams with Quinn Zweibohmer being named First Team Pitcher, Macey Kuntz earning First Team Infield, and Erica Gillette claiming a spot on the First Team as a Utility. WACO’s Natalie Wagler was named Second Team Utility.
Mt. Pleasant Cross Country
Summer runs are underway for the Mt. Pleasant Cross Country team. These runs are optional but a great way to run with others and get in shape for the fall season. The runs are available to anyone entering 7th through 12th grades. Coaches may not be present at every run, as they are often led by upperclassmen.
On Mondays, the runs will take place at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre. Wednesdays will be high school speed day at 7 am at Mapleleaf and Tuesdays and Thursdays will take place at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm.
The runs will continue through the middle of August until the Mt. Pleasant Cross County camp. If you have any questions, you can contact Coach Lyle Murray at 319-850-0867.
Local Athletic Camps
Mt. Pleasant will be hosting their volleyball camps starting in late July at the high school gym. The youth camp for grades 3rd through 6th will run from July 20th through the 22nd from 5:30 to 7 pm. The camp cutoff date is today.
Here is the link to sign up for the camp: Youth Volleyball Camp Registration
The middle school camp for grades 7th and 8th and the high school camp for 9th through 12th graders will run August 3rd through the 5th with the middle school going from 4 to 5:30 pm and the high school to follow from 6 to 8 pm. The cutoff date is July 23rd.
Here is the link to sign up for the camp: Middle and High School Camp Registration
All camps will cost $30, cash, per person with the camper getting a t-shirt.
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees throttled the Quincy Doggy Paddlers last night, 12-4. The Bees will square off against the Doggy Paddlers tonight at home at 6:30 pm.
The Clinton LumberKings will travel to the Chillicothe Paints tonight at 6:05 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1876 – George Washington Bradley of St. Louis pitched the first no-hitter in baseball in a 2-0 win over Hartford.
1999 – The inaugural game at the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field held in Seattle, Washington.
2007 – MLB Philadelphia Phillies lose to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 10-2 to become the first franchise in major American sport with 10,000 all-time losses.