Sports, July 3rd

High School Baseball

Patience was a virtue for Mt. Pleasant last night as the Panthers took seven walks and were plucked by three other pitches to exit with a 5-1 victory over Mediapolis last night that was stopped in the sixth inning due to weather. 

Ben Newton, Zach Newton, and Payton Hagans each tabbed an RBI for the Panthers as Ben Newton picked up the win on the mound, allowing only three hits and fanning two. Lance Ludens had the lone RBI for the Bulldogs.

Mt. Pleasant will compete against Davis County tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Danville kept it close but was unable to pull off the upset last night, losing 6-2 to Burlington Notre Dame. Dylan Kipp went 4 for 4 with two RBIs in the win. The Nikes will travel to Mid-Prairie tonight at 7 pm. 

Fairfield claimed the Southeast Conference title yesterday on a walk-off RBI double off the bat of Luke Konczal to defeat Washington 2-1. Voss Richardson went 6.2 innings, allowing only seven hits and striking out five. It’s Fairfield’s first outright conference title since 2018. The Trojans will face off against Clear Creek Amana tonight at 7 pm on the road. 

West Burlington’s offense outpaced Burlington last night 8-3. Isaac Beard and Garret Bence each claimed two RBIs in the win for the Falcons. 

High School Postseason Baseball

New London will travel to Koeta on Saturday, July 6th, to take on Pekin in the Class 1A Substate 6 first round at 5 pm. 

Danville will square off against Keota at 7 pm on Saturday on the road. 

Mediapolis will host the first round of the Class 2A Substate 5 postseason Saturday matchups with Winfield-Mt. Union facing off against Louisa-Muscatine at 5 pm and the Bulldogs taking on West Burlington at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call for both games with the pregame show at 4:45 pm. 

Central Lee will start their Class 2A Substate 6 playoff journey on Saturday at home against Centerville at 7 pm. 

Van Buren County will play Cardinal at 5 pm on Saturday at Central Lee. 

High School Softball

West Burlington’s Madelyn Thomas pitched a gem against Fort Madison last night, going the distance and striking out three in a 6-1 win over the Bloodhounds. Logan Kelley led the charge for the Falcons with a double and three RBIs at the plate. Kylie Lumino had the lone RBI for Fort Madison.

Mt. Pleasant will host West Burlington tonight at 7 pm. 

Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Columbus at home tonight at 5:30 pm. 

Fairfield will face off against Albia tonight at 7:30 pm on the road. 

Central Lee will travel to Burlington tonight for a doubleheader with game one at 5 pm. 

Mediapolis will compete in a doubleheader on Monday, July 8th, against Davis County on the road with game one at 5:30 pm. 

High School Postseason Softball

For Class 1A Region 6, New London will be playing host to Danville on Monday, July 8th, at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm. 

WACO will hit the road to face off against Holy Trinity Catholic at 7 pm on Monday. 

For Class 2A Region 5, Van Buren County will face off against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Wednesday, July 10th, at 7 pm at home. 

High School Cross Country

Mt. Pleasant’s optional summer runs, available for 7th through 12th graders, are scheduled Monday through Thursday. The runs will often be led by upperclassmen as coaches may not be present for every run.

On Mondays and Wednesdays the runs will start at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they will be at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm. 

If you have any questions, contact Coach Murray at 319-850-0867. 

Prospect League

The Burlington Bees took on the O’Fallon Hoots last night and reached the minimum number of innings before lightning put an early end to the game in favor of the Hoots, 4-2. Merrick Mathews and Jackson Lindquist each tabbed an RBI in the loss.

The Clinton LumberKings late offensive surge led to a 9-5 victory over the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes last night. Jaden Hackbarth slugged a home run as he notched two RBIs in the win.

The Bees will host the LumberKings tonight at 6:30 pm with a fireworks show after the game.  

This Day in Sports History

1966 – Atlanta Braves Tony Cloninger becomes the first National League player and only pitcher to hit 2 grand slams in an MLB game.

1983 – Calvin Smith sets a new world record of 9.93 seconds for the 100-meter dash in Colorado Springs; beats Jim Hines’ 1968 mark by 0.02 seconds as he was the first man to finish the race in under 10 seconds. .

1983 – The Texas Rangers explode for an MLB single extra innings record 12 runs in the 15th inning of a 16-4 win versus Oakland.