High School Baseball
Fairfield’s two-run sixth inning claimed the Trojans their second consecutive Southeast Conference Title last night in a 3-2 win over Burlington. Cason Miller was the one to do it with the two-run blast to lift the squad over the Grayhounds. Dain Burkhart pitched the complete game, striking out three in the win. Fairfield will face off against Mt. Vernon on Monday at 7 pm on the road.
Postseason Baseball Brackets
In Class 1A Substate 5 District 10, Danville and Van Buren County will be heading off to Moravia for a doubleheader tomorrow, July 5th. The Bears will square off against Moravia at 7 pm, while Van Buren County will start off the night at 5 pm.
On the bottom half of the bracket, Burlington Notre Dame will venture to New London to face off against Keota at 5 pm, while New London will host the nightcap against Wapello 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.
Moving to Class 2A Substate 4 District 7, #5 Mediapolis earned a bye and will host the winner between West Liberty and Camanche on Tuesday, July 8th, at 7 pm.
Over in Class 2A Substate 5 District 9, West Burlington and Louisa-Muscatine will meet up in Wilton at 5 pm in the battle of the Falcons. Winfield-Mt. Union will take on the hosts at 7 pm, where the winner will advance to compete against Central Lee Tuesday at 5 pm at Chariton Middle School.
For Class 3A Substate 5, Washington will face off against Assumption on the road. In Substate 6, Mt. Pleasant will travel to play Fairfield for the fourth time this season, while Keokuk will take on Pella and Fort Madison will venture to Xavier with both games on the road.
For Class 4A Substate 3, Burlington grabbed the #4-seed and will hit the road to compete against the #3-seed Muscatine.
Classes 3A and 4A will start postseason action on July 11th with first pitch at 7 pm.
High School Softball
Mt. Pleasant fell to Fort Madison last night 10-2. Keagyn Coleman swatted an RBI-double after a leadoff triple by Lila Cook for her first career extra-base hit as a member of the Panthers.
New London lost to Hillcrest Academy last night 13-5.
Fairfield took down Burlington last night 8-1 behind Leah Helmick’s complete game, two-hitter. Lilly Bergren led the team with three RBIs as she hit one of the team’s four doubles. The Trojans will compete in the Ottumwa Classic tomorrow.
West Burlington/Notre Dame will take on Mid-Prairie on Monday, July 7th, at home with game one of a doubleheader starting at 5:30 pm.
Mediapolis will host Davis County on Tuesday, July 8th, at 5:30 pm.
Postseason Softball
For Class 1A Region 1, game one on Monday, July 7th, will pin WACO against Wapello at 7 pm with the Arrows getting a home game. The winner of the matchup will play Holy Trinity Catholic at West Point South Park on Wednesday, July 9th, at 7 pm.
Over in Class 2A Region 2, Van Buren County will host Danville on Monday at 7 pm with the winner advancing to play #2 Louisa-Muscatine Wednesday in a road showdown.
Also playing on day one will be New London/Winfield-Mt. Union, as the Tigers will make the pilgrimage to Pella Christian High School to face off against the Eagles. The winner will take on Wilton in the quarterfinals.
Columbus earned a bye and a home game with the Wildcats gearing up for a contest with Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Wednesday at 7 pm in the top half of the bracket with Louisa-Muscatine expected to host the July 11th contest in the semifinals if both teams advance.
On the bottom half of the Class 4A Region 3 bracket, it is a repeat of the season opener as Mt. Pleasant will travel west to face off against Oskaloosa on Thursday, July 11th. The Panthers struck first that night with a two-run homer off the bat of Paityn Ensminger, but could not keep the momentum going as they fell 11-3. KILJ will be on the call.
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees returned the favor to the Clinton LumberKings last night, winning 15-7, to tie the series at one game apiece. Caleb Seibers walloped the ball for a three-run homer in the winning effort. The Bees and LumberKings will close out their three-game series tonight at 6:30 pm in Clinton.
This Day in Sports History
1939 – Lou Gehrig is the first MLB player to have his number (4) retired on his “Appreciation Day” at Yankee Stadium, making the iconic “luckiest man” speech.
1980 – Nolan Ryan becomes the fourth pitcher to register 3,000 MLB strikeouts.
1995 – The Birmingham Barracudas (based in Alabama) play their first CFL game beating Winnipeg 38-10 but the failed experiment only lasts one season.