Postseason High School Baseball
Starting in Class 1A Substate 6 District 11, a brief rainstorm put a delay on the game but not on Van Buren County’s parade, as the Warriors gutted out a 3-2 victory over New London last night. On a night that was all about pitching, the Warriors got to New London’s Kye Reighard first with Keagan Young notching an RBI single to break the game open in the 4th inning and eventually scored to give Van Buren County an early 2 to 0 lead.
Yet, New London, who ended Kinnick Millard’s no-hitter bid in the 4th inning, would cut the lead in half in the 5th inning off a sacrifice fly by Owen Nehring. A two-out RBI single by Branz Manning tied the game in the sixth inning before the rain halted the game for over half an hour. After the game resumed, the Tigers managed to get the bases loaded but Cree Kite got the strikeout to end the inning.
The Warriors grabbed the lead in the 6th inning off an error and the Tigers stranded a runner in scoring position in the 7th inning to finish the game. For New London head coach Jayden Flowers, it came down to finding that one hit,
“Yeah, we just lacked a big hit when we needed a big hit. Super proud of the way that we played. I mean, we had a couple mistakes early on that gave them a few runs and yeah, we just, when we had the bases loaded, I mean we had an eighth grader up and I have all the faith in the eighth graders that I play. I mean, they’re ballers, so we just lacked that big hit when we had bases loaded and second and third there in the last inning. I mean, not much I can say. I’m proud of them. Tough way to end it.”
Reighard went all six innings for the Tigers, notching five strikeouts and showed true grit by playing through injury according to coach Flowers,
“The senior class is great. Kye specifically, nobody knows this, but he pitched with a broken toe tonight. So we were gonna go with Kye on the mound whether win or lose because he, I mean he loves, he loves the game and he loves the pressure and he loves to compete and he showed it tonight. But yeah, he hasn’t practiced all week with a, because he had a broken toe and stepped up on the mound and he pitched fantastic tonight.”
New London finished the season with a 6-17 record.
Kinnick Millard struck out seven in the winning effort and slapped a trio of singles. The Warriors will hit the road on Tuesday, July 7th, for a matchup against Sigourney.
Wapello was stomped by Highland last night, 12-2. Wyatt Strawhacker had an RBI in the loss. Wapello finished the season with a 3-16 record.
Burlington Notre Dame skipped past Danville last night, 10-0. The Bears turned in a 1-17 record for the season.
The Nikes will host Highland on Tuesday at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
In Class 2A Substate 4, Trevor Phillips pitched a gem for Winfield-Mt. Union, tossing nine strikeouts in a complete-game, two-hitter, while also coming up with the lone RBI at the plate in a 1-0 victory over Louisa-Muscatine last night. The Wolves will head to Regina Catholic on Tuesday at 7 pm.
Mediapolis earned a bye and will await the winner between Monticello and Mid-Prairie.
Lastly, in Class 2A Substate 5, West Burlington fell to Albia last night, 5-4. The Falcons finished the season with an 8-9 record.
Central Lee will face off against Pella Christian at 5 pm on Tuesday at Cardinal to start their postseason journey.
High School Baseball
Washington earned a 5-0 win over Keokuk last night for their senior night. The Demons will stay at home to take on Pella at 7 pm on Monday, July 6th.
Fairfield will host Saydel on Monday at 7 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will face off against Davenport Central on Monday at 7 pm at home.
High School Softball
Fairfield and Central Lee both competed at the Ottumwa Classic yesterday and both were swept by their opponents. The Trojans lost to Albia 5-2 and the hosts 3-2 in extra innings. Leah Helmick had an RBI in game one, while notching five strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work in game two.
The Hawks were stymied by the Lady Dees, 7-0, and narrowly defeated by Ottumwa, 6-5.
Fairfield will tangle with Knoxville on Monday, July 6th, at 7:30 pm at home.
Central Lee will travel to Burlington on Monday at 5 pm for game one of a doubleheader.
West Burlington/Notre Dame defeated Hillcrest Academy, 4-0, yesterday. Madelyn Thomas clobbered a two-run homer and pitched a complete-game shutout, notching eight strikeouts for the Falcons. West Burlington/Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 14-17 record.
Washington has now won 10 games in a row after dismantling Keokuk last night, 12-0, to celebrate their senior night. The Demons will take on Louisa-Muscatine on Monday at 6 pm on the road.
Mt. Pleasant will stay on the road for a matchup against Davis County on Monday at 7 pm.
Mediapolis will take on Davis County on Tuesday, July 7th, in a road doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm.
Postseason High School Softball
In Class 1A Region 8, WACO will travel to Pekin on Monday, July 6th, with first pitch at 7 pm. The winner will play #15 Holy Trinity Catholic in West Point on Wednesday, July 8th.
In Class 2A Region 3, New London will host Danville on Monday at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
Wapello will face off against Columbus on Monday at 7 pm at home.
On Wednesday, West Burlington-Notre Dame will head to Lisbon and Van Buren County will stay at home to compete against West Branch with both games on Wednesday at 7 pm.
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 July 15th.
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 could not cap off a late rally to beat the Clinton LumberKings last night, losing 8-6. Grant Ingram smacked a two-run homer for the LumberKings. The Bees will fly to Clinton for a three-game road stand starting tonight at 6:30 pm.
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.