High School Baseball
Mt. Pleasant picked up a pair of Southeast Conference wins last night, whacking Fort Madison in game one 13-3 and sneaking out a game two victory with a 6-4 final.
After allowing three runs on three hits in the first two innings of game one, Zach Newton pitched lights out, retiring the next 12 batters with three strikeouts to get the win on the mound. Cooper Coleman clocked a two-RBI double in a five-run 4th inning.
Game two saw the Panthers trailing for most of the game before grinding out three runs in the sixth inning behind an RBI single by J.C. Sitar, who doubled home a run in the seventh inning, and an RBI double by Grayson Lowery, who also took home the complete game win on the mound with four strikeouts.
Mt. Pleasant will head back home tonight to face off against Davis County at 7 pm.
New London walked-off Hillcrest Academy last night to win 5-4. Tate Welcher smacked a double to lead the squad with three RBIs. The Tigers will compete against Winfield-Mt. Union tonight on the road at 5:30 pm.
Burlington Notre Dame clobbered Highland last night 14-1. The Nikes will travel to #6 Mediapolis tonight at 7:30 pm.
Fairfield and Burlington entered last night tied atop the Southeast Conference standings, but the Grayhounds made a strong push to take over sole lead of the conference standings after sweeping the Trojans last night.
Game one was a back-and-forth affair with Burlington scoring two in the bottom of the 5th inning and keeping Fairfield off the scoreboard for the rest of the game to win 9-8. Dayson Workman led the way with a double and three RBIs.
Game two was just as close with the pair tied at three entering the bottom of the 6th inning but the Grayhounds struck for seven runs to thump Fairfield 10-3. Archer Kreuter went 3 for 4 with an RBI in the losing effort.
Fairfield will look to get back in the win column tonight at home against Albia with first pitch at 7:30 pm.
Central Lee will host Danville tonight at 7:30 pm.
West Burlington will tangle with Van Buren County tonight at 5:30 pm at home.
Wapello will face off against Calamus-Wheatland tomorrow, June 18th, at 5:30 pm at home.
High School Softball
Mt. Pleasant collected their second conference victory of the season last night after splitting their doubleheader with Fort Madison, losing game one 9-6 and taking game two 11-9. Paityn Ensminger led the offensive effort in game one with three RBIs, while Saige Burchett and Lila Cook each tabbed three RBIs in game two.
Mt. Pleasant will host Mediapolis tomorrow, June 18th, with first pitch at 7 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
Fairfield also split their matchup against Burlington last night, falling 14-6 in game one and winning game two 10-4. The Trojans will face off against Mt. Pleasant on Thursday, June 19th, at 7:30 pm at home.
West Burlington/Notre Dame struck first against #2 Louisa-Muscatine, leading 5 to 2 after four innings, but Louisa-Muscatine proved to be too tough, scoring 10 unanswered runs to snatch a 12-5 victory. Madalynn Knapp pushed across three runs as she collected the only extra-base knock. West Burlington/Notre Dame will play at home tonight against Van Buren County with gametime at 7 pm.
Wapello got the better of Van Buren County last night, winning 7-5. Kaylor Veach led the Arrows with three RBIs. Wapello will hit the road to face off against Columbus tonight at 7 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic defeated Highland last night 7-5. Mediapolis will host the Crusaders tonight at 7 pm.
Danville lost a nail-biter last night 3-2 against Lone Tree. The Bears will take on #15 Central Lee tonight at 7 pm on the road.
WACO will make the trip to Highland tonight at 7:30 pm.
New London will travel to Van Buren County on Thursday at 7 pm.
High School Cross Country
The Mt. Pleasant Cross Country team’s summer runs are underway until their camp in mid-August. The runs are available to any 7th through 12th grader with paces and plans dependent on the level of experience. Coaches may not be present at every run as upperclassmen often lead the runs.
On Mondays and Wednesdays, the runs will begin at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the runs will begin at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm. If you have any questions, then contact Coach Murray at 319-850-0867.
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees will remain on the road tonight against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp with gametime at 7:05 pm.
The Clinton LumberKings will travel to the Quincy Doggy Paddlers tonight at 6:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1880 – Providence Grays MLB pitcher John M. Ward threw a perfect game, beating the Buffalo Bisons, 5-0; the second perfect game in the National League in six days. It would take 84 years before another National League pitcher threw a perfect game.
1976 – The ABA merges into the NBA, bringing the New York Nets, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs.
2003 – “Moneyball,” a book about the 2002 Oakland Athletics baseball team and GM Billy Beane’s sabermetric approach, inspired by Bill James, is published.