High School Baseball
Lance Ludens had quite the night on the mound for #6 Mediapolis, as the senior tabbed his 200th career strikeout in a complete game, nine strikeout effort to beat Mt. Pleasant 13-4. The Panthers answered the call of offense in the first inning after a J.C. Sitar sac fly scored Payton Walker, who started his night with a double, and Grayson Lowery followed suit to tie the game at two.
Nevertheless, Mediapolis would go on to collect 20-plus hits for the night as Kyler Crow knocked a triple and nabbed two RBIs to lead the team. Panther head coach Brent Broeker talked about the message delivered to his team after the game,
“Yeah, you know, we jumped out. They jumped out too on us. And we, you know, tied it up in the bottom of the first. And I thought, well, that we could play with these guys and then Ludens pretty much said, you know, for the next 5 innings, ‘I’m only allowing two more hits.’ So, he pretty much shut us down. You know the kid can throw it. So, you know, I thought our kids didn’t battle as we had in the past with decent pitching. But hopefully, you know, we learned some tonight about, you know, when you’re facing good teams. There’s really nothing to lose, might as well go out and have fun and swing the bat.”
Mt. Pleasant will look to bounce back tonight against Keokuk with first pitch at 7:30 pm at home.
West Burlington will square off against #6 Mediapolis tonight at 5:30 pm at home.
Burlington Notre Dame split their matchups last night at Waterloo Riverfront Stadium, beating Kee 5-2 and losing to Roland-Story 3-1. The Nikes will square off against Hillcrest Academy tonight at 5:30 pm.
Central Lee clobbered Van Buren County last night 12-2. Blake Davis continued to slug the ball as he finished the night going 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, and an RBI, while not allowing a hit and striking out eight on the mound in three innings of work.
New London will compete against Central Lee tonight at 7:30 pm at home.
Danville will look to keep the momentum rolling against Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm on the road.
Winfield-Mt. Union will take on Highland tonight on the road at 5:30 pm.
Wapello will face off against Pekin tonight at 6 pm at home.
Fairfield will attempt to spoil Washington’s senior night tonight with first pitch at 5:30 pm.
Postseason Baseball Brackets
The Iowa High School Athletic Association has released the postseason brackets for all four classes with first pitch scheduled for 5 pm on Saturday, July 5th, for Classes 1A and 2A. Here’s the matchups for our local teams.
In Class 1A Substate 5 District 10, Danville and Van Buren County will be heading off to Moravia for the Saturday doubleheader. 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.
Moving to Class 2A Substate 4 District 7, Mediapolis earned a bye and will host the winner between West Liberty and Camanche on 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 on July 8th 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
In a ranked showdown at Bob Pearl Field in Iowa City, #11 Washington put up three runs in the top of the 7th inning to dispel feelings from last year’s postseason loss to #14 Central Lee, exiting with the 5-3 win over the Hawks.
#14 Central Lee will make the trip to New London tonight at 7 pm.
West Burlington/Notre Dame split their doubleheader against Davenport North last night, losing game one 16-3 and taking game two 11-2. Paige Kramer had both RBIs in game one, while the Falcons destroyed the ball in game, mashing four home runs including two from Lyndsey Kelley, who tallied six RBIs.
Mediapolis will square off against West Burlington/Notre Dame tonight at 7 pm on the road.
Mt. Pleasant cut the lead in half in the 5th inning after pushing across two runs but it was not enough as the Panthers fell to Cardinal last night 7-3. Keagyn Coleman, Saige Burchett, and Linzy Striegel each smacked a double and collected an RBI for the Panthers.
Mount Pleasant will face off against Keokuk tonight at home at 7 pm. Catch the game on KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, with the pregame show at 6:45 pm.
WACO had their matchup against Highland last night postponed to July 2nd. The Warriors will take on #2 Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 7 pm at home.
Danville lost to Fort Madison last night 17-2. Van Buren County will host Danville tonight at 7 pm.
Columbus will tangle with Lone Tree tonight at 7 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic will travel to Hillcrest Academy at 7 pm tonight.
Wapello will square off against Pekin tonight at 6 pm at home.
Fairfield will make the trip to Washington tonight at 5:30 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 had their matchup against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp last night postponed due to weather. Game one will be resumed tonight at 6 pm as part of a doubleheader at Community Field in Burlington. Game two of last night’s doubleheader will be moved to July 30th.
The Clinton LumberKings had their matchup against the Quincy Doggy Paddlers postponed last night to July 9th. The LumberKings will host the Normal CornBelters tonight at 6:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1970 – Frank Robinson hits two grand slams as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Washington Senators 12-2. He is just the third major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
1994 – Kirby Puckett passed Rod Carew with his 2,088th hit as the Twin’s top hit leader.
2021 – Largest-ever pile up in the Tour de France caused by a spectator with a sign during Stage 1.