High School Baseball
Mt. Pleasant handled Keokuk last night in their road doubleheader, winning game one 10-2 and taking game two, 8-4. Grayson Lowery had his fingerprints all over game one, as the junior notched three strikeouts in three innings on the mound and knocked in four runs at the plate. Lowery would produce another seven strikeouts in game two, while Tayten George accrued two RBIs. The Panthers will welcome Keokuk to town tonight at 5 pm.
Fairfield split their doubleheader with Washington last night, smacking the Demons in game one, 13-3, and losing a 15-12 marathon in game two. Ethan Bisgard tallied three RBIs in game one and Aiden Westercamp slashed two doubles in game two for an RBI. The Trojans will square off against Keokuk on the road on Monday, June 29th, at 5:30 pm.
Washington will travel to Waterloo for the Riverfront Stadium tournament today.
Burlington Notre Dame demolished Hillcrest Academy last night, 13-3. The Nikes will square off against Winfield-Mt. Union at home at 6 pm tonight.
Winfield-Mt. Union’s Kason Dopler tossed eight innings of two-run ball, striking out two, but it was not enough as the Wolves fell to Highland last night, 2-0.
Wapello dropped their game to Pekin last night, 15-5. Wapello will play Danville at home on Monday at 5 pm.
Central Lee shutout New London last night, 7-0. Caedon Newton pitched a no-hitter, striking out four for the Hawks. The Tigers will look to shake it off as they get ready to welcome Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm.
Central Lee will face off against Danville on Tuesday, June 30th, at 6 pm.
West Burlington will host Pekin tonight at 7 pm.
Mediapolis will compete in a tournament at Mount Mercy University today.
High School Softball
It was a slow start for Mt. Pleasant but the bats finally woke up for the Panthers in a 10-1 trouncing of Keokuk last night. The Panthers struck for six runs in the sixth inning, as the team produced five runs during a two-out rally. Paityn Ensminger clobbered a double and finished the night with three RBIs, giving her eight over the last two games. Overall, five different Panthers tabbed an RBI, something that head coach Curtis Bjork is hoping to continue down the stretch,
“Right, that’s what it’s all about, one through nine, and our big thing has been talking about putting pressure on teams every inning, you know, and not just one or two innings in the game, and that makes it tough on pitchers if you can, you know, put pressure on teams one through nine and every inning, so if we can keep doing that, we’ll be alright.”
Chaley Cook also punched out six Chiefs in six innings of work for her seventh win of the season. Coach Bjork knows a lot of responsibility has been placed upon their ace,
“She’s been our workhorse and she’s really stepped up to Peyton for us, you know, whatever we need, she has no questions. We know she’s gonna compete for us. It’s really proud of her and the work ethic she has, and we’ll go again tomorrow, you know, because we got two tomorrow, so she’ll throw again some tomorrow, so excited to see what our girls can do down the next week and a half of the season.”
Mt. Pleasant and Central Lee will participate in the Rick Doran Classic today.
New London fell to Central Lee last night, 15-5. Elaina Barlow smacked a double for three RBIs in the victory. The Tigers will look to bounce back against Van Buren County tonight at 7 pm at home.
Fairfield and Washington combined for 28 runs, as the Demons knocked off the Trojans last night, 17-11. Ireland Cranston launched a home run for three RBIs in the losing bid. The Trojans will compete in the Clear Creek Amana tournament today.
Washington will host their invitational tomorrow with West Burlington/Notre Dame making the trip.
Mediapolis put up two runs in the first inning against West Burlington-Notre Dame and that was all they needed, as Payton Harris turned in a six strikeout, complete game effort for the Bullettes in a 2-0 final.
Columbus lost a barn-burner to Lone Tree last night, 24-20. The Wildcats will take on Montezuma tomorrow, June 27th.
Wapello fell to Pekin last night, 12-2. The Arrows will travel to Mediapolis tonight at 7 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic shut down Hillcrest Academy last night, 8-0. The Crusaders will host West Burlington/Notre Dame at 7 pm tonight.
Danville slugged Van Buren County last night, 12-4. The Bears will make the trip to Centerville at 7 pm tonight.
WACO lost to Louisa-Muscatine last night, 19-0. The Warriors will host Pekin tonight at 5 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.
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees fell to the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp last night, 14-5. The Bees will host the Normal CornBelters tonight at 6:30 pm.
The Clinton LumberKings allowed another cascade of runs, as they lost to the Quincy Doggy Paddlers last night, 16-7. The LumberKings will make the trip to play the Cape Catfish tonight at 6:35 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.