Sports, Thursday, July 16th

By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com 

Winfield, New London Set for Premiere Match-Up in SEISC:

After rain washed away games on Wednesday night, the second round of Class 1A State Softball playoffs will play across the region this evening.

Our featured match-up on KILJ tonight will be New London and Winfield-Mount Union.

The Wolves, 7-4, have dropped their last two contests after beating West Burlington and Lone Tree.

Meanwhile, New London — at 7-6 — picked up a big win over Holy Trinity at home on Monday 11-1.

Their first match-up this season was a 3-0 win for Winfield-Mount Union as Madie Anderson threw a complete game one-hit shutout.

She’ll undoubtedly get the ball tonight for Winfield-Mount Union and has been not only been one of the best pitchers in the area — but one of the best statewide.

Anderson has started all 11 games for the Wolves and opponents are hitting a paltry .099 against her — she’s only allowed three earned runs all season while striking out 141 in 75 innings.

She’s worth your ears tonight alone — you can listen on KILJ-FM 105.5 and online at kilj.com.

First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.

Other match-ups:

  • Mediapolis vs. Wilton
  • Keokuk vs. Fort Madison
  • Grinnell vs. Washington

Mount Pleasant Softball Looks to Get Hot:

The Mount Pleasant softball team will open up Class 4A Softball action tonight when they travel to take on Burlington.

The Panthers, 4-17, will square off against a Greyhound team that most recently split doubleheaders against 3A #1 Davenport Assumption and  3A #14 West Burlington.

Burlington swept the season series against Mount Pleasant with 13-2 and 5-2 wins on June 29th.

The Greyhounds are led by the terrific senior duo of Bryanna Mehaffy and Lydia Allen-Barnes.

Mehaffy is hitting .475 with five runs batted in, while Allen-Barnes is hitting .440 with six doubles, one triple, one home run and 22 runs batted in.

Adessa Brandenburg is the ace of the staff for the Greyhounds, going 7-3 in 55.2 innings with an ERA of 2.26.

Samantha Broeker has enjoyed a great senior season for Troy Mears’ group, hitting a robust .463 with eight doubles and 12 runs batted in.

Sydni Coleman hit .328 this year with a team-leading four home runs and 14 runs batted in.

Coleman will also need to be sharp in the circle, she finished this year 4-10 with an ERA of 4.11 and she’ll get the ball tonight for a Panther team looking to pull off the upset.

Tonight’s game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Burlington High School.

Three In-State College Backs Honored:

Iowa State’s Breece Hall and Iowa’s tandem of Tyler Goodson and Mekhi Sargent have all been named to the 2020 Doak Walker Preseason Watch List — the award given the the nation’s top college running back.

Hall, a sophomore, had 897 yards rushing and 252 yards receiving in his true freshman season for the Cyclones.

Goodson picked up 638 yards rushing and 166 yards receiving in his own freshman season for the Hawkeyes while Sargent had 563 yards on the ground last season.

2019 Doak Walker Award finalist Chuba Hubbard (Oklahoma State) and 2018 finalist Travis Etienne (Clemson) lead the list of preseason candidates.

UST Makes Jump to DI Official, Joins Summit League:

The University of St. Thomas found out Wednesday that it will officially become the 10th member of The Summit League and participate in each of the league’s 19 sponsored sports, the conference announced.

The NCAA Division I Council elected to provide the Tommies with an unprecedented waiver to make the jump from DIII to DI and join the league prior to the 2021-22 academic year.

St. Thomas, who received a unanimous vote for invitation from The Summit League’s Presidents Council last October, will spend its final season at the DIII level in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Athletically, the Tommies’ sports programs that will participate in The Summit League have combined for more than 400 regular and postseason championships during their tenure in the MIAC.

St. Thomas will join the league on July 1, 2021 and start its five-year transition to the DI level.