By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
L-M Looks to Begin State Trip on Right Foot:
The second-seeded Louisa-Muscatine Falcons (18-5) will begin their state tournament trip this afternoon when they take on the seventh-seeded Eagles of Underwood High School in a Class 2A State Quarterfinal at Harlan Rogers Park in Fort Dodge.
The first historical matchup between the two programs could not come with higher stakes as the Falcons, last year’s Class 3A runner-up, look to reign supreme after dropping down a class.
L-M is led by the terrific Sanders tandem — senior Hailey and junior Kylee.
Hailey has excelled in the circle, working 95 innings this year to the tune of 0.81 ERA with 149 strikeouts.
The Northern Iowa recruit is 14-2 on the season.
Kylee has been on a tear, meanwhile, at the plate.
The junior has hit .587 this year with 13 doubles, two triples and 15 runs batted in. Hailey Sanders was equally as good at the plate, hitting .429 with three home runs and 25 runs batted in.
McKenna Hohenadel was the Falcons top hitter, the terrific sophomore hit .538 with three home runs and a team best 31 runs batted in.
Meanwhile for Underwood, their ace is junior Ella Pierce. Pierce, 12-2 this season, finished with a 1.32 ERA in 85 innings with 71 strikeouts.
Maddie Pierce has been Underwood’s best hitter, at .333 with 4 long balls and 15 RBI, but as team, they’re hitting just .299.
This afternoon’s game will begin at 4:30 p.m. — you can listen along on KILJ and KILJ.com shortly before first pitch.
And the full scoreboard from yesterday’s 3, 4 and 5A action from Fort Dodge:
5A
Muscatine 3, WDM Valley 1
Fort Dodge 7, Bettendorf 0
Ankeny Centennial 5, Waukee 2
Cedar Rapids Kennedy 10, Pleasant Valley 4
4A:
Carlisle 5, LeMars 0
North Scott 11, Charles City 0
Winterset 7, West Delaware 4
Dallas Center-Grimes 7, Fairfield 5
3A:
Albia 12, Creston 0
Mount Vernon 7, Humboldt 4
Class 2A Quarterfinals Finish Up in Des Moines, Yesterday:
The Class 2A State Baseball quarterfinals closed up yesterday with a couple of very competitive games at Principal Park, here’s a look at the scoreboard:
#1 Van Meter 1, Treynor 0 (F/8 inn.)
West Lyon 13, Mid-Prairie 3 (F/6 inn.)
- Mid-Prairie knocked off Central Lee last Wednesday night.
North Linn 2, Durant 1
Des Moines Christian 2, Dike-New Hartford 1
SLIAC Announces Changes to Fall Sports Season:
Iowa Wesleyan men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball will have a spring season as the SLIAC announced changes to the conference schedule yesterday afternoon.
Iowa Wesleyan men’s and women’s Cross Country, men’s and women’s golf and will be allowed to have limited competitions during the fall of 2020 while following the directives of local, state, and national health organizations.
Specific details on rescheduled seasons, contests, and championships will be discussed by the conference and announced at a later date. Winter sports schedules currently remain unchanged but will be evaluated as the conference approaches their respective start dates.
MLB Scoreboard (7/27):
Oakland 3, Los Angeles Angels 0
San Diego 6, Arizona 2
Toronto 4, Washington 1
Chicago Cubs 8, Cincinnati 7
Tampa Bay 14, Atlanta 5
Kansas City 14, Detroit 6
Milwaukee 6, Pittsburgh 5 (F/11 inn.)
Houston 8, Seattle 5
New York Mets 7, Boston 4