By: Nathan Bloechl — sports@kilj.com
After Rain-outs, Central Lee, Notre Dame Ready for State Berth Chance:
Despite a rain-out yesterday the 12-1 Central Lee baseball team is on the verge of greatness when they take on the sixth-ranked Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks tonight for a chance to head to the Class 2A State Baseball tournament for the second consecutive season.
Mid-Prairie, 14-3 on the year, picked up a come-from-behind 7-5 victory over West Liberty to clinch their trip to Mediapolis tonight.
Central Lee earned a 9-6 win over Van Buren County in the first round before squeaking by Mediapolis by a score of 2-1.
The Hawks are led by senior Jadon Hawk who finished this season with a .429 batting average, five doubles, one homer and a team-best 16 runs batted in.
Senior Luke Simmons finished with 12 runs batted in, two doubles and a .441 average to lead the group.
Hawk has also been the ace of the staff for Central Lee — the senior right-hander finished 4-0 this season in 22.2 innings pitched with 32 punch-outs.
Tonight’s game can be heard on KILJ-FM 105.5 and online at kilj.com.
First pitch from Mediapolis High School is set for 7:00 p.m.
Other contests tonight will see:
- North Cedar (7-7) will take on the 13-2 Burlington Notre Dame Nikes (RV) in a Class 1A-Substate 4 Championship tonight in Solon, after being rained out yesterday. Notre Dame held on for a thrilling 6-4 victory over New London on Saturday as they play for a chance to head to the Class 1A State Baseball tournament. Tonight will be the first match-up all-time between the two schools. The Nikes boast one of the area’s top lineups, hitting .403 as team this year. They’re led by senior Drew Chiprez, who finished with a .548 batting average to go along with seven doubles, one triple and seven home runs. He’s driven in 24 this year, as well. Right-hander Mitchell Brent and fellow senior Jeron Conner have been lights out for Notre Dame on the bump. Brent leads the team with 23.1 innings pitched and 38 strikeouts, while Conner has pitched 16 innings of 2.19 ERA ball, with 25 K’s. Tonight’s game will be played in Solon at 7:00 p.m.
Former Mount Pleasant Golfer Honored:
A school-record 22 Carl Sandburg College student-athletes earned academic awards from the National Junior College Athletic Association for their exceptional performances in the classroom during the 2019-20 season.
Headlining the list for the Chargers is former Mount Pleasant golfer Trace White.
White was named All-Academic First Team after finishing his freshman season with a 4.00 GPA.
NJCAA ALL-ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM (4.00 GPA)
- Andrew Hand (Woodhull, Ill./AlWood), men’s cross country*
- Gavin Smith (Henry, Ill./Henry-Senachwine), baseball*
- Kevin White (Carthage, Ill./Illini West), men’s cross country*
- Trace White (Mount Pleasant, Iowa/Mount Pleasant), men’s golf
- Elizabeth Whitford (Dahinda, Ill./Galva), women’s golf
State Softball Field Set, Intriguing Matchups in Every Class:
The 2020 State Softball tournament schedule has been released and there are some outstanding matchups in each class beginning with quarterfinal action on Monday.
We’ll start in 1A, where the top-seed Collins-Maxwell Baxter (19-1) will open up against #8 Newman Catholic on Tuesday, July 28th.
The #4 seed is Lynville-Sully (18-2) who took down New London on Monday night — they’ll take on #5 Wayne, Tuesday.
The bottom of the 1A bracket will see second-seed Newell Fonda (18-2) squaring off against #7 Lisbon, while #3 Clarksville (16-1) will tango with sixth-seed Akron-Westfield.
In 2A, the #1 seed is undefeated (23-0) North Linn, they’ll take on upset-minded eight-seed Ridge View (11-8) in the first game of the day on Tuesday, July 28th.
The four-five matchup will see Northeast scrap with Central Springs.
Super Conference power Louisa-Muscatine is Class 2A’s #2 seed. The Falcons, last year’s Class 3A runner-up, will take on #7 Underwood on Tuesday, July 28th at 4:30 p.m.
The third-seed is Ogden (19-3) — they’ll battle #6 Mount Ayr.
Moving to 3A, Albia earned the top seed over state power Davenport Assumption, a bit of surprise.
The top-seeded Lady Dees will take on the eight-seeded Cardinals of Creston.
The four-five matchup in Class 3A is a doozy, it’ll see #4 Humboldt (20-2) taking on #5 Mount Vernon (20-4) a battle of two teams good enough to win the state championship.
In the bottom half the bracket, the second-seed is Ron Ferrill’s Davenport Assumption Knights, who enter the 2020 State Tournament with hopes of yet another state championship. The Knights will entertain seven-seed Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (14-2).
Williamsburg is the third-seed, they’ll play #6 Algona (16-1) on Tuesday, July 28th.
In 4A, the top-seed are the Wildcats of Carlisle, who enter the tournament Monday with a record of 18-3. They’ll square off against eight-seed LeMars, the Lady Bulldogs are 14-5.
In the four-five slate, it’ll be North Scott-Charles City on Monday, July 27th.
Moving to the bottom of the Class 4A bracket, the second-seed is West Delaware (21-4) who will get a first round date with Winterset (14-7).
Southeast Conference juggernaut Fairfield is the #3 seed — they took down Burlington last night to clinch a spot in the field — they’ll tango with the Mustangs of Dallas Center-Grimes who ended their regular season with a record of 19-9.
And in 5A, the top-seed is #1 Fort Dodge (26-3) — the Dodgers will get to play in their own backyard against the #8 seed Bettendorf in the opening game of the tournament, Monday, July 27th.
Waukee is the fourth-seed, they’ll scrap with #5 Ankeny Centennial (21-8).
The bottom of the 5A bracket will see #2 Cedar Rapids Kennedy take on the Spartans of Pleasant Valley — the seven seed — while #3 West Des Moines Valley will lock horns with sixth-seeded Muscatine on Monday.
The tournament is no longer double-elimination — state championships will be played on Thursday and Friday of next week.
Iowa State’s Fennelly Named to Top 100 Most Influential List:
Iowa State women’s basketball head coach Bill Fennelly was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Women’s College Basketball by Silver Waves Media.
Fennelly, who has served as Iowa State’s head coach for over 25 years, has amassed over 500 wins with the Cyclones and 689 in his career. He has led Iowa State to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including five Sweet 16’s and two Elite Eights.
Fennelly was one of just three Big 12 head coaches to crack Silver Waves Media’s top-100, including Sherri Coale and Kim Mulkey, who are inductees in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.