By Cyote Williams | Times Vedette
The state tournaments for Iowa high school baseball and softball are in full swing (see what I did there?), and they have been packed full of highlight plays. Click the links in the summaries to see what has been scattered across social media. One even made the top 10 best plays on ESPN’s SportsCenter this week.
Baseball
1A:
No. 4 seed Martensdale-St Marys will face No. 3 seed Saint Ansgar tonight, July 25, at 5 p.m. MSM snuck past No. 5 Kee in the first round, 2-0, and dominated No. 8 Hillcrest Academy, 18-8. That was a rough result for Hillcrest, which was fresh off of a massive upset of No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s. Saint Ansgar beat No. 3 Logan-Magnolia, 3-1, and then No. 7 East Buchanan, 8-5. We were almost treated to a matchup of the lowest seeds in this bracket, but these two teams will show why they made it to the final.
2A:
No. 6 Chariton defeated West Central Activities Conference No. 3 seed Van Meter in stunning fashion in the first round, 8-7 in extra innings, thanks to an incredible play at the plate. Watch that highlight HERE. Van Meter fans will feel cheated by the call; Chariton fans will rejoice. What say you? Let me know at cyote@dmcityview.com. Chariton’s run would end there at the hands of No. 2 Pleasantville, 3-1. They will meet No. 4 Unity Christian, which upset No. 1 Underwood to make the final. That game is tonight, July 25, at 7:30 p.m.
3A:
We have a battle of the top seeds on our hands in 3A with No. 1 Wahlert Catholic set to face No. 2 Pella today, July 25, at noon. Wahlert beat No. 8 Boone, 3-1, then handled No. 5 Saydel, 10-0, to make the final. Pella made quick work of No. 7 Sergeant Bluff-Luton, 12-5. Pella made it to the final over No. 3 Bishop Heelan thanks to a wild throw from the catcher to third base after a dropped pitch. Watch that HERE.
4A:
No. 8 Bettendorf made its first state tournament appearance in 23 years thanks to late game heroics with a two RBI walk-double, captured in one of the best sports recordings I may have ever seen. The Bulldogs dog pile at second base, while the Dubuque Hempstead player looks away. Absolute cinema. The Cinderella run didn’t end there. Bettendorf upset No. 1 Sioux City East in the first round, 2-1, then pulled off another upset over No. 4 Waukee Northwest, 5-3. They will have to get through No. 3 Iowa City High at 3:30 p.m. today, July 25, to finish their story.
Softball
1A:
We have another showdown between top seeds with No. 1 Wayne and No. 2 Clarksville set to battle on July 25 at 7:30 p.m. Wayne has lost two games all season and defeated No. 8 Highland, 7-4, and No. 4 Riverside, 7-3 to make the final. Clarksville defeated No. 7 Newman Catholic, 5-4, and breezed past St. Edmond, 11-3 to advance.
2A:
There’s little surprise here as to which one of the state final participants is. No. 1. Van Meter defeated No. 8 East Marshall, 11-3, and squeaked out a win over No. 5 West Fork, 5-4, to return to the final. They will face No. 3 West Lyon, which beat No. 6 Cascade in a 10-8 shootout, and upset No. 2 Louisa-Muscatine, 9-5 to challenge the perennial powerhouse that is Van Meter softball, today, July 25 at 5 p.m.
3A:
No. 1 seed Wahlert Catholic is in the finals against No. 2 Williamsburg today, July 25, at 2:30 p.m., but it was the No. 4 seed PCM that stole the headlines. Despite losing to Wahlert Catholic in the semifinals, PCM centerfielder made one of the best catches you’ll ever see. It made it all the way to No. 2 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 best plays. It was captured in higher quality by Owen Siebring HERE.
4A:
Pella is showing Bettendorf the blueprint on how to win a state title while being an underdog. No. 8 Pella won the 4A championship against No. 3 North Polk on July 24. The Dutch upset both No. 1 Xavier, 5-1, and No. 5 ADM, 2-1, to make it to the final, all with a 24-12 record. Sometimes teams just get hot at the right time. North Polk etched past No. 6 Western Dubuque, 9-7, and then handled No. 7 North Scott, 11-3, to make the final.
5A:
It was business as usual in 5A with the top two seeds battling it out for the state title on July 24. In the end, No. 1 Waukee Northwest defeated No. 2 Linn-Mar for the state title in a defensive battle, 1-0. Waukee Northwest defeated No. 8 Dowling, 4-0, and then dominated No. 4 Ankeny Centennial, 11-3, to reach the final. On the other side of the bracket, Linn-Mar beat No. 7 Pleasant Valley, 5-1, and No. 6 Cedar Falls, 8-0, to make the final.
Reach out with comments, complaints or story ideas to cyote@dmcityview.com.