Iowa’s best baseball teams descend on Des Moines

We take a week off from preseason football information to preview the Iowa state baseball tournament, which got underway Monday at Principal Park (home of the triple-A Iowa Cubs) in Des Moines. Iowa is the only state in the nation with high school-sponsored baseball and softball programs that holds its regular season during summer break.  

Here is a primer:

What: Iowa High School Athletic Association state baseball tournament.

When: July 26-31

Who: 32 teams competing for four championships

Where: Principal Park, Des Moines

History: The first Iowa summer state baseball tournament was in 1946. A spring tournament was also played from 1928 until 1972. From 1939-1985, a fall tournament was held involving mostly small schools without football teams. The state tournament moved to Principal Park in 2005.

Class 4A

Defending champion: Sioux City North

Team to beat: Dowling Catholic (West Des Moines) (32-8)

Next-best contender: Mason City (35-6)

Top player: Sioux City North shortstop Damek Tomscha was named state player of the year by Gatorade. The Iowa Western Community College recruit carries a .470 average with 10 homers and 46 RBI into the tournament.

The skinny: Dowling Catholic has two starting pitchers with sub-2.00 ERAs and has an offense averaging more than eight runs per game. The Maroons would be disappointed with anything less than their second state title in three seasons.

Class 3A

Defending champion: Norwalk

Team to beat: Carlisle (25-10)

Next-best contender: Glenwood (27-7)

Top player: Glenwood junior Taylor Kaufman is having his second straight all-state season. He’s batting .485 with 32 stolen bases while going 10-0 on the mound with an 0.86 ERA.

The skinny: Remarkably, 9 of the 11 teams ranked in the Iowa Sports Connection’s final regular season 3A rankings lost in postseason play. Carlisle (No. 5) and Glenwood (No. 9) were the lone survivors. Pitching is often the ultimate X-factor come tournament time. Carlisle’s team ERA is an impressive 2.41 with 272 strikeouts in 238 1/3 innings, so the Wildcats get the nod as the favorite.

Class 2A

Defending champion: St. Edmond (Fort Dodge)

Team to beat: Solon (38-2)  

Next-best contender: Davis County (Bloomfield) (33-1)

Top player: Davis County hurler Calvin Mathews is a sophomore sensation who can top 90 mph on the radar gun. He is 14-0 with 163 strikeouts and only 13 walks in 85 innings.

The skinny: A Mathews vs. Solon matchup in the championship game would be interesting to say the least. The Spartans are scoring more than 10 runs per game and have four players batting over .400. If winning is contagious, it’s been an epidemic for Solon’s 2010 graduating class. They’ve already won a combined five state titles in basketball, football and track, and hope to earn the school’s first state baseball championship.

Class 1A

Defending champion: Newman Catholic (Mason City)

Team to beat: Newman Catholic (34-2)

Next-best contender: Martensdale-St. Mary's (40-0)

Top player: Junior pitcher Ethan Westphal, who transferred to Martensdale-St. Mary’s from Lenox this year, has surrendered just one earned run in 81 innings and has struck out 163. He’s also batting .447 and has 25 stolen bases.

The skinny: A titanic battle between two of the better small-school programs in the state could come to fruition between Newman Catholic and Martensdale-St. Mary’s for the 1A crown. Newman Catholic is the team to beat – but only because they’re the defending champion.  

Iowa softball: State tournament recap

The wettest state softball tournament in recent history wrapped up last week in Fort Dodge. Nine inches of rain fell in less than 24 hours Thursday, but the grounds crew at Harlan Rogers Park still worked playing fields into good condition and the tournament finals were played as scheduled on Friday.

Class 4A: Top-seed Des Moines East fell short of winning its first state title since 1981. The Scarlets lost to Central Iowa Metro League rival Valley (West Des Moines) (31-10) in the championship game, 5-1. Designated hitter Laney Abrahamson drove in two runs for the Tigers and was named captain of the all-tournament team.

Class 3A: Top-ranked Carlisle (38-2) captured its fourth state title with 10-1 blowout of Keokuk. Drake-bound hurler Jordan Gronewald got the win and finished 33-2 for the season.

Class 2A: Behind a dominant performance from pitcher Jamie Fisher, BCLUW (Conrad) (41-3) repeated as champion. Fisher, who allowed only 13 earned runs in 265 innings all season, didn’t give up a single run in three tournament games.

Class 1A: Top-seed Akron-Westfield (37-1) was led by pitcher Jordan Harris, who went 3-for-4 hitting and struck out six batters in seven innings on the mound as the Westerners beat Newell-Fonda, 5-1, in the championship game.

Des Moines-based Jamie DeMoney has covered high school sports and recruiting for more than 15 years. He is editor and founder of PrepNation.com. You can reach him at PrepNation@aol.com.