Iowa & Nebraska: Prep baseball and softball just underway in Hawkeye State

Baseball and softball state champions have been crowned – or are very close to being crowned – across the nation. But, in Iowa, the season is just getting underway.

Summer baseball and softball are traditions some say the Iowa High School Athletics Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletics Union should let go. Players in other states, it’s argued, have an edge over Iowans in sharpening skills for the next level due to extra time on the diamond playing a full high school season followed by another with summer teams.

It’s a compelling case, but not yet enough to warrant changing traditions going on 65 years in baseball and 55 in softball.

"If they're playing in the summer, we know they're under a little bit of supervision because they're playing ball and they're going to practice and stuff like this,” IHSAA Director of Officials Roger Barr said in a story published by the Le Mars Daily Sentinel in March.

“Less than five percent of the kids who participate in activities – extra-curricular activities, whether it be baseball, football, basketball and so forth – ever compete competitively at the college level," Barr told the newspaper. "So when we're talking about 95 percent aren't going to play at the college level or participate, we've got to think about the programs what is best for our kids and not so much are we hurting someone from a college scholarship (perspective)."

Iowa baseball: Dowling Catholic tops 4A preseason poll

Led by University of Nebraska-bound ace Jonathan Musser, Dowling (West Des Moines) started the year ranked No. 1 in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association poll. The Maroons reached the state tournament last season but haven’t won a title since 2001.

Also watch for: Sioux City North. The second-ranked defending champion returns one of the state’s top players in senior infield Damek Tomscha, who hit .471 with 11 home runs last season. 

Class 3A: Runner-up last season, Storm Lake began the 2010 campaign as the state’s top-ranked squad. Senior shortstop Michael McCabe hit .467 and drove in 42 runs last season.

Also watch for: Boone. The Toreadors are in search of their first baseball title since 1967. They return senior pitcher/infielder Blane Reutter, who went 12-0 with a 1.25 ERA and hit .467 last season.

Class 2A: A senior class that’s won a combined five state titles in football, basketball and track hopes to cap their career with a first-ever state baseball crown for Solon. The Spartans, who were No. 1 in the preseason poll, feature Derrick Loveless. The junior outfielder hit .406 and stole 22 bases last season.

Also watch for: Beckman (Dyersville). Located in Dyersville – minutes from the Field of Dreams – the second-ranked Trailblazers reached the state tournament seven times and captured one title last decade. All-state hurler Eric DeSousa stuck out 112 batters in 84 innings a year ago.

Class 1A: Defending champion Newman Catholic (Mason City) topped the state poll as the season began. The Knights’ top returning player is junior infielder/pitcher Hunter King, who boasted a .487 on-base percentage as a hitter and a 1.62 ERA as a relief pitcher last season.

Also watch for: Kee (Lansing). Led by the nation’s winningest coach – by nearly 400 games – Gene Schultz, the sixth-ranked Kee Hawks return three of their top four hitters and three of their top four pitchers from last season.

Iowa softball: Des Moines East  the preseason 4A favorite

The Scarlets, who won their only state championship in 1981, were ranked No. 1 in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s preseason poll. The Scarlets went 31-8 last year but lost to eventual champion Johnston in the regional finals. Ace duo Riley Fisher and Janie Smith combined to strike out 305 batters in 250 1/3 innings.

Also watch for: Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The nation’s all-time leader in victories at 1,958, coach Larry Niemeyer began the year with the third-ranked squad in the state. He welcomes back a pair of first team all-state players in Morgan Allee and Alex Jacobson.

Class 3A: A three-time state champ in the 90s, Carlisle finished runner-up last season. The top-ranked Wildcats return one of the state’s top pitchers in Drake recruit Jordan Gronewald, who went 34-2 with a 0.30 ERA and 236 strikeouts as a junior.

Also watch for: Clear Creek-Amana (Tiffin). The No. 2-ranked Clippers were 45-0 and won their second state championship last season. Senior infielder Katy Sexton batted .537 with 32 extra base hits.

Class 2A: Defending champion BCLUW sat atop the preseason rankings, with a wealth and talent and experience returning. Pitcher-catcher sister duo Jamie and Nicole Fisher return for their senior season. Jamie was dominant last season striking out 479 batters in 255 innings with a 0.14 ERA. Nicole hit .338 and stole 36 bases.

Also watch for: Emmetsburg. The E-Hawks finished runner-up last summer to BCLUW and started the 2010 season in the same spot, ranked No. 2 in the state. Senior Maddison Woodruff is an all-state hurler who had an 0.72 ERA with 426 strikeouts.

Class 1A: After taking third place last season, Martensdale-St. Mary's (Martensdale) was the preseason favorite in the state. The Blue Devils are led by all-state infielder Sam Norris, who batted .384 and scored 38 runs as a sophomore.

Also watch for: Newell-Fonda (Newell). The Mustangs finished runner-up last year and feature reigning state player of the year, Susan Kies, who hit .497 and swiped 32 bases last season.

Iowa golf: Ballard wins fourth straight 3A crown

Senior Devin Leland shot back-to-back 75s at The Harvester Golf Club in Rhodes to win individual medal honors and lead Ballard (Huxley) to its fourth consecutive 3A boys state golf title. The Bombers are only the fifth team in state history to win more than three titles in a row.

Nebraska golf: Lincoln Southwest adds another Class A title

Bryce Brown, playing in the final match of his high school career, blistered the Pioneers Golf Course in Lincoln with rounds of 68 and 66 for an 8-under-par total of 134. The University of Kansas-bound senior captured the individual state medal and led Lincoln Southwest (Lincoln) to its third Class A championship in four seasons.

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.