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.
