Postseason paths set for all prep baseball classes

Prep baseball teams are on the verge of postseason play.

Now, teams in all classes know their path to the state baseball tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines.

The IHSAA released the first-round district pairings for Class 3A and 4A substate matchups Thursday morning. The postseason opens Saturday with the first round of select 1A and 2A district competition.

Western Dubuque and Cedar Rapids Washington host first-round games July 14, while Cedar Rapids Jefferson heads to Bettendorf in a balanced 4A Substate 5. The Bobcats are the top seed and face Davenport Central. They have a shot to set a program record for wins, chasing the old mark of 35 and sitting at 29-4-1 before a doubleheader with Dyersville Beckman.

'You feel like you've been playing good all year, so it's hard to tell if you're peaking,' Western Dubuque Coach Casey Bryant said. 'We're really looking forward to the postseason and tough games (next week). We have some challenging games, going into substate.

'We're really looking forward to it. I think we play better when the games mean more and there are better competition against us.'

The Warriors (19-13) are the No. 2 seed, opening with Dubuque Hempstead. Washington previously earned a spot in the IHSBCA rankings a few weeks ago. Washington Coach Scott Brune said his team needs to put all three facets — hitting, fielding and pitching — together at the same time.

'The big thing for us is consistency,' Brune said. 'We either throw it real well and don't swing it real well or we hit well and don't pitch well. Our defense has been consistent.'

Defending state champion Cedar Rapids Prairie will face Cedar Rapids Kennedy in the first round of 4A Substate 3. The ninth-ranked Hawks are the second seed behind No. 4 Southeast Polk. Prairie swept Kennedy earlier this season.

Third-ranked Iowa City West and No. 6 Iowa City High are top seeds. The Trojans, 4A state runners-up last year, face Davenport North in 4A Substate 6.

City High kicks off the postseason against Waterloo East in 4A Substate 4, which also includes Linn-Mar. The Lions will open with second-seeded Clinton.

In Class 3A, fifth-ranked Marion will serve as host for District 7 play. The Indians host Maquoketa in a district semifinal July 14. Marion has rarely hosted postseason play during Steve Fish's tenure and they are happy to be home.

'It means everything to us,' Fish said. 'There's a comfort level. Our kids are excited to play on our home field.'

The district includes Center Point Urbana and Cedar Rapids Xavier. As thrilled as they are about playing at home, Fish said he has talked to his team about not taking anything for granted.

'The bases are still 90 feet,' Fish said. 'It doesn't add any runs on the scoreboard.'

The Saints are 14-18 overall, but they own wins over ranked 4A teams. Xavier lost to Marion to open the season, but has not lost to a 3A program since dropping a doubleheader to Dubuque Wahlert on May 30.

'We have potential,' Xavier senior Nolan Butkowski said. 'We could make a run. We have to keep coming together. It's been building over time. We are showing signs of positivity, especially in leadership.'

The 3A District 7 will join Substate 4 with the district winner of Solon, Mount Vernon, DeWitt Central and Clear Creek-Amana. The Spartans and Mustangs will play the first round at Solon.

• Baseball postseason: Complete pairings

On Saturday, North Fayette Valley and Waterloo Columbus open a 2A District 6 doubleheader at Denver, starting at 5 p.m. Denver will play Oelwein in the nightcap.

Waukon will host 2A District 7 first-round games. Clayton Ridge and MFL MarMac will play the first game. Starmont will play Waukon in the second.

Anamosa and North Cedar will travel to Bellevue in 2A District 8. The Blue Raiders face Bellevue, while the Knights play Camanche.

In 2A District 9, Tipton plays Louisa-Muscatine at Wapello. The host Comets will take on West Branch.

Mid-Prairie hosts Columbus Community in 2A District 10, starting at 7 p.m.

WAMAC WEST SHOWDOWN

Marion and Vinton-Shellsburg will experience a playoff-like atmosphere before the Class 3A postseason begins next week. Third-ranked Vinton-Shellsburg travels to No. 5 Marion on Friday with the Wamac West Division title on the line.

The Vikings are 31-3-1 overall and 12-0 in the division. The Indians are 27-7 overall and 11-1 in the Wamac West, winning 11 straight division games after an early-season loss to Clear Creek-Amana.

Vinton-Shellsburg swept the Indians last season, including a win in the district final, and has won four of the last five meetings.

'We're excited to play,' Marion Coach Steve Fish said. 'It will be a good test.'

The Indians have a challenging close to the regular season, facing the Vikings and 4A eighth-ranked Western Dubuque Tuesday. At the start of the season, Fish said they expected this doubleheader could impact the division race.

'Vinton-Shellsburg has a special team,' Fish said. 'We felt we should be in position for this. We thought Vinton would be right there.'

The games are a part of Senior Night. Marion will recognize 10 seniors between games. The first game is scheduled for 5 p.m.

NORTH LINN, MONTICELLO WIN TITLES

North Linn and Monticello added conference championships to their list of accomplishments.

The Lynx, top-ranked in Class 1A, captured their second straight Tri-Rivers Conference crown. North Linn finished 21-1 in conference play, finishing three games ahead of sixth-ranked Lisbon.

'Proud of our kids' competitiveness and resilience,' North Linn Coach Travis Griffith said. 'Very tough conference to win the last four or five years. Tri-Rivers is the best 1A baseball conference, in my opinion.'

The Lynx (36-2) reached the state baseball semifinals in 2015. Many of those pieces are still in the program. They were also contributors to the state semifinal basketball team.

'We are blessed with multisport athletes at (North Linn) and coaches that work well with other coaches,' Griffith said. 'Big reason we are good at every sport, not just baseball.'

Monticello swept Bellevue, 10-0 and 6-0, on June 29 to clinch the River Valley Conference North Division title. The Panthers opened that week with a sweep of Cascade (3-1 and 9-7), finishing 2 1/2 games ahead of the sixth-ranked Cougars.

Monticello, which received votes in the final IHSBCA 2A poll, was 21-5 before Thursday's game against North Linn at Troy Mills.

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