Wednesday's Class 3A-4A prep baseball substate finals (w/capsules)

(All games at 7 p.m.

CLASS 3A

Area

DECORAH vs. CLEAR LAKE

Where: New Hampton

Record/Ranking:10th-ranked Decorah is 27-8. No. 2 Clear Lake is 34-3.

Scouting Report:Decorah rolled to a district title behind wins of 10-5 (over Crestwood) and 9-3 (over Oelwein). The Vikings and legendary coach Dennis Olejniczak were 3A state runners-up last season and carry an 11-game win streak into this game. Decorah beat Clear Lake in last year's substate finals, 5-4. Dustin Cary leads Decorah with a .378 batting average, while outfielder Josey Jewell (an Iowa football signee) is hitting .376 with four home runs and 36 RBIs. Jewell, Jacob Kvale and Kyle Kane each have eight pitching wins. Clear Lake rallied from a 4-0 hole to Waverly-Shell Rock after five innings of its district final, scoring three times in the seventh to tie it, then winning it in nine innings, 8-6. Gavin Sheakley leads the Lions in hitting and pitching. Decorah has been to state 11 times, Clear Lake twice.

WILLIAMSBURG vs. BENTON COMMUNITY

Where: Van Horne

Record/Ranking:Williamsburg is 19-18, Benton 28-13. Both are unranked.

Scouting Report:Benton seeks a return trip to the state tourney. The Bobcats lost their quarterfinal to Decorah in extra innings last season. These teams split their Wamac Conference regular-season double-header: Benton winning, 9-2, and Williamsburg winning, 10-9. Benton lost six of nine to end the regular season but has wins over LaPorte City Union and Vinton-Shellsburg in the postseason. Mitch Moser is the club's top hitter at .424, though as a team, Benton hits just .267, lowest among remaining 3A teams. Williamsburg has won eight of its last 10 games. Cody Marine has a .472 batting average to lead Williamsburg. Benton has been to the state tourney nine times, Williamsburg twice, the last time in 2003.

State Adel-Desoto-Minburn (29-9) at Boone (22-10) Chariton (34-5) vs. Fort Madison (18-22) at Ottumwa Dallas Center-Grimes (20-13) at Norwalk (28-9) DeWitt Central (32-10) vs. Davenport Assumption (23-15) at Maquoketa Glenwood (27-8) at Harlan (27-7) Sioux City Heelan (33-4) at LeMars (27-7)

CLASS 4A

Metro-Iowa City

CEDAR RAPIDS PRAIRIE at CEDAR RAPIDS XAVIER

Record/Ranking:Sixth-ranked Prairie is 27-12. No. 10 Xavier is 24-15.

Scouting Report:The teams split a double-header in the regular season. Xavier is the fresher team, by far, considering it had the top seed in the substate and hasn't played since last Friday. Prairie had a rain-delayed substate semifinal against Marshalltown that began Monday night and concluded Tuesday night. Expect Xavier to go with junior Mitch Keller on the mound. The University of North Carolina commit is 5-4 with a 1.62 earned run average. He also has a team-leading 34 RBIs. Prairie is a senior-laden team led offensively by Ty Mougin (.435 average). Considering its top three pitchers all saw mound time Monday and/or Tuesday, it'll be interesting to see who gets the start against Xavier. Prairie has been to state just once (2005). Xavier has been there five times, but never as a member of the 4A field.

LINN-MAR at IOWA CITY WEST

Record/Ranking:Linn-Mar is 26-15. West is 33-7 and ranked No. 2.

Scouting Report:Linn-Mar lost to Cedar Rapids Kennedy in last season's state tournament quarterfinals. West has been to Des Moines the past four seasons. Expect Austin Stroschein (7-1, 1.44 ERA) to pitch for Linn-Mar. He threw a shutout against Cedar Rapids Washington last week in a substate opener. Tyus Adkins (9-0, 1.53 ERA) has emerged as West's ace, beating Cedar Rapids Jefferson in a substate opener. The Trojans' Reid Bonner is hitting .415 with 29 stolen bases. Tanner Wilson is hitting .409 with 23 swipes.

State Clinton (24-14) at Bettendorf (27-12) Fort Dodge (27-14) Ankeny (33-7) North Scott at Davenport North (22-15) Sioux City North (24-12) at Sioux City East (29-9) West Des Moines Dowling (28-12) at Johnston (25-12) West Des Moines Valley (27-8) vs. Des Moines East (35-4) at Urbandale