Prairie hopes to atone for near misses in regular season

CEDAR RAPIDS - So close to so many good things in the regular season. "So what?" say the Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks.This is the perfect time for atonement."We really feel like we're champs," Prairie Coach Matt Thede said. "But we're not."Prairie finished a game behind Dubuque Wahlert for the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division title. They had four chances to wrap up the top seed in their Class 4A substate but blew all four.That's heartbreak right there. But Prairie (25-12), ranked sixth in the final Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, won its final four games of the regular season and goes into its substate opener Friday night at home against Waterloo West (6-31) with a feeling that a state tournament berth is their's to lose."We really feel that we control our own destiny," Thede said. "We feel like we've got our three top pitchers healthy and ready to go. I told the guys that, yeah, we're upset about what happened in the regular season, but we're not going to sacrifice a conference championship for a state tournament berth."Prairie lost to Muscatine in a 4A substate semifinal last season but returned double digit seniors and eight starters. The Hawks got off to a 17-6 start but went into a slump that ultimately cost them the division championship and No. 1 substate seed.Thede blamed some of that on the loss of senior pitcher Spencer Dean for a couple of week. He, Brennan Hammer and Mitch Adams give Prairie a solid 1-2-3 punch."Coming in, we knew we had a lot of returning players," said senior infielder Ty Mougin, the club's leading hitter at .432. "And we are a tight-knit group."How tight? The seniors organized a team trip to Adventureland in Des Moines recently. They've attended movies together regularly, as well."We had some expectations," Mougin said. "And it was a little disappointing not to achieve some of the things we wanted."But there's still time. Tenth-rated Cedar Rapids Xavier (23-15) is the top seed in the substate and hosts Waterloo East (2-38) Friday night. Cedar Falls (21-13) and Marshalltown (16-24) are the other two clubs.In the other 4A substate involving Cedar Rapids and Iowa City schools, No. 2 Iowa City West (32-7) is the favorite. The Trojans host Cedar Rapids Jefferson (12-26) Friday night.The other games in the substate are Linn-Mar (24-15) hosting Cedar Rapids Washington (14-21) and Iowa City High (17-21) at Cedar Rapids Kennedy (21-18).The second round is Monday, with pairings to be determined. Class 3A districts begin Friday night as well, with Marion playing Davenport Assumption at Solon at 5 p.m.