Iowa high school state baseball 2023: A look at the 9 area qualifying teams

The Iowa high school state baseball tournament descends on Iowa City (4A and 3A) and Carroll (2A and 1A) this week. Nine Gazette area teams have qualified in the four classes. Here is a glance at the qualifying teams.

Iowa City High (Class 4A)

Record: 30-12

Ranking: No. 4

Coach: Brian Mitchell (12th year, 273-197)

Tournament history: 8th appearance, third in four years. State semifinalist last year. State runner-up in 1959, 1992 and 1995.

Leading hitters: Drew Carlson serves as a big producer with a .357 batting average, leading the team with 45 hits, 43 RBIs and five homers. Senior D.J. Hodges is right behind with 43 hits and a has a team-high 38 runs. Dominic Salibi adds 42 hits, 33 RBIs and a .424 average.

Top pitchers: Sophomore Talon Young powers the staff with an 8-0 record and a 0.72 earned-run average in nine starts and 58 1/3 innings. Johannes Boevers and Cooper Drake each have fives wins. Boevers owns a 1.91 ERA and Drake sits at 3.08. Max Waldschmidt (4-2, 1.85 ERA) matched Drake’s seven starts and contributes to the team’s depth.

First-round opponent: Little Hawks face Ames (29-13) in a 4A quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Iowa City Liberty (Class 4A)

Record: 23-17

Ranking: Unranked

Coach: Uby Martinez (1st year, 23-17)

Tournament history: 2nd appearance. State quarterfinalist last year.

Leading hitters: Senior Luke Ramsey is a key to the Lightning offense. He does a little bit of everything and leads the team with 38 hits, 30 runs, 22 RBIs and 54 total bases. Ryan Schmierer (33 hits) leads the team with a .375 average, while Cooper Hughes has 35 hits.

Top pitchers: Sophomore Mason Waterbury and junior Nolan Sojka are strong options for Liberty. Waterbury is 5-1 with a 2.47 ERA in seven starts and 37 strikeouts in 34 innings. Sojka posted similar numbers in one more start, coming in 4-2 and 2.62 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings. Owen Norris has been strong out of the bullpen with seven saves. Jackson Tubbs is 4-0 with three saves.

First-round opponent: Lightning face Johnston (33-8) in a 4A quarterfinal at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Western Dubuque (Class 3A)

Record: 33-9

Ranking: No. 1

Coach: Casey Bryant (24th year, 595-326)

Tournament history: 7th appearance, fourth since 2018. State champion in 2022 and runner-up 2006.

Leading hitters: Brett Harris and Isaac Then spearhead one of 3A’s top offenses. Harris has 59 hits, 48 runs, 39 RBIs, a .424 batting average and .583 on-base percentage. Then has 55 hits and a .617 on-base percentage. Jake Goodman and Caleb Klein have 47 and 46 runs, respectively. Hunter Quagliano’s four home runs leads the team and his 39 RBIs is tied for first.

Top pitchers: Ryan Klostermann is 7-0 to lead the team in wins. Then, Clayten Lindecker and Tanner Anderson each have six wins. Then has 67 strikeouts, Lindecker owns 1.83 ERA and Harris has four wins, two saves and a 1.76 ERA.

First-round opponent: Bobcats face Harlan (22-14) in a 3A quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Monday.

Marion (Class 3A)

Record: 30-9

Ranking: No. 4

Coach: Steve Fish (35th year, 818-425)

Tournament history: 7th appearance, first since 2021 and fifth in last seven seasons. State champion in 2023.

Leading hitters: Familiar names pace the Wolves. Myles Davis hit at a .412 clip with Kaden Frommelt right behind at .407. They are tied with a team-high 10 doubles. Davis leads with seven home runs, one more than Frommelt, who is first with 48 hits. Jake Miller has 47 hits and Trey Franck is second on the team with a .529 on-base percentage between Davis (.537) and Frommelt (.521).

Top pitchers: Frommelt is 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA and a team-high 38 strikeouts. Junior Isaac Scott (4-0, 2.47 ERA) leads the Wolves with 34 innings pitched. Freshman Andrew Ahmann is also 5-0 with a 2.71 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 31 innings.

First-round opponent: Wolves face Carlisle (22-12) in a 3A quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Monday.

Dyersville Beckman (Class 2A)

Record: 22-9

Ranking: No. 3

Coach: Ryan Mabe (1st year, 22-9)

Tournament history: 20th appearance. State semifinalist last year. Won titles in 1968, 1986, 2000, 2012-13 and 2017. Finished runner-up in 1982, 1984, 1996, 2002-03, 2009 and 2014.

Leading hitters: Leadoff batter Luke Schieltz paces the Blazers with 43 runs and adds 23 RBIs, batting .415 with a .548 OBP. Luke Sigwarth provides some pop, tallying a team-high 44 hits including 12 doubles and three home runs. Sigwarth’s .463 batting average and .559 OBP is tops on the team. Jackson Oberbroeckling adds 24 RBIs.

Top pitchers: Nate Offerman is an undisputed ace. He is tops in most pitching categories, going 9-0 with a 0.74 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings pitched. Rob Kronlage matched Offerman with eight starts, posting a 6-2 mark with a 3.20 ERA.

First-round opponent: Blazers face Pella Christian (18-16) in a 2A quarterfinal at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Cascade (Class 2A)

Record: 24-8

Ranking: No. 7

Coach: Roamn Hummel (13th year, 349-118)

Tournament history: 6th appearance. State quarterfinalist last year.

Leading hitters: Senior Mason Otting and sophomore Cooper Hummel have 40 hits apiece with Cade Rausch one behind them. Otting also leads the Cougars with 28 RBIs. Hummel has 27 and Rausch and Will Hosch each have 25. Otting (.435) and Hummel (.400) fill the top-two spots in batting average.

Top pitchers: Jase Reinke leads with 47 innings pitched and is tied with Rausch with five wins. Reinke has a 1.64 ERA. Rausch (1.68 ERA) leads the team with 33 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings.

First-round opponent: Cougars face Woodward-Granger (20-5) in a 2A quarterfinal at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Williamsburg (Class 2A)

Record: 20-19

Ranking: Unranked

Coach: Nathan King (6th year, 79-117)

Tournament history: 4th appearance, first since 2013. Runner-up in 1962.

Leading hitters: Nile Sinn ranks among team leaders in several categories, including a team best in runs (33), hits (48), doubles (17) and batting average (.364). Rayce Heitman leads with 27 RBIs. Madox Doehrmann is first with three home runs and a .503 OBP. Sam Rich adds 46 hits with four triples.

Top pitchers: Seniors Trey O’Neil and Dalton Whitehill head the pitching staff with five wins apiece. O’Neil leads the team with 83 strikeouts, 57 innings pitched, a 2.82 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Sinn has three wins and a 2.88 ERA, sitting second with 38 2/3 innings pitched.

First-round opponent: Raiders face Underwood (23-3) in a 2A quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Lisbon (Class 1A)

Record: 25-4

Ranking: No. 9

Coach: John Tesensky (6th year, 102-44)

Tournament history: 10th appearance. State quarterfinalist last two seasons. State champion in 1994 and runner-up in 2018.

Leading hitters: Seniors Alex Bock and Landon Stolte lead the Lions with 41 and 40 hits, respectively. Stolte is batting .440 and Bock is at .423. Bock scores the runs with a team-high 39, while Stolte drives them in at 36. Hunter Clark is first on the team with four home runs and he also has 30 hits and 31 RBIs. Clark (.411), Luke Czarnecki (.410) and Kaden Caspers (.407) round out Lisbon’s top hitters.

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Top pitchers: Clark and Cohen Kamaus are the top-two pitchers. Kamaus is 7-0 with 1.48 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings. Clark, an all-stater who has started the Lions’ last two state quarterfinals, is 5-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 37 innings. Stolte has Lisbon’s only two saves.

First-round opponent: Lions face Burlington Notre Dame (26-6) in a 1A quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

South Winneshiek (Class 1A)

Record: 24-11

Ranking: Unranked

Coach: Alex Smith (13th year, 308-141)

Tournament history: 5th appearance, fourth in last five seasons. State quarterfinalist last year.

Leading hitters: The senior trio of Keagen Streeter (37 hits, 37 runs), Jamie Kuennen (35 hits, 28 runs) and Carson Wenthold (34 hits, 32 runs) powers the Warriors. Kuennen’s 23 RBIs is a team best, while Streeter leads with a .389 batting average and .525 OBP.

Top pitchers: Kuennen (7-1, 0.62) leads the Warriors in wins and ERA. Streeter (5-3) has a team-high 76 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings, recording a 1.55 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. Braden Todd is 6-1 with 45 strikeouts in 40 innings, giving the Warriors three quality starters.

First-round opponent: Warriors face Kingsley-Pierson (27-2) in a 1A quarterfinal at 11 a.m. Monday.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com