5 Gazette area Iowa high school baseball events to watch in Week 4, featuring multiple marquee matchups on Monday

The fourth week of the Iowa high school baseball season is packed with big matchups. Iowa City High heads to Cedar Rapids Kennedy for a highly-ranked matchup. Wamac powers Marion and Solon face off and Iowa City Liberty heads to Cedar Rapids Prairie. The week ends with the annual Flight With Flash Foundation Crosstown Classic at Solon’s Recreation and Nature Area Baseball Fields.

Here are five notable games.

Monday: Iowa City High at Cedar Rapids Kennedy

One of the best matchups of the season opens the week Monday at Herkelman Field. Class 4A No. 3 City High is scheduled to play at No. 2 Kennedy. The Little Hawks are 13-2 and the Cougars are 14-1. According to Bound, Kennedy leads the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division with an 11-1 mark and City High is right behind at 10-2. They have similar results lately, splitting with 3A No. 1 Western Dubuque and sweeping Linn-Mar, making this vital in the conference race.

The key battle will be between Little Hawk pitchers and Cougar batters. City High allows a miniscule 1.6 runs per game with a team earned-run average of 1.22. Jaxton Schroeder leads the way with three wins and 23 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings with a 0.91 ERA. The Little Hawks have fanned 108 batters in 103 2/3 innings. Kennedy’s high-powered offense has produced 11.6 runs per game, scoring 174 runs. The Cougars have hit 24 home runs from eight batters, including eight from Grant Mather and six from Nolan Grawe. Kennedy is hitting a whopping .341 as a team with a .496 combined on-base percentage.

The MVC Valley lead is at stake and possible postseason seeding could teeter on this doubleheader between two of the better 4A programs.

Monday: Marion at Solon

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Big Monday includes a battle between top-10 ranked 3A Wamac Conference teams. No. 3 Marion has jumped to a 12-0 start after a sweep over West Liberty. Solon is 9-2 overall, coming off a sweep of Vinton-Shellsburg.

The Wolves have outscored opponents by an average of 10 runs per game, scoring 12.3 and allowing 2.3 runs per contest. Marion is hitting .380 as a team with 36 doubles, five triples and three home runs. Isaac Scott leads Marion with 17 hits. Teammates Isaiah Scott and Trey Franck are right behind with 16 apiece. Franck has a team-high 18 RBIs as well. Andrew Ahmann and Coda Johnson are both 2-0. Ahmann leads the Wolves in innings pitched (16) and strikeouts (19).

Brett White paces the Solon offense. The all-stater and Baylor commit is batting .452 with a .625 on-base percentage. He has 14 hits, including seven doubles and all three of Solon’s home runs, despite the opposition trying to sidestep him with 14 walks. Gehrig Turner (.436), Maddox Kelley (.448) and Nolan Seagren (.417) are some of Solon’s top producers. Tyson Wheeler, Vince Steinbrech, Kaden Hanson and Jackson Link each have two wins for a staff with a 2.13 ERA.

Monday: Iowa City Liberty at Cedar Rapids Prairie

Both teams are 9-4 and still contending with Dubuque Wahlert for the lead in the MVC Mississippi Division. This is a rematch of a 4A substate final from last season when the Lightning posted an upset victory to reach the state tournament. The Hawks are ranked sixth in 4A by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. They have won three of their last four, splitting with Cedar Falls. Liberty is 2-2 in its last four games, splitting with Dubuque Senior and Cedar Rapids Xavier.

Both teams have similar statistics. The Lightning have an edge in runs scored at 5.2 to Prairie’s 4.7. The Hawks allow 3.4 runs a game, while Liberty gives up 3.5. Cooper Hughes has 15 hits and Jayden Khamphilanouvong has nine RBIs to lead Liberty. The Lightning’s Mason Waterbury is 3-0 and hasn’t allowed an earned run, striking out 24 in 18 innings. Tait Tierney has 16 hits and Shraden Lecchtenberg has driven in 10 for the Hawks. Reid Burkle has three wins and Jordan Woodhouse has a 1.78 ERA, limiting opponents to a .154 batting average. Prairie owns a 6-2 edge against Liberty since 2019.

Tuesday: North Linn at Cascade

Two consistent small-class baseball programs have scheduled each other for about 15 seasons. The Cougars hold a 13-1 advantage, but the Lynx snapped the streak with an 8-3 victory last year.

Cascade started in the IHSBCA preseason 2A poll and received votes in the second installment. The Cougars have suffered a slow start at 2-3 but have a strong core of returners from last season’s state semifinal team. Will Hosch has a team-high six hits, batting .462 and Cooper Hummel has five RBIs with a home run for Cascade.

The 1A No. 8 Lynx are young and gaining experience, but still have a 7-2 record. Cole Griffith has 12 hits and a .462 batting average; Mason Bechen is hitting .450 with 10 runs and 10 RBIs and Macoy Winn has two wins with a 0.55 ERA for North Linn.

Saturday: Fight With Flash Crosstown Classic

The Fight With Flash Crosstown Classic will be held Saturday at Solon’s Recreation and Nature Area Baseball Field. The varsity competition, consisting of teams from Iowa City and surrounding areas, begins at 11 a.m.

City High and Solon will open play in Game 1. Liberty and Clear Creek Amana will play the second game set for approximately 1:30 p.m. Iowa City West and Iowa City Regina will conclude the day’s festivities in the finale at 4 p.m.

The Fight With Flash Foundation was created by Craig and Stacy Schroeder in honor of their son, Austin 'Flash” Schroeder, who played for Trojans youth programs and earned 'Flash” as a nickname due to his speed. Schroeder was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, championing the motto “Win The Day” as he battled the disease before it took his life at the age of 15 in 2015.

The Foundation has raised more than $850,000, serving children, adolescents, young adults and their families during a cancer diagnosis and supporting the AYA Cancer Program at University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com