Iowa City Liberty’s Mason Waterbury shuts down, shuts out Iowa City High

NORTH LIBERTY — Iowa City Liberty baseball coach Uby Martinez said he knew Mason Waterbury’s potential.

Martinez has coached him since he stepped into the program and witnessed him grow a year ago, beating a ranked Cedar Rapids Prairie team and taking on No. 1 Johnston in the postseason as a sophomore.

“I think a lot of it has to do with maturity, pitching in the substate final against Prairie and in the state tournament,” Martinez said.

“We knew what we had. I think he’s always been that way. I think now it’s just a lot of confidence.”

Waterbury has parlayed those experiences into a dominant junior campaign so far. He pitched a complete-game one-hitter, helping Class 4A No. 8 Liberty to a 5-0 victory over No. 3 Iowa City High Monday night at Liberty. The Little Hawks rebounded for a 10-0 win to split the Mississippi Valley Conference baseball doubleheader.

Waterbury improved to 8-0 this season, shrinking his earned-run average to 0.16. He’s actually only allowed four total runs in 44 innings.

“I definitely had goals,” Waterbury said about the season. “I could expect it but it’s not just me. I have to thank my offense for putting runs up on the board, so we can win. I have to thank my defense and catcher, who calls the game. We had really good plays in the field.”

Waterbury reflected on his emergence last season. He learned how to corral his nerves, pitching in atmospheres that surround big games. He has developed a business-like approach to any start, even one against a ranked rival.

“It helped a lot for confidence on the mound,” Waterbury said. “Say you do pretty good to go to state or at state, you can do pretty well when no one is really watching.”

Martinez said Waterbury has been a leader by example. Other members of the pitching staff have tried to emulate his actions. The key is to work quickly and pound the strike zone.

“There are a lot of guys that throw hard,” Martinez said. “He knows how to pitch. I think that benefits him a lot.”

Waterbury kept the Little Hawks off balance and prevented them from squaring up many pitches. He held City High to a Drake Obermueller single in the second and three total baserunners, including a walk to Obermueller with two outs in the seventh. Waterbury retired 12 straight batters during the middle of the game and faced just two over the minimum.

“The first few innings I was feeling confident out there,” Waterbury said. “Every pitcher does and it’s a good thing. It’s like you’re owning the mound and every pitcher needs that.

“I thought my fastball and curveball were working really well.”

The Lightning defense played a major role. Second baseman Evan Schmierer and shortstop Liam Bender teamed for a double play after Obermueller’s base hit. Center fielder Bradyen Bell made a diving catch to rob an extra-base hit. Liberty did not record an error in the opener.

“They know they’re going to get action,” Martinez said. “They know it’s coming. They look forward to it and anticipate it. I do think that’s part of it.”

Liberty (21-11, 16-8) gave him all the offensive support needed early. Landon Peoples, Cooper Hughes and Jayden Khamphilanouvong hit three consecutive singles in the first, plating Peoples for a 1-0 lead. Schmierer reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on his brother Ryan Schmierer’s double in the second. The Lighting struck again with three runs on three hits in the sixth, including a two-run single from Ryan Schmierer.

Liberty is an effective small-ball team and can take advantage when teams try to stop it. The Lightning had 12 hits.

“We try to hit line drives and baserunning,” Martinez said. “We work hard on a lot of the little things. They know who we are. That’s what we do.”

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Photos: Iowa City High at Iowa City Liberty baseball

Not to be outdone by Waterbury, City High’s Jaxton Schroeder produced a strong start in Game 2. Schroeder, also a left-hander, went six innings. He allowed just four hits, teaming with reliever Jake Mitchell for a shutout.

Schroeder is now 6-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 34 1/3 innings.

“I thought Jaxton was fantastic again,” City High Coach Brian Mitchell said. “We made plays behind him.”

Schroeder contributed to his own cause, ripping an RBI triple to right field to score Kael Kurtz, who walked to lead off the game. Schroeder also doubled and scored, along with Kurtz, on an Obermueller single in the third for a 3-0 advantage.

City High (28-5, 21-5) received a solo home run from Mitchell in the fifth. The Little Hawks broke it open in the five-run seventh that was highlighted by Max Waldschmidt’s grand slam crushed over the left-field fence.

“More importantly, just to get some of those squared-up balls was mentally good for us,” Mitchell said. “Jake lined out a couple times and there’s frustration that can carry over, so that was really good. For Max to do that, he has real power, no question about it. It was satisfying for all of us to watch him do that and with the bases loaded was pretty special.”

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