Iowa High School Baseball substate pairings set

Marion Coach Steve Fish had a simple message to his team after it learned its postseason path Wednesday morning.

Have fun with the remaining regular season games and they will cross the playoff bridge when they arrive at it.

“It’s there, so you know what that is,” Fish said of the postseason draw. “Now, I want to focus on trying to win our (Wamac) conference championship and not worry about the postseason. We’ve got some work to do still.”

The Iowa High School Athletic Association released the Class 3A and 4A substate pairings that begin July 11. The 1A and 2A districts and substates have already been released and start July 5.

Marion hosts Vinton-Shellsburg in the first round of 3A Substate 5. The winner faces the winner of Central DeWitt and Mount Vernon. Grinnell plays Solon and Washington (Iowa) heads to Davenport Assumption in the bottom half of the bracket.

“There are a lot of good teams in 3A,” Fish said. “There’s never an easy way but I thought it was a tough bracket. It’s one game at a time.”

Marion has reached the state tournament eight times, including six times since 2017. The Wolves won the 3A title in 2021. Marion was a state semifinalist last season.

“There’s no automatic bid to the state tournament,” Fish said. “You have to earn your way there.

“We’ve had some success, being at the state tournament six of the last eight years or something. I just hope our kids realize it’s not an automatic thing that happens. We have to be playing our best baseball here in a couple weeks.”

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Also, in 3A, Cedar Rapids Xavier plays Fort Madison with the winner taking on Newton or Clear Creek Amana in Substate 6. Pella is the top seed.

In Class 4A, Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa City High and Iowa City Liberty are No. 1 seeds. Prairie is ranked second after spending multiple weeks at No. 1. The Hawks open with Waterloo East in Substate 5 that includes North Scott, Davenport North, Cedar Falls and Urbandale.

“No matter how the teams are split up, you know it is always going to be a challenge in a substate final,” Prairie Coach James Nelson said. “Earning the No. 1 seed is a huge advantage in 4A baseball as it gives you one bye in the middle. But as history has shown, you can throw out all the records because every game will be a fight.

“We have played both roles as the underdog and as the favorite and have won some and lost some. It will come down to the teams that are playing the best baseball at the end.”

Iowa City Liberty has been playing well. The Lightning swept Prairie and split with 3A No. 1 Dubuque Wahlert last week. They have sweeps over Dubuque Hempstead and Ottumwa, giving them eight wins in the last nine games. Liberty is the No. 1 seed in 4A Substate 7.

“We feel really good about where we’re at and the progress we’ve made from the beginning of the season,” Liberty Coach Uby Martinez said. “Our execution has been better. Our pitchers have been more on point. We still have some things to sure up before the start of the tournament, but we are playing our best baseball this season so far.”

Liberty takes on Waterloo West. They would receive that all-important semifinal bye with a win, awaiting the winners of Marshalltown, Ankeny Centennial, Linn-Mar and Iowa City West in the final.

“We are familiar with all but two teams,” Martinez said. “We did play Centennial at our place last year (so) they aren’t complete strangers. A lot of parity in the field, teams are going to have to be able to execute and limit mistakes to move on.”

City High is the No. 1 seed in Substate 8, hosting Cedar Rapids Jefferson. The Little Hawks were the preseason No. 1. They are looking for their fifth state trip in six years. City High Coach Brian Mitchell said the Little Hawks are excited for the chance but know it will be a challenge.

“It’s baseball,” Mitchell said. “Most any team can win at any time regardless of record, so getting through a substate is incredibly tough. Earning a No. 1 seed with home-field advantage is always the goal, but teams with a dominant pitcher can get hot and make a run.”

Ankeny, Indianola, Ottumwa and West Des Moines Dowling join the Little Hawks and J-Hawks in the six-team bracket.

Cedar Rapids Washington heads to Cedar Rapids Kennedy for the first round in 4A substate 3.

Trying to separate the best teams is always a struggle.

“The biggest challenge is the wide variation of scheduling and geography,” Mitchell said. “Conference structure vs non-conference can be very different from team to team.”

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RODENKIRK REACHES 300 VICTORIES

Linn-Mar Coach Kyle Rodenkirk reached a coaching plateau June 19 and he did it against a familiar foe. The Lions beat Jefferson, 9-3 and 6-5, for a doubleheader sweep, giving Rodenkirk 300 career victories. Linn-Mar added a win over Cedar Falls the next day for 301 total victories before Wednesday’s game against Waverly-Shell Rock.

Rodenkirk has 161 total wins in eight seasons at Linn-Mar. He also coached seven seasons at Jefferson, which is alma mater, after two at Anamosa. He was quick to praise his staff and his family, consisting of his wife, Karlee, and children Addy, 11, and 8-year-old Kaden.

“It means I’m getting old,” Rodenkirk said. “All joking aside my whole goal getting into coaching was to teach the game I love and to teach the game of life through baseball.

“It takes a huge support staff to coach and this milestone is for all the assistant coaches that have helped me as well as my wife and family. Behind any good coach is a supportive wife and family and this goes to them.”

Rodenkirk has coached multiple all-staters at Linn-Mar and Jefferson. He remains loyal to the players that helped him become the third Lions coach to surpass 300 career wins, joining Phil Katz (477) and Chad Lechner (349).

“And to all the players,” Rodenkirk said. “Through the ups and downs, I will always support my players through the years.”

KENNEDY TOPS PRAIRIE IN SLUGFEST

Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Prairie combined for an offensive outburst that would rival any video game result. The Cougars, ranked 10 th in Class 4A, topped the Hawks, 21-18, Tuesday at Prairie.

Kennedy, powered by a 10-run fourth and seven-run second, rapped 18 hits, three more than Prairie, and drew 12 of the 19 total walks in the game. Thirty-two total Cougars reached base, while the Hawks managed 27 baserunners.

Ty Donels, Logan Miller, Deacon Kucera and Bradley Walton had three hits apiece and Miller led the Cougars with two doubles and five RBIs. Donels and Colton Duerling scored four runs each.

Prairie’s Tait Tierney, Kamren Francois, Maddux Mueller, Shraden Lechtenberg, Bennett Koch and Drew Long has two hits apiece. Francois and Mueller tied for a team-high four RBIs.

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