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5 Gazette area Iowa high school baseball games to watch: Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Dubuque Wahlert kick off huge week
All four classes will compete in the postseason by the end of the week

Jul. 6, 2025 3:44 pm
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The largest two classes close the regular season this week. Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Dubuque Wahlert play in a key Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader. Independence and West Delaware are scheduled to play three times this week. Class 1A and 2A districts continue this week. Here are our final 5 Games to Watch this week.
MONDAY: DUBUQUE WAHLERT AT C.R. KENNEDY
Wahlert (30-6, 21-5) and Iowa City High (26-8, 21-5) are tied atop the Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division. The teams split so a tie would create co-champions. Cedar Rapids Prairie (26-9, 22-6) could leapfrog both, if Wahlert and City High get swept. Kennedy (24-10, 16-8) is tied in the loss column with MVC Mississippi leader Iowa City Liberty (26-9, 18-8). The Cougars are a long shot but are still alive for a title. Kennedy’s doubleheader with Cedar Falls was postponed due to weather Thursday and unlikely to be made up. If that’s the case, it will come down to winning percentage. Entering Monday’s games, Liberty holds a .692-.667 advantage and faces Waterloo West. Class 3A and 4A postseasons begin Friday, so coaches face a dilemma when it comes to pitchers. What is more important: Possible division title or the first round of the postseason. The Cougars have been in and out of the 4A state rankings and Wahlert has been No. 1 in 3A all season. Kennedy owns a 14-12 edge in the series since 2010. Ty Donels has had a banner season, leading the Cougars with 45 hits at the plate and nine wins on the mound. He is also batting .413, scoring 52 runs and hitting six home runs. Foti Rigopoulos is a standout for Wahlert, driving in 31 runs and tallying 39 hits, and teammate Will Specht has 44 hits.
MONDAY: INDEPENDENCE AT WEST DELAWARE
This is an interesting scenario for the Mustangs and Hawks. The original meeting was postponed and rescheduled for Monday, which caps their Wamac Conference schedule. That was before they were paired in the first round of 3A Substate 4 on Friday. Three games against each other in a week with the last one a win-or-go-home contest. Independence (19-15) has played well recently, winning nine of its last 11 games. West Delaware is 3-7 in the last 10 games. The Hawks have dominated the series, going 25-8 since 2009. The Mustangs have responded to first-year head coach and former Wartburg skipper Joel Holst. Independence’s Christopher Meyer is an offensive dynamo. He is batting .420 with .529 on-base percentage. He has 47 hits, 53 runs and 17 stolen bases. Jack Cantwell leads West Delaware with 32 hits and 22 RBIs. Brent Yonkovic adds 26 hits, including 10 doubles, and a team-best 19 runs for the Hawks (14-15).
MONDAY: MARION AT PLEASANT VALLEY
Marion heads to Pleasant Valley for a top-10 inter-class matchup. They have split two games in the last two seasons. Marion has held strong at No. 3 in 3A, while the Spartans are the latest No. 1 in 4A. This game is simply a tune-up game to prepare for the postseason. It provides both teams a good gauge, entering substate play. Marion (23-6) just clinched the Wamac East with a sweep of Vinton-Shellsburg, which is the top-seeded Wolves first-round foe in 3A Substate 5. Pleasant Valley (27-6) is the top seed in 4A Substate 8. Marion is led by Jake Miller, who has 42 hits, 41 runs and a .438 batting average, and Isaiah Scott, who has 40 RBIs, 38 hits and 36 runs. Pleasant Valley allowed less than three runs a game and pitcher Bo Collingwood has a team-high seven wins. Marion also has a meeting with 4A No. 5 Liberty on Wednesday.
FRIDAY: LINN-MAR AT IOWA CITY WEST
The Lions and Trojans split a regular-season doubleheader on June 2. Linn-Mar (15-20) won the opener, 4-3. West (18-17) took the second game, 6-4. The Lions are powered by senior Dylan Muszynski, who has become the program’s career stolen base leader including 31 this season. He has been a staple in the batting order, leading Linn-Mar with 45 hits and 27 RBIs. Charlie Sarsfield and Landon Sorg add 37 and 33 hits, respectively. Sarsfield has scored 32 runs. Declan Bunn leads West with 39 hits. He is batting .371 with 35 runs and 19 RBIs. Kyle Cherry has a team-high five wins for the Trojans.
MONDAY, TUESDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY: POSTSEASON SCHEDULE
Postseason play is in abundance this week. Some of the 1A and 2A district games rained out last Saturday were rescheduled for Monday. District semifinals are slated for Tuesday and district finals will be Saturday. Class 3A and 4A will open postseason with substate play on Friday.
Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com