5 Gazette area Iowa high school baseball games to watch for Week 3 of 2025

Teams enter Week 3 of the Iowa high school baseball season, Conference games are in full swing, including an early-week Wamac Conference contest and a Friday doubleheader between the preseason No. 1 teams in Class 4A and 3A. The 10th annual Fight with Flash Classic is Saturday. Here is a look at some notable games this week.

MONDAY: CLEAR CREEK AMANA AT BENTON COMMUNITY

The Clippers (5-2 overall, 2-0) faces off against the Bobcats (6-1, 2-0) in a Wamac West showdown. Both teams are off to a strong start and tied for the lead in the division. Benton has three wins over Class 4A teams and split with Waverly-Shell Rock. The Bobcats swept a good West Delaware team in conference play. CCA has won three straight, including a sweep of Vinton-Shellsburg, and split with Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Benton owns a slim 16-15 lead in the series since 2009, but the Clippers have claimed 10 of the last 11 meetings that date back to 2019. CCA is powered by all-state duo Ty Fuller and Maclane Morgan. Fuller leads the way with eight hits and .615 batting average. Morgan has a team-high six RBIs. The Clippers have used a lot of arms, using a pitching staff by committee. Five Clippers with one win and two more with one save. Benton has better offensive and defensive statistics, holding an edge in runs per game (8.6-6.9) and runs allowed per game (2.3-3.7). Carson Nolan is batting .500 with 10 hits, including three extra-base hits, and nine runs. Drew Fillenworth has tallied 10 RBIs and seven hits. Junior pitcher Grady Frese hasn’t allowed an earned run and struck out 10 in his first 12 innings pitched.

MONDAY: C.R. KENNEDY AT WESTERN DUBUQUE

The Cougars opened the season ranked ninth in 4A, while the Bobcats were sixth in 3A. The Cougars already have 13 games under their belt. Kennedy had a lot of turnover due to graduation from last year’s state title team. The expectations were joined by reality. As younger talent steps in, there will be some growing pains. The Cougars are 7-6 overall and 4-4 in the MVC, including consecutive conference splits with Cedar Rapids Xavier and Dubuque Senior. Veterans Colton Duerling and Ty Donels lead Kennedy. Duerling has 16 hits with three doubles, a home run and eight RBIs, batting .410. Donels has two wins on the mound and has 13 hits, 14 runs, 11 RBIs. Western Dubuque (4-1, 3-1 MVC) also split with Xavier but swept Senior. The Bobcats average 6.8 runs per game and rank fourth in 3A with a .455 team on-base percentage. Carson Klein and Tanner Anderson led the way with seven and six hits, respectively. Brett Harris has been walked nine times and has a .565 on-base percentage. Both teams are battling Iowa City Liberty for an early lead in the Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division.

TUESDAY: MASON CITY NEWMAN VS. NORTH LINN, IN WAVERLY

Two 1A powers will clash at Harms Stadium at Hertel Field, which is the home field for Wartburg. Both teams have won four straight games. Newman opened with a one-run loss to 2A No. 8 Van Meter but outscored the other four foes, 45-5. Isaiah Keston leads the Knights with 11 hits and is batting .458 with nine runs. Senior Cal McGuire is 2-0 with 20 strikeouts and 2.10 earned-run average in 10 innings. The Lynx got a late start to competition with spring sports’ state tournaments. North Linn, ranked third to start, went 4-0 last week, capping it with a quality 5-2 win over Cascade. Cole Griffith has a team-high five hits and five RBIs. Waylon Raue is 1-0 with 13 strikeouts and 1.40 in five innings. A rematch could occur at the state tournament in Carroll in July.

FRIDAY: DUBUQUE WAHLERT AT IOWA CITY HIGH

These two teams were the preseason No. 1 picks by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. Wahlert has been impressive this season, posting a 9-0 overall record including a 7-0 MVC mark. Iowa City High answers with 7-2 and 5-1, winning five straight games. The Little Hawks hold a slight, 15-14, edge since 2009. They have won the last three meetings, sweeping Wahlert a year ago, and taking 10 of 12 since 2017. Wahlert is scoring 7.8 runs per game and is holding opponents to 1.6 runs a contest. Wahlert leads 3A in team batting average (.355), on-base percentage (.474), ERA (0.92), hits (89), singles (70), run differential (56 runs) and total bases (109). J.P. Elbert and Foti Rigopoulos lead the Golden Eagles with 15 and 14 hits, respectively. The Little Hawks have the pitching to slow down that offense. They boast a 1.31 team ERA. Jaxton Schroeder has a 1.17 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. Nicholas Meredith is 2-0 with a 0.88 ERA. Drake Obermueller leads the team in hits (15) and opponents’ batting average (.100). Owen Hicks has driven in 11 runs for City High. Both teams are fighting with Cedar Rapids Prairie at the top of the MVC Valley.

SATURDAY: 10TH ANNUAL FIGHT WITH FLASH CLASSIC IN SOLON

The 10 th annual Fight with Flash Classic will be held at the Solon Recreation and Nature Area Baseball Field. The high school competition opens with the host Spartans against City High at 11 a.m. Iowa City West faces Iowa City Regina at 1:30 p.m. Liberty and CCA will close the day at 4 p.m. The Fight with Flash Foundation, created in memory of Austin “Flash” Schroeder, who was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma in 2014 and died in 2015, surpassed $1 million donated to Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Program at the UI Children’s Hospital in December.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com