5 Gazette area Iowa high school baseball games to watch in Week 5, including rivalries and good causes

Marion and Benton Community face off in an inter-division Wamac Conference contest. Dyersville Beckman hosts Cascade in one of the most entertaining high school baseball rivalries. Dubuque Wahlert and Western Dubuque connect for a good cause. Here are five notables games this week.

Monday: Cedar Rapids Kennedy at Cedar Rapids Prairie

The Cougars (20-1) continue to batter opposing pitchers. They lead Class 4A with 27 home runs, more than double second-place Dallas Center-Grimes’ total. They also rank No. 1 in runs (222), run differential (144), doubles (48), on-base percentage (.481) and slugging percentage (.606). Kennedy’s team batting average of .341 is third in 4A and its 187 total hits rank second. The Cougars can run, too. They are tied for fourth in 4A with 72 stolen bases. This very well could be the best Kennedy team in Bret Hoyer’s successful tenure.

Prairie (13-8) counters with pitching and defense. The Hawks pitching staff is third in 4A with 153 total strikeouts. Despite some growing pains with a really young defense behind the veteran staff, Prairie leads 4A with a .970 team fielding percentage. Prairie is tied for sixth with a 2.94 team earned-run average. Both teams are tied for 10th, allowing 76 total runs this season. The teams have split each of the last two seasons.

Monday: Marion at Benton Community

This contest features Wamac Conference divisional contenders. The Wolves (15-1, 8-1) are a half-game back of Center Point-Urbana and tied for second with Solon in the East Division, according to Bound. The Bobcats (15-4, 6-2) lead the West Division. The Bobcats have won three of the last four in the series but Marion won last year’s meeting, 7-6.

Isaiah Scott leads Marion with 23 hits, while teammate Trey Franck has a team-best 35 RBIs. Andrew Ahmann has emerged as a leader on the mound, posting a 3-0 mark and leading the Wolves with 24 strikeouts and 21 innings pitched.

Wyatt Rinderknecht paces the Bobcats with 23 hits, one more than teammate Carson Nolan. Rinderknecht also leads the team with 18 RBIs and Drew Fillenworth and Ryan Finn add 17 apiece. Fillenworth, Finn and Grady Frese each have three wins. Finn has 29 strikeouts in 16 innings and Frese is close behind with 24 strikeouts, tying Fillenworth with 22 2/3 innings pitched.

Thursday: Cascade at Dyersville Beckman

One of the best (the best to logical people) rivalries in high school baseball. The safe bet is there will be a large crowd from these two great baseball communities, the game will be entertaining and the song, “Talkin’ Baseball (with Willie, Mickey and the Duke)” will play over the loudspeakers at Tom Jenk Field at Commercial Club Park.

Last year is a prime example of this rivalry. The River Valley Conference North Division teams split a doubleheader in 2023. The Cougars won the opener, 4-3, and Beckman took the second game, 1-0. The Blazers seemed to pick up where last year ended, owning an 11-2 overall record and 5-1 in the RVC. Cascade has battled a slow start with a 3-5 mark and 3-3 in the conference.

Both teams have individual talent. Luke Sigwarth leads Beckman with 21 hits, three more than teammates Matthew Florence and Drew Thier, who also leads the team in pitching. He is 3-1 with a 3.16 ERA, tallying a team-high 17 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings pitched. Chase White and Jake Schmidt are both 2-0 and second and third in innings pitched for the Blazers. Cooper Hummel leads Cascade with eight hits, a .308 batting average and six RBIs.

Friday: Dubuque Wahlert at Western Dubuque

Sometimes baseball is just the background for something bigger. The Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader at Farley Community Park will support an important cause – Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Bobcats sophomore Brett Harris was diagnosed with a low-grade brain tumor in 2023. The communities will come together to show support for Harris with Western Dubuque wearing warm-up tops with his name and number on it, while Wahlert will wear yellow (the color to recognize pediatric cancer) shoelaces provided by the PBTF. Funds will be raised for PBTF to support ongoing research in hopes of a cure. An online auction will help raise funds.

As for the game, both teams are ranked in 3A. Wahlert (14-3, 11-3) leads the MVC Mississippi and Western Dubuque is still in contention for the MVC Valley title at 12-4 and 7-3, but the Bobcats will need help to leapfrog Iowa City High and Kennedy. Jake Goodman has 19 hits to lead the Bobcats, while Harris is 4-0 with a 3.05 ERA on the mound.

Friday: Cedar Rapids Xavier at Iowa City High

The Saints have climbed back to .500 at 9-9, winning five of their last six games. They have a sweep over Prairie during that stretch. Andrew Hamlett leads Xavier with 22 hits, batting .379 with 14 RBIs. Preston Lang is leading the Saints with 17 RBIs, tallying 20 hits with a .357 batting average. Tate Proskovec has three wins and 27 strikeouts in 19 innings to lead Xavier’s pitching staff.

City High is third in 4A with a 2.11 team ERA, ranks seventh in opponent’s batting average at .194 and eighth with 135 strikeouts. Jaxton Schroeder leads the Little Hawks in wins (three) and strikeouts (27). Drake Obermueller’s 19 hits and Dominic Salibi’s 13 RBIs are tops for City High. Xavier and City High have split doubleheaders every year since 2018.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com