Around the horn with Iowa high school baseball: Liberty tops CCA in high-scoring classic, top individual performances and more

Liberty’s Owen Norris is met by teammates after scoring the team’s opening run during their Mississippi Valley Conference baseball game on Monday, June 6, 2022, at Liberty High School in Iowa City, Iowa. (Geoff Stellfox/The Gazette)

The Gazette takes a look at some of the area Iowa high school baseball results from last week and upcoming games of interest this week.

Liberty tops Clear Creek Amana in high-scoring classic

Iowa City Liberty and Clear Creek Amana closed the annual Fight with Flash Foundation Crosstown Classic held Saturday at the Solon Rec and Nature Area. Both teams lit up the scoreboard in an astounding 21-15 Lightning victory over the Clippers.

CCA struck early for 10 runs in the bottom of the first, adding two more in the third and three in the last inning. Liberty scored in all but one inning, putting up two in the first, six in the second and five in the third for a 13-12 lead midway through the game.

The Lightning scored eight in their final three at-bats, including four in the top of the seventh.

The two neighboring school districts combined for 30 hits — 19 from Liberty and 11 from CCA. They each hit four batters. The Clippers drew eight walks, while the Lightning tallied five. CCA also reached on five errors, giving it 28 batters to reach base. The Lightning benefited from two errors, allowing 30 total Liberty batters to get on base.

Of Liberty’s 19 hits, 15 were singles and four doubles. The Lightning had six batters with multiple hits, including Luke Meyers, who had a game-high five. Four Liberty players drove in at least three RBIs with Mason Gardner knocking in four. Gardner also had two doubles.

Ben Swails, Jack Downes and Kaden Phan paced the Clippers with two hits apiece. Swails scored three times and drove in five runs to give him 31 RBIs this season. Swails also hit his fifth home run of the season.

CCA is 12-3 overall before Monday’s home doubleheader against Dyersville Beckman. Liberty improved to 9-12 entering Monday’s games at Cedar Rapids Washington.

#StrikeOutTheStigma

Cedar Rapids Prairie hosted Western Dubuque Wednesday for a Mississippi Valley Conference doubleheader between ranked programs. The night was also devoted to Mental Health Awareness.

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Both teams donned special jerseys, highlighting the green color that represents the cause. Prairie wore green jerseys with black numbers, while Western Dubuque wore black jerseys with green stripes and numbers. Jerseys had #youmatter across the back.

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The Hawks, who were ranked eighth in Class 4A at the time, swept the 3A No. 5 Bobcats, 8-4 and 9-2. Maddux Frese went 2-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Prairie. Frese earned the victory in the nightcap, scattering eight hits and striking out seven in 6 1/3 innings. Cal Sullivan had four hits, including two doubles and a home run, and four RBIs. Gage Martin got the win in the opener.

Notable individual performances

BGM senior Jake Moel stole six bases on June 6 against English Valleys. He was perfect in six swipes, which is tied for the second-best single-game performance for stolen bases. Moel has 14 total stolen bases in 15 attempts this season.
Cedar Rapids Washington freshman Jaxton Schroeder had two triples in a 16-8 loss to Linn-Mar on Thursday. It is tied for second most in the state for a single game. He finished with three hits, five RBIs and seven total bases in that game.
Edgewood-Colesburg pitcher Cael Funk struck out 14 batters in an 8-0 victory over Central City on Thursday. Funk threw a complete-game, three-hit shutout, facing just 24 batters in seven innings.

Upcoming games of interest

Tuesday: 2A No. 8 Mid-Prairie (7-6) at Anamosa (8-5) — Both teams were ranked last week by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. The Golden Hawks average 5.3 runs per game, while the Blue Raiders score at a 5.9 clip per game. Anamosa is third in the River Valley Conference North standings, while Mid-Prairie is third in the RVC south.

Wednesday: 3A No. 5 Western Dubuque (16-3) at West Delaware (17-6) — Both teams have combined for 33 wins already this season. The Hawks have been on a hot streak, winning seven straight games including victories over ranked teams Anamosa and 3A No. 8 Center Point-Urbana. Western Dubuque has won 11 of its last 13 with the two setbacks coming to 4A No. 8 Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Thursday: 1A No. 6 Lisbon (11-2) at 1A No. 5 North Linn (16-1) — Two state tournament contenders. The Lions were quarterfinalists a year ago and returned everyone from that team. The Lynx have been one of the best and most consistent small-school programs annually. Lisbon averages 11.2 runs per game and the Lynx average 11.1. North Linn only gives up two per game, while the Lions allowed 3.5.

Friday: Cedar Rapids Kennedy (9-9) at Linn-Mar (11-9) — Both teams have overcome rough starts and have won four of their last five games. Their production is very similar. Linn-Mar scores 6.5 runs per game and allows 4.6. Kennedy tallies 5.8 runs and gives up 4.9.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com