Could the last 2 state baseball champs in 3A meet in this year’s championship game?

CEDAR RAPIDS — This needs to be prefaced quickly with one thing. There is a lot of baseball to be played for this to happen.

A LOT!

But when you look at the Class 3A bracket for this week’s state baseball tournament, what do you notice?

Perhaps that last year’s state champion is back in the field. That’d be Western Dubuque.

Perhaps that last year’s state champ is joined by the 2021 winner. That’d be Marion.

Perhaps that those two Eastern Iowa powers used to be Wamac Conference rivals. Western Dubuque joined the Mississippi Valley Conference in the 2018-19 school year.

Perhaps that it’s possible the champs from the last two years could play for the 2023 3A title since they’re on the opposite ends of the bracket. Western Dubuque is the eight-team field’s top seed, Marion its third.

“I know better than to look that far ahead,” said Marion Coach Steve Fish. “But it’d be kind of cool to have that happen. We haven’t played them since they left the conference, so it would be cool to play them again. They’re awfully talented.”

“You know, I have thought about that,” said Western Dubuque Coach Casey Bryant. “Not because I’m looking past anyone, more because of the respect I have for Coach Fish and what he has done in his career. It would be cool for two old Wamac rivals to meet in the state championship. But it’s too early to think about that because there are so many teams in the way for both of us.”

For Marion (30-6), it starts with Carlisle. The Wolves and Wildcats (22-12) meet in a 2 p.m. quarterfinal Monday at Banks Field in Iowa City.

For Western Dubuque (33-9), things begin with Harlan. The Bobcats and Cyclones (22-14) follow Marion and Carlisle at 5 p.m.

This is the fifth trip to the state tournament for Marion in the last seven years. It’s the fourth in six years for Western Dubuque.

“The expectations for a lot of these kids now right, wrong or indifferent (is to qualify for state),” said Fish, who won his 800th career game earlier this season. “I know how hard it is to get to the state tournament. It’s really hard, and you’ve got to be lucky. I keep telling these guys that, but that’s all they’ve known here. Five of the last seven years we’ve been able to go. I know that that’s not normal. We’re very fortunate because baseball is a hard (game) to get down there in.”

Bryant, who is approaching 600 wins in his long career, agreed with his cohort, adding the pressure of being a returning state champion is something his team has had to learn.

“It has been an enormous challenge for our guys,” he said. “I know every year is different. The team that wins the state championship is probably going to be ranked ‘1’ (the next year) in the preseason polls. But to replace four, five regular guys and be ranked ‘1’ and handle that with everybody gunning for you and be ranked ‘1’ at the end, I’m pretty proud of our guys.

“That’s something they had to get used to, they had to cope with, they had to be resilient. They couldn’t be afraid to lose, they had to play a certain way. I think it’s made us a stronger team and a closer group of guys.”

Marion was sabotaged by injuries last season and has incurred some of that this season, specifically Payton Hodges being unable to pitch after being its top guy last season. Shortstop Myles Davis, a University of Iowa recruit, also has missed about a dozen games while playing with a travel team in an attempt to get more exposure to professional scouts.

Fish said things haven’t always been the prettiest, but the Wolves have played well enough to be where they are.

“They just have found ways to win,” he said. “We’ve had some young guys fill up some roles, as far as pitching. I’m really proud of them, with one senior on this team. A special senior in (pitcher-catcher) Kaden Frommelt, I will say that.”

Western Dubuque played a mostly 4A schedule as a member of the MVC, its only losses to 3A schools coming to Dubuque Wahlert and Cedar Rapids Xavier by a total of three runs. The Bobcats have a very good two-way player in senior Isaac Then and a very good freshman in Brett Harris, among others.

“When we are playing well, we can be very explosive on offense,” Bryant said.

In fact, Marion and Western Dubuque rank first and second in team batting average at .357 and .344, respectively.

“I think we hit velocity as well as any team I’ve ever had,” Bryant said. “If you throw hard, if you are a power pitcher, that’s your game, then we’re not the team you want to face. Because we don’t strike out much, we foul off tough pitches, we’ll put the ball in play, we’ll run your pitch count up and make you work like you’ve never worked. That, I think, is one of our strengths.”

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