IHSAA announces return to 2 sites for 2022 state baseball tournaments

BOONE — The state baseball tournaments will stay put.

Iowa High School Athletic Association officials announced Monday that Carroll and Iowa City will serve as split-host sites for the second straight season. Last year, the Class 1A and 2A championships were held at Carroll’s Merchants Park, while University of Iowa’s Duane Banks Field hosted the 3A and 4A events.

Last season was the first time since 2004 that it was held at multiple locations.

“The enthusiasm, hospitality and support demonstrated by the Carroll and the Iowa City and Coralville communities for our state baseball tournament in 2021 was absolutely outstanding,” IHSAA executive director Tom Keating said in a news release. “Each provided a unique and memorable experience for our student-athletes and fans. We look forward to partnering with those same communities as we plan for upcoming years of the IHSAA State Baseball Tournament.”

The IHSAA agreed to a three-year extension, keeping the 1A and 2A tournaments in Carroll through 2024. Classes 3A and 4A will play at Duane Banks Field on a year-to-year arrangement through 2024 due to planned renovations to the stadium.

The 2022 state tournaments will be held July 18-22 with championship games held Friday at separate start times.

According to the news release, the IHSAA noted that championship sessions at both venues had near capacity crowds.

“We greatly appreciate all the work done by our host facilities and our participating programs to embrace this new state tournament experience and make the most of it,” IHSAA assistant director and co-baseball administrator Todd Tharp said in the news release.

State baseball will be held one week earlier than normal to recognize the Unified Activities Federation’s “Family Week,” which is a non-contact period of varsity sports during the week of July 24-31. The new schedule will be at the same time as the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union state softball tournament in Fort Dodge.

The announced in its entirety can be found at the IHSAA website.