Iowa City Liberty posts impressive start to what could be a special baseball season

Iowa City Liberty made an impressive postseason run to reach last year’s state baseball tournament.

The Lightning seem to have picked up where they left off from last season.

Liberty has posted a 7-2 start, coming off a doubleheader sweep of Cedar Falls before Wednesday night’s home games against Cedar Rapids Xavier.

“We knew the work ethic was going to be there,” second-year Liberty head coach Uby Martinez said. “They knew what we expected as far as how to go about business. They’ve done a phenomenal job.”

The Lightning returned a seasoned roster with 15 seniors, including Ryan Schmierer, Liam Bender, Landon Peoples and Jackson Khamphilanouvong, who are among the team leaders in hits.

Everyone has pitched in different ways to lead Liberty. The role would have been held by the late Owen Skelley, their classmate who died in 2022. They all wore his number 14 on their jerseys for the “Strikeout the Stigma” exhibitions before the season at Prospect Meadows in Marion.

“Leadership has been really special this year,” Martinez said. “This would have been Owen Skelley’s senior year. The guys are doing a lot. We talk about it a lot. I think that’s driving them to make Owen proud.

“He was the leader of this group. … Obviously, when you’ve had the same leader your whole life, someone has to step into it. They’ve done that. I think everybody has a little piece of Owen they possess.”

Liberty has developed better pitching depth this season. Eleven players have taken the mound, which doesn’t include Khamphilanouvong and Nolan Sojka. They each threw more than 34 innings and combined for five wins last season.

Juniors Mason Waterbury (3-0) and Andrew Olthoff (2-0) lead the staff so far this season. They both tossed gems over previously-ranked Cedar Falls, posting 1-0 and 5-0 victories. Waterbury pitched a complete-game shutout, allowing two hits and striking out 13. Olthoff followed with a one-hit complete game with seven strikeouts.

“The guys have done a phenomenal job this year,” said Martinez, noting it was their Achilles’ heel last year. “They’ve been great. They work really hard. Fine tune some things.

“The guys want to be there. They want the ball.”

Martinez witnessed a prime example of how far the team has come in a year’s time. Liberty went 1-1 in Fort Dodge, beating Sioux City North, 9-8, and forcing extra innings with two runs in the bottom of the seventh against West Des Moines Dowling before a 3-2 loss in eight. The Lightning demonstrated a similar confidence in a tight game with the Tigers.

“They didn’t panic, weren’t jumpy and were loose and focused,” Martinez said. “A polar opposite from where we were last year. The experience part of it. The guys trust the system. They believe in the process and we tell them to stick with it. It will work itself out.”

Martinez said the Lightning continue to work hard and have great attitudes. He said this is a special group with potential for a special season.

“It’s been fun to see them grow and see where we’re at from a year ago,” Martinez said. “We don’t dwell on it but we talk about what happens when you do things the right way. Just keep moving forward.”

Solon’s Vince Steinbrech stymies Cascade

Solon senior Vince Steinbrech tossed a complete-game shutout against then-Class 2A No. 7 Cascade on May 20. Steinbrech held the Cougars to two hits and struck out 11 batters in the 2-0 victory.

Steinbrech also pitched a complete game, five-hitter in a 5-2 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier on Tuesday at Ken Charipar Field. Steinbrech is 2-0 with a 1.40 earned-run average for Solon, which is ranked 10 th in 3A.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy’s power surge

Cedar Rapids Kennedy continues to lead the way offensively. The Cougars lead the state with 23 home runs – three times more than Dubuque Wahlert and Dallas Center-Grimes tied for second with seven.

Grant Mather and Nolan Grawe are 1-2 in the state, individually. Mather has eight, while Grawe is at six.

Kennedy leads the state with 159 runs in just 13 games. West Marshall is a distant second with 110 and Marion is third at 106.

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