Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Rankings: Iowa City High returns to Class 4A poll

Iowa City High has endured a tough schedule and injuries.

The Little Hawks are starting to gel, resulting in some notable wins last week.

City High earned its 10th victory Saturday and climbed back into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association weekly rankings released Monday. The Little Hawks are ninth in Class 4A after a week hiatus from the poll.

“As a whole, we started to come together much better this past week,” City High Coach Brian Mitchell said. “We’ve had a challenging schedule with road games, late nights and early mornings for school, and again, unusual injuries which has taken a toll, but feel like we are starting to mesh.”

Even the losses have been by the slimmest of margins. City High’s last five losses have been by one run, including games against No. 3 Johnston and No. 5 Southeast Polk. Another loss was by two to No. 2 Cedar Rapids Prairie but added a 3-run rally with none on and two out for a win over Iowa City West.

The preseason poll had City High at ninth. The Little Hawks went 3-2 last week, including three games against ranked teams. City High posted a win over Linn-Mar and previously 4A No. 8 Waukee Northwest that bracketed a 4-1 victory over 3A No. 1 Western Dubuque Friday at Mercer Park.

D.J. Hodges led the Little Hawks with two hits and two runs. Drew Carlson and Dominic Salibi added two hits apiece. Carlson drove in two.

Jake Mitchell pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing an unearned run on just three hits for the win. Talon Young earned the save.

“It was a complete team effort win,” Brian Mitchell said. “Jake Mitchell and Talon Young kept their hitters off balance, our (defense) was really solid and we did enough offensively to keep a comfortable lead throughout.”

Ankeny Centennial (10-0) is top ranked in 4A. Western Dubuque (3A) and Mid-Prairie (2A) remain No. 1. Mason City Newman (13-1) took over the top spot in 1A.

Prairie (14-0) and Cedar Rapids Kennedy (14-3) each moved up a spot in 4A. The Cougars are fourth. Cedar Rapids Xavier and Marion are ranked fourth and sixth, respectively, in 3A. West Delaware debuted in the polls, coming in 10th.

In 2A, Dyersville Beckman, Cascade and Williamsburg are still in the rankings. Blazers are fifth and their rival Cougars are seventh. The Raiders dropped to eighth.

Lisbon and North Linn lead area 1A teams. The Lions are fourth, while the Lynx are sixth. South Winneshiek remained unbeaten. The Warriors are 8-0 overall and moved up two spots to eighth.

IOWA HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL COACHES

ASSOCIATION RANKINGS

Week 4

(Records in parentheses)

CLASS 4A

1. Ankeny Centennial (10-0), 2. C.R. Prairie (14-0), 3. Johnston (11-2), 4. C.R. Kennedy (14-3), 5. Southeast Polk (13-4), 6. Dallas Center-Grimes (9-2), 7. Pleasant Valley (11-5), 8. West Des Moines Dowling (9-5), 9. Iowa City High (10-7), 10. Urbandale (8-5)

Other area teams receiving votes (In alphabetical order): Ankeny (7-6), Bettendorf (8-2), Indianola (9-6), Linn-Mar (9-6), Sioux City North (14-3)

CLASS 3A

1. Western Dubuque (12-4), 2. Council Bluffs Lewis Central (9-1), 3. Knoxville (12-0, 4. C.R. Xavier (8-4), 5. North Polk (8-2), 6. Marion (8-2), 7. Ballard (8-2), 8. Sioux City Heelan (12-4), 9. Boone (8-2), 10. West Delaware (8-3)

Other area teams receiving votes (In alphabetical order): ADM (10-4), Benton Community (11-3), Bondurant-Farrar (11-4), Davenport Assumption (5-6), Dubuque Wahlert (11-7)

CLASS 2A

1. Mid-Prairie (9-2), 2. Van Meter (8-4), 3. Carroll Kuemper (6-2), 4. Estherville-Lincoln Central (5-2), 5. Dyersville Beckman (8-6), 6. Underwood (5-2), 7. Cascade (8-2), 8. Williamsburg (8-6), 9. West Marshall (10-2), 10. New Hampton (9-3)

Other area teams receiving votes (In alphabetical order): Anamosa (9-2), Dike-New Hartford (5-3), Pella Christian (9-2), Pleasantville (9-2), West Lyon (6-0)

CLASS 1A

1. Mason City Newman (13-1), 2. Kingsley-Pierson (9-0), 3. Remsen-St. Mary’s (10-2), 4. Lisbon (7-0), 5. Lynnville-Sully (8-0), 6. North Linn (9-1), 7. Burlington-Notre Dame (9-1), 8. South Winneshiek (8-0), 9. West Harrison (8-1), 10. LeMars Gehlen (6-1)

Other area teams receiving votes (In alphabetical order): Akron-Westfield (10-4), Coon Rapids-Bayard (9-1), Don Bosco (9-3), Newell-Fonda (7-3), Woodbury Central (7-2)