Iowa high school state baseball 2021: Gazette area team capsules

Here is a closer look at the Gazette area qualifiers for the 2021 Iowa high school state baseball tournament. Class 1A and Class 2A teams will play at Merchants Park in Carroll, while the Class 3A and Class 4A tournaments are at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City.

Lansing Kee (Class 1A)

Record: 33-9

Seed: No. 4

IHSBCA ranking: Unranked (received votes)

Coach: Jim Mauss (5th year, 120-55)

Tournament history: 20th appearance and first since a runner-up finish in 2011. Nine state titles and seven runner-up finishes. Won four straight state titles from 1989-92. Last title in 2005; 32-10 all-time.

Road to Carroll: Beat Northwood-Kensett, 11-0, in five innings for the substate title. Outscored three district foes, 25-4, including wins over Wapsie Valley (3-1) and South Winneshiek (4-2).

Team leaders: Tyson Cota has a team-high 57 hits and 47 RBIs, hitting .419. Demon Weber bats .446 with a .567 on-base percentage. Chris Wagner has three home runs. Dalton Dibert hits .400 with a team-high 51 runs. Dibert and Cota have thrown the most innings at 56 1/3 each. Cota is 7-1 with a 0.99 earned-run average and 66 strikeouts. Dibert is 8-2 with a 1.74 ERA, 69 strikeouts and one save.

First-round opponent: Hawks play seventh-ranked and No. 5-seed New London (26-1) in a 1A quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Lisbon (Class 1A)

Record: 25-13

Seed: No. 7

IHSBCA ranking: Unranked

Coach: John Tesensky (3rd year, 53-33)

Tournament history: Eighth appearance and first since a runner-up finish in 2018; third in last five seasons. Won the 1A state title in 1994; 5-6 record at state.

Road to Carroll: Scored each inning for a 9-2 substate final victory over Maquoketa Valley. Beat Hillcrest Academy, 4-2, in the district final, recording 23 runs in first two postseason games.

Team leaders: Tyler Scott and Landon Stolte have 42 and 40 hits, respectively; Stolte owns team highs in doubles (14), total bases (56), batting average (.370) and on-base percentage (.507). Luke Czarnecki and Tyson Scott have two home runs apiece; Tyson Scott has 38 RBIs and has an 8-3 record with 2.62 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 61 1/3 innings. Hunter Clark is 6-1 with a 1.06 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 52 2/3 innings. Czarnecki is 6-1 in eight starts.

First-round opponent: Lions face fourth-ranked and No. 2-seed Council Bluffs St. Albert (32-8) in a 1A quarterfinal at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Alburnett (Class 1A)

Record: 28-9

Seed: No. 6

IHSBCA ranking: Unranked

Coach: Ryan Stensland (5th year, 392-177)

Tournament history: Third appearance and first since a runner-up finish in 2019. Qualified for the first time in 2006; 2-2 all-time at state.

Road to Carroll: Scored 12 consecutive runs in a 12-2 victory in six innings over North Mahaska in the substate final. Upended defending state champion and sixth-ranked Don Bosco, 7-3. Beat Springville (15-0) and HLV (10-0) in the first two rounds.

Team leaders: Hunter Caves has 61 hits, including seven home runs, and 64 runs with a .500 batting average and .593 on-base percentage. Reed Stallman drove in 56 RBIs, tallying 54 hits, six home runs, 36 runs and a .495 batting average. Caves and Stallman are tied with a team-high 14 doubles. Shane Neighbor adds 46 hits and 32 RBIs. Kale Rose is 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings. Caves is 4-2 with a 1.50 ERA.

First-round opponent: Pirates take on 10th-ranked and No. 3-seed Tri-Center (28-2) in a 1A quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Monday.

Marion (Class 3A)

Record: 34-6

Seed: No. 1

IHSBCA ranking: No. 1

Coach: Steve Fish (32nd year overall, 760-404)

Tournament history: Third straight appearance and sixth overall. Fourth trip in the last five seasons, reaching the semifinals in 2019 and 2020. Owns 3-5 all-time mark.

Road to Iowa City: Marion outscored three substate opponents, 36-3, including a 14-1 win over Benton Community in the substate final. Indians posted identical 11-1 postseason wins over Nevada and Center Point-Urbana.

Team leaders: Myles Davis has 64 hits with a .485 batting average and .558 on-base percentage. Gage Franck scored 65 runs with 57 hits, a .425 batting average and 30 RBIs. Owen Puk hit 17 doubles and 46 RBIs with a .438 batting average. Kaden Frommelt has a team-high seven home runs and 47 RBIs. Boede Rahe is 10-0 with a 0.76 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 55 innings. Davis is 6-0 with a 2.52 ERA. Puk is 5-0 with three saves and 1.67 ERA, striking out 45 in 29 1/3 innings. Seth Blackford is 4-0 with a save.

First-round opponent: Indians play unranked and eighth-seeded Adel ADM (12-17) in a 3A quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Cedar Rapids Xavier (Class 3A)

Record: 26-12

Seed: No. 2

IHSBCA ranking: No. 4

Coach: Dan Halter (4th year, 111-29)

Tournament history: Eighth appearance and first since winning the 2019 Class 3A title. Four-time finalist, also winning in 2006; 11-5 all-time at state.

Road to Iowa City: Won a top-10 battle in a substate final, beating No. 7 Solon, 6-3. Survived a substate semifinal against Bondurant-Farrar, scoring three in the bottom of the seventh and finishing a 6-5 come-from-behind victory in eight innings. Shut out Oskaloosa (3-0) in the first round.

Team leaders: Jack Lux and Alex Neal lead the way with 42 hits apiece; Lux has 12 doubles and eight triples, sharing the team-high in home runs (3) with Jaxon Rexroth. Lux also leads the Saints with a .400 batting average and .553 on-base percentage. Neal also has 39 RBIs, while Rexroth has 32. Neal is 8-0 with a 1.53 ERA, striking out 80 in 59 1/3 innings. Quin Fandel is 4-0 with a save, while Luke Potter has six wins in nine starts.

First-round opponent: Saints face unranked and seventh-seeded MOC-Floyd Valley (27-8) in a 3A quarterfinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (Class 4A)

Record: 32-8

Seed: No. 5

IHSBCA ranking: No. 7

Coach: James Nelson (3rd year, 68-34 at Prairie)

Tournament history: Fourth appearance and first since 2017. Won the Class 4A state title in 2016 and qualified in 2005; 3-2 all-time at state.

Road to Iowa City: Scored all of their runs in the bottom of the sixth to defeat Cedar Falls, 4-2, in the substate final. Beat Waterloo East, 7-0, in first round to earn a semifinal bye..

Team leaders: Bronx Lewis owns a team-best in hits (55), runs (44) and batting average (.404) and his 12 doubles is tied for first with Nate Keiper. Cal Sullivan has four home runs and a .504 on-base percentage, which is .001 better than Lewis; Keiper has 47 RBIs. Colton Forslund has 48 hits, 36 RBIs, 38 runs and a .414 on-base percentage. Ryan Barnes leads the pitching staff with six wins, while Jackson Nove, Caden Stoffer and Collin Rickertsen have five apiece. Nove has 66 strikeouts in 45 innings. Stoffer posted a 0.76 ERA in 37 innings.

First-round opponent: Hawks drew fourth-ranked and No. 4-seed West Des Moines Dowling (32-7) in a 4A quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.