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Prairie moves on in Class 4A state baseball tournament
No. 7 seeded Hawks 6-0 quaterfinal victory over No. 2 Johnston may have been an upset seeding wise but wasn’t entirely suprising
Jul. 22, 2025 6:06 pm, Updated: Jul. 22, 2025 6:58 pm
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Editor’s note: This story was written in Cedar Rapids.
SIOUX CITY - This was an upset. At least seeding wise.
Cedar Rapids Prairie was the seventh seed in Class 4A at the state baseball tournament. Johnston was the ‘2.’
But in reality, the Hawks’ 6-0 quarterfinal win Tuesday afternoon at Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City wasn’t entirely surprising. Maybe no upset at all.
Prairie is a really good seventh seed, one that obviously has its mojo back. The Hawks were ranked No. 1 by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association after winning their first 17 games, only to end the regular season 10-9, falling completely out of the top 10.
The postseason has been a return to form, as Prairie mercy ruled Waterloo East in its first substate game and beat up Cedar Falls in the substate finals. Now this.
Pitcher Tait Tierney spun a five-hitter, and the Hawks scored two runs each in the third, sixth and seventh innings to move along to Friday afternoon’s semifinals opposite Iowa City High (31-9). The Mississippi Valley Conference mates played twice in the regular season, with Prairie winning both games.
“Johnston is obviously Johnston, but I knew we had a shot if we played our game,” said Prairie Coach James Nelson. “I knew we were very evenly matched with them. I think everybody through the whole tournament, it’s that exact thing. It’s going to come down to (executing), so that’s fun.”
“We didn’t look at the seedings. We didn’t that as part of our plan
Consecutive hit by pitches and a walk loaded the bases with one out in the third for Prairie. Collin McClintock then lined a single through the left side to score a pair and give the Hawks a 2-0 edge.
Insurance was provided late.
Tyler Schamberger had a two-out RBI double down the right-field line in the sixth, then scored on a fielding error. Prairie’s ninth-place hitter had just a .205 batting average coming in but went 3-for-3.
“We didn’t look at the seedings,” Schamberger said. “We didn’t take that as part of our plan going into state this week. We just play together as a team going into it, play confident. Don’t worry whether we are the away team or the home team. Just go out and do our thing.”
Schraden Lechtenberg’s two-run single through a draw-in infield in the seventh provided even more cushion. Not that Tierney needed it. He needed just 83 pitches for the complete game.
The junior right-hander pounded the strike zone, walking just one and striking out three. Prairie’s defense took care of the rest, making every play.
“He’s a dawg, man,” Schamberger said. “He locates like hell, is such a good pitcher, man.”
“You go through a game and think ‘Man, that looks really good,’” Nelson said. “That’s what we’ve been able to do. Early in the season, that’s the way we played. Late we’ve kind of gotten it back ... If we play our game and don’t try to do too much, the game will come to us. The talent is there, these kids are super talented.”
Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com
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