Reactions and thoughts on Iowa high school state baseball tournament in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa High School Athletic Association Executive Director Tom Keating shared his requirements to host the state baseball tournament.

The site has to enhance the player and fan experience and be logistically conducive to pulling off the event.

Cedar Rapids apparently batted 3-for-3.

“This place checked all three boxes for us,” IHSAA Executive Director Tom Keating said. “Now that we’ve been here and we’ve seen it, we know what’s possible here. Parking and concessions are great. The facility is big enough and it is intimate enough that it looks full when you have a big crowd. It’s not cavernous and it still has major-league dimensions to the ballpark. This Class-A facility rivals a lot of Triple-A facilities. I think Cedar Rapids should be proud of it.”

Cedar Rapids held the summer state tournament for the first time since 1974. The reactions to the weeklong event at Veterans Memorial Stadium by the Cedar Rapids Kernels have been quite positive from players, coaches and the staffs that worked together to run the tournament.

IHSAA Assistant Director Andy Umthun was the administrator in charge, while Keating split his time between Cedar Rapids and Carroll, which hosted the 1A and 2A tournaments

“Obviously, I was real interested in how things were going to go here,” Keating said. “What I can tell you is, and Andy would tell you the same thing, that it’s been a terrific week. It exceeded our expectations.”

Split sites for the two largest classes and two smallest classes is the preference and isn’t expected to change. The IHSAA has already received RFPs — request for proposal — from multiple sites, including Cedar Rapids, to host future 3A and 4A state championships. Keating said the plan is for a three-year agreement but that could change if the RFPs don’t match the IHSAA priorities for the event.

Proposals will be read and assessed before a recommendation is made to the Board of Control.

“They will be in the conversation,” Keating said. “We’ll see how things go.

“I tell you I couldn’t be happier and I think Andy would agree with that.”

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The 3A and 4A championship games on Friday evening drew a crowd of 3,053, according to figures from the Kernels staff. It was the largest crowd for a title game over the last four seasons. The total attendance over the five-day event was 11,461, which is 550 more than last year in Iowa City.

“First and foremost, this week has exceeded my expectations on every front. Starting with the Iowa High School Athletic Association, which has been just wonderful to work with,” Kernels Chief Executive Officer Doug Nelson said. “The way our grounds crew, our front office came through to save that field on Monday and Tuesday, to the wonderful and incredible crowds that we’ve had to the level of baseball and the exciting games. Every game was exciting and came down to the wire. Everything far exceeded my expectations.”

Iowa City did draw larger single-day crowds with 3,192 on Day 2 last year and 3,416 on Day 2 in 2022. Cedar Rapids drew more than 2,000 fans for four of five days, which is the only time over the last four seasons.

The Kernels are at the mercy of Major League Baseball, which determines the Minor League Baseball schedules. The organization can request one week at home or on the road. Currently, the Kernels are contractually obligated to host the American Rivers Conference baseball tournament for two more seasons.

“We would love to have it back,” Nelson said. “The challenge is our schedule. Trying to balance the Kernels home schedule and being able to host the state tournament. I really hope the Association will work with us, to kind of work around the Kernels schedule. Because we’d love to have this back.”

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North Polk was a state runner-up in Iowa City last year. The Comets claimed their second state title Friday, topping Sioux City Heelan, 5-4, in the 3A championship. The players enjoyed the experience.

“I mean I liked it last year at Duane Banks, but this was second to none,” North Polk senior and Kirkwood signee Reece Wrage said. “The field was nice, the actual playing surface. The locker rooms where we stayed, it was easy to get our stuff to the field, which was super nice. Just everything.”

Marion Coach Steve Fish has coached teams to state tournaments at Principal Park in Des Moines, Duane Banks Field and at now at Memorial Stadium. Each place was a good venue with attractive features. Memorial Stadium was a great fit.

“The intimacy of that place was cool,” said Fish, who guided Marion to the 3A semifinals. “I thought all three venues were special. I really did enjoy Cedar Rapids. It’s a perfect size for a state tournament, in my opinion.”

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North Polk catcher Isaac Zoske played at Memorial Stadium for the first time. He echoed Fish’s sentiments.

“It needs to be here all the time,” Zoske said.

Keating praised the Kernels’ workers. They wowed many over the week when heavy rains caused long delays and forced schedule changes the first few days. The tournament got back on track and ran smoothly the rest of the way.

“The Kernels staff was phenomenal, especially the grounds crew,” Keating said. “We might still be playing without that grounds crew. They did a phenomenal job of getting us back on track.

“Andy Umthun did a great job of managing the schedule based on things with the weather. The City of Cedar Rapids, the Kernels, the CVB, Sports Commission, everybody pulled this together and made this a great experience for the kids the entire week.”

Umpire Chris Oberbroeckling honored

Longtime umpire Chris Oberbroeckling was honored during a ceremony before the 3A and 4A championship games, inducting him into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame.

Oberbroeckling, of Marion, was one of three in the 2024 class, joining Carroll’s Jim Molitor and Joe Nelson, the superintendent of schools at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows.

Oberbroeckling finished his 35th season of umpiring, appearing in his 23rd state tournament and 13th title game. He worked home plate for the 4A championship.

Oberbroeckling is a former multisport athlete at Dyersville Beckman, earning three letters in baseball for legendary coach Tom Jenk Jr. He currently works games in the Mississippi Valley, Wamac and Mississippi Athletic conferences and was a 2023 Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

How’d we do? Revisiting The Gazette’s predictions

Before the state tournaments started, The Gazette staff broke down each bracket by predicting winners in each game.

For the Class 3A and 4A tournaments, The Gazette went 11-3 total. Two of the four state finalists were correct, including the title pick in Cedar Rapids Kennedy. All eight quarterfinals were correct.

In 1A and 2A, The Gazette was a combined 9-5, including 5-2 in 2A.

Overall, staff went 20-8 for a .714 percentage.

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com