Saturday’s best: 5 area Iowa high school softball regional games to watch (July 13, 2024)

Six Metro/Iowa City teams survived the first round of the Class 5A and 4A regional tournament.

Linn-Mar was a 10-0 winner over Cedar Rapids Washington in a 5A game. Meanwhile, No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, No. 8 Iowa City Liberty, Cedar Rapids Jefferson and Cedar Rapids Prairie drew first-round byes, as did No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier in 4A.

By the end of Saturday, 16 teams will remain statewide in 5A, 4A and 3A. Three of the top four teams in 3A (Benton Community, Williamsburg and Mount Vernon) are from the area, and favored to win at home.

Here are Saturday’s five regional-semifinal matchups involving Metro/Iowa City teams:

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (21-16) at No. 12 Dubuque Senior (26-12), 5 p.m.

Class 5A Region 3

After dropping both ends of a June 11 doubleheader (1-0 and 5-3) at Dubuque, the J-Hawks will try to turn the tables. They’ve got a tough task against a Senior squad that has won seven consecutive games. Olivia Young leads the J-Hawks in batting average (.446) and RBIs (36), and is likely to get the pitching call; she is 13-8 with a 2.43 ERA. Rams senior Lily McCarty (9-4) blanked the J-Hawks on two hits and eight strikeouts in the earlier meeting.

Davenport North (17-19) at No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (25-10)

Class 5A Region 6

This is the first meeting all-time between the teams, and it’s an important one. Liberty is on a five-game win streak, and this is the last go-round for seniors Mischa Reiners, Haley Schroeder and Brynlee Slockett, who have been instrumental to the Bolts’ success in recent years. Junior Lanie Meyer has hit 11 home runs, while sophomore Ava Tague (team-high .460) has 23 doubles to her credit. North finished seventh in the Mississippi Athletic Conference.

Linn-Mar (19-19) at No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (23-15)

Class 5A Region 8

The Lions and the Cougars tangled 10 days ago at Kennedy, and nothing was decided; Kennedy took the opener 6-2, then it was Linn-Mar 9-5 in the nightcap. Kennedy sophomore Lily Knutson is hitting a team-best .419, and owns a 14-5 mark in the pitching circle. Seven different Cougars have at last three home runs. Linn-Mar’s Anna Kaliban has enjoyed a strong senior season pitching, posting a 15-8 record. Sophomore Abby Mecklenburg is hitting .387.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (22-17) at No. 14 Des Moines Roosevelt (26-14)

Class 5A Region 8

Along with Linn-Mar and Kennedy, these teams make for a wide-open 5A-8 field. Roosevelt is the champion of the Iowa Alliance Conference South Division. Prairie has won four of its last five games, a push that contains wins over two Wamac Conference heavyweights (Clear Creek Amana and Mount Vernon). Sophomore Piper Johnson leads the Hawks at .385, and has scored 40 runs and stolen 15 bases.

Fort Madison (14-18) at No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier (29-10)

Class 4A Region 5

Xavier is blazing hot at a perfect time; the Saints have won seven straight games, 10 of 11. That stretch includes wins over top-10 opponents Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa City Regina, Benton Community and Johnston. The Saints are driven by juniors and sophomores, including batterymates Braylen Conlon (.477, 6 HR; 22-6 pitching, 306 strikeouts) and Katie Pilcher (.459, 10 HR, 52 RBIs). Fort Madison beat Keokuk, 18-7, in the quarterfinals, but this is an extreme step up in competition for the Bloodhounds.

Saturday’s complete area schedule

CLASS 5A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(7 p.m. unless noted)

Region 3

Davenport West (17-19) at No. 2 Pleasant Valley (35-3)

Cedar Rapids Jefferson (21-16) at No. 12 Dubuque Senior (26-12), 5 p.m.

Region 6

Bettendorf (18-15) at No. 3 Muscatine (25-10)

Davenport North (17-19) at No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (22-11)

Region 8

Linn-Mar (19-19) at No. 7 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (23-15)

Cedar Rapids Prairie (22-17) at No. 14 Des Moines Roosevelt (26-13)

CLASS 4A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 5

Fort Madison (14-18) at No. 4 Cedar Rapids Xavier (29-10)

Knoxville (11-13) at No. 8 Carlisle (32-8)

Region 7

Waverly-Shell Rock (22-7) at No. 9 Western Dubuque (28-9)

Charles City (25-5) at No. 10 Clear Creek Amana (24-12)

Region 8

Maquoketa (12-22) at No. 7 North Scott (28-5)

DeWitt Central (9-26) at No. 13 Burlington (22-5)

CLASS 3A REGIONAL SEMIFINALS

(All games 7 p.m.)

Region 3

Centerville (15-10) at No. 2 Williamsburg (28-12)

No. 13 Albia (19-12) at Chariton (15-9)

Region 4

Grinnell (17-17) at No. 1 Benton Community (29-7)

Southeast Valley (17-9) at Eagle Grove (16-7)

Region 6

Center Point-Urbana (15-18) at No. 4 Mount Vernon (30-11)

Solon (16-24) at No. 11 West Liberty (21-10)

Region 7

West Delaware (16-20) at No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (27-10)

Independence (21-18) at New Hampton (14-12)

Region 8

West Burlington (25-8) at No. 5 Davenport Assumption (23-12)

Central Lee (24-10) at No. 12 Washington (24-11)

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com