Jeff Johnson

The University of Iowa baseball team knows it needs to win this week’s Big Ten Conference tournamnt for its season to continue. Coach Rick Heller said he feels his team is ready.

The Minnesota Twins signed Ricardo Olivar out of Venezuela in 2019 for a paltry $20,000. The Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher-outfielder has developed into a legit Twins prospect.

Here’s the third edition of Eastern Iowans In The Minors and Majors. It’s a look at Gazette-area players and how they are doing in affiliated professional baseball. Four pitchers are in the majors in Mitch Keller (Pirates), A.J. Puk (Athletics), Keaton Winn (Giants) and Colin Rea (Brewers).

Keaton Anthony was among several University of Iowa and Iowa State University athletes involved in last summer’s state gambling probe. He believes it cost him an opportunity to be selected in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft. Mostly exonerated now, he’s seeking to make the most of his shot with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kirk Zobac grew up in Cedar Rapids, attended Cedar Rapids Cardinals games as a youth. He eventually settled in San Jose, Calif., and had a son, Steven, who ended up signing professionally with the Kansas City Royals organization. Steven Zobac pitched Thursday night at Veteans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. You bet dad was there to watch this.

Starting pitcher Andrew Morris gave up just one hit over seven innings, taking only 73 pitches to do so in the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ 3-0 win over Quad Cities on Wednesday afternoon.

Coe College beat Buena Vista, 6-2, Saturday afternoon to win the American Rivers Conference baseball tournament championship. The final two guys to pitch in the game for the Kohawks returned from elbow surgeries just two weeks ago.

Cedar Rapids Washington has announced the hiring of Nate Garner as its new varsity head boys’ basketball coach. Garner has been a head coach at the sub-varsity level at the school and served as interim head coach for the varsity during periods of the 2023-24 varsity season.

The Iowa Heartlanders announced Friday they have signed head coach and general manager Derek Damon to a multi-year contract extension. Damon has been part of the Heartlanders organization since their inaugural ECHL season.

Coe’s baseball team got great pitching and held on to beat Buena Vista, 4-3, in the American Rivers Conference tournament, advancing to Saturday’s championship.

The University of Iowa baseball team plays three games this weekend at first-place Illinois. The Hawkeyes are in a good spot to make the league tournament, but can solidify things and put themselves into contention for a regular-season championship with a sweep.

Of course, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders wanted guys who could skate, who had skill, who could make plays, score goals and all that. But in the recently concluded United States Hockey League Draft, head coach/general manager Mark Carlson and his coaching and scouting staff went beyond that.

The architect of an incredible run of 234-9 over the last nine seasons and seven consecutive state boys’ basketball tournament championship appearances, Mike Hilmer is leaving North Linn to take the superintendent’s job at Bellevue.

Dubuque Wahlert graduate Cael Schmitt started four seasons at point guard for Coe College, helping the Kohawks reach back-to-back NCAA Division III national basketball tournaments. He entered the transfer portal for his graduate season and has committed to Northern Iowa as a rare kid going from D-III to Division I.

Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher Nate Baez broke the hamate bone in his left hand in college and broke the hamate bone in his right hand last spring training. He’s back healthy and had a big game Sunday afternoon in his team’s 6-0 win over Peoria.