K.J. Pilcher

Bookend battles for Cedar Rapids Prairie this week. East Buchanan hosts North Linn for a Tri-Rivers West meeting. Anamosa heads to Dyersville Beckman in a matchup between River Valley Conference North leaders. Here are 5 prep baseball games to watch during Week 6.

Iowa City West scored four runs in the top of the 7th for a 12-11 comeback victory in the opener. The Trojans jumped to an early lead and staved off a Cedar Rapids Washington rally for a 4-3 win in the nightcap, earning a baseball doubleheader sweep Friday night.

Cascade captured the opener, 6-1. Class 2A No. 10 Dyersville Beckman rebounded with a 9-5 victory in the nightcap for a River Valley Conference baseball doubleheader split Thursday night at American Legion Ballpark in Cascade.

Dyersville Beckman overcame a slightly slow start but has cracked the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A rankings and sits atop the River Valley Conference North Division. The Blazers face a unique and tough week.

Marion’s Austin Goodrich produced a game-winning hit for a 4-3 victory in Game 1. He worked two perfect innings of relief in the 5-3 win in Game 2, sweeping Benton Community Monday at Les Hipple Athletic Complex.

Iowa City High started the season as the preseason No. 1. The Little Hawks faced a tough early schedule that dropped them to No. 5. This week, they climbed two spots to third in Class 4A.

The Big Ten Conference released conference dual opponents Monday. The Hawkeyes will host rival Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin in conference duals. They will travel to Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue.

Benton Community visits Marion in a Wamac Conference clash. Sigourney comes to North Linn for a battle of ranked Class 1A teams, Dyersville Beckman heads to Cascade in one of Iowa’s top high school baseball rivalries and more games to watch in Week 5.

Brayden Mayer changed his approach to be more like a pitcher than a thrower. He pitched six scoreless innings in a 3-1 victory over Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday night at Bob Erusha Field. The Saints won the opener, 6-1, for the split.

Hawkeye Wrestling Club member and University of Iowa three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee earned a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He will compete for a spot to represent Team USA at the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Benton won 26 games each of the last two summers and is working on its third straight winning season. It would be the longest streak since five in a row from 2012-16.

Cedar Rapids Washington’s Jane Petersen and Preston Haefner combined to shoot 71 and placed second at the Class 2A state co-ed golf meet Tuesday at Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone.

Cedar Rapids Prairie’s Michael Day juggled the tennis postseason with the start of baseball. He helped the Hawks boys’ tennis team finish second at state and contributed to their 15-0 start in baseball.

Marion is a work in progress, according to head coach Steve Fish. The Wolves are 7-2 and lead the Wamac Conference East Division. They are third in the latest Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association poll.

Division leads are at stake in the Mississippi Valley Conference. Another big Upper Iowa Conference matchup occurs. Tri-Rivers Conference has a battled between division leaders and Dyersville Beckman visits the Quad Cities. Here is a look at some notable games this week.