K.J. Pilcher

The elements were there for South Winneshiek, but it just wasn’t enough to overcome top-ranked Remsen St. Mary’s in the Class 1A state baseball quarterfinals.

When Kingsley Pierson completed its 7-4 comeback victory against North Linn in the Class 1A state baseball quarterfinals, it marked the end of Austin Hilmer’s prep career and the conclusion of an eight-year stretch of a Hilmer leading the Lynx.

Cascade and Dyersville Beckman share a love for baseball and one of the top rivalries in the state. This year marks the second time and the first in 40 years that both reached the state tournament.

Iowa City High and Iowa City Liberty will compete in their own backyard for the Class 4A state baseball tournament, while Lisbon returns to the Class 1A state quarterfinals in Carroll.

Maddux Frese pitched eight innings of a gem and then scored the winning run in a ninth-inning rally capped by Brandon Vlcko’s single in Cedar Rapids Prairie’s 2-1 substate baseball win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Dyersville Beckman topped Jesup to earn the program’s 19th state baseball tournament appearance and first since winning the Class 2A crown in 2017 in head coach Fred Martin’s last season.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy survived a rough start to the baseball season that included injuries to key players, a tough slate and a 3-8 mark when May concluded. Now, Kennedy is 26-14 with an opportunity to claim a state tournament spot Wednesday night.

Class 3A fifth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier’s Drew Proskovec tossed a three-hit shutout in an 8-0 victory over No. 10 North Polk.

West Liberty defeated Cascade, 10-4, on June 28. The two teams meet again Tuesday in a Class 2A substate baseball final in Clinton. The Comets have not reached state since 2002, while the Cougars’ last trip was in 2015.

Linn-Mar went four innings without a run and exploded for 10 in two innings to defeat Waterloo East in the first round of Class 4A substate baseball play.

A day before its postseason baseball opener Marion was still in search of a place to play Mount Pleasant. A place to practice after the 15-1 win is another story. That’s how this season has gone for the defending Class 3A state champions.

Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington are among the programs that have played well to close the regular season and will try to continue that in the Iowa high school baseball playoffs. Teams from across the state will begin the Class 3A and 4A substate competition with first-round games Friday.

Matt Morrison, James Morris and Derrick Loveless were key components of a successful Solon stretch, amassing eight state team championships with three more runner-up finishes in five sports from 2006 through 2011. They were named Gazette Athletes of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively.

Six teams from the Mississippi Valley Conference landed in the final Class 4A and 3A Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings with two more receiving votes.

Few fathers and sons can match the athletic success of Marv and Drew Cook. The Cooks are still the only father-son combo to be named The Gazette’s Athlete of the Year.