The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Postseason play will be at full throttle, starting Friday. Class 4A and 3A opens substate play. Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa City High and Iowa City Liberty are all No. 1 seeds in 4A. Marion is a top seed in 3A.
Cedar Rapids Prairie spent part of the season ranked No. 1 and begins the postseason against Waterloo East. City High, the preseason No. 1, finished the regular season ranked No. 4 welcomes Cedar Rapids Jefferson at Mercer Park. No. 6 Iowa City Liberty faces Waterloo West.
In 4A, the highest remaining seed after the first round receives a bye to the final so holding those top seeds are important.
Marion closed conference play against Vinton-Shellsburg and will open substate play against the Vikings. The Wolves are looking for their seventh state tournament appearance in the last nine seasons, reaching the state semifinals a year ago.
Here are five games to watch:
CLASS 4A: CEDAR RAPIDS WASHINGTON AT CEDAR RAPIDS KENNEDY
A rare day game for postseason play. The game has been moved up to 11:30 a.m. at Herkelman Field in hopes to avoid any weather delays. Kennedy officially begins its title defense, winning the 4A championship last season. The teams split a doubleheader on June 17. The Warriors (12-24) won the last game, 4-1, while the Cougars (24-12) won the opener, 3-2. The Warriors have one the state’s top players in Caiden Buonadonna, who should help Washington be competitive. He is hitting .398 with a .535 on-base percentage with 13 home runs and 33 RBIs. Buonadonna is tough on the mound, too, posting a 2.75 earned-run average. Kennedy has its own talent, especially in Ty Donels and Colton Duerling, who contributed to last year’s title run. Donels is batting .405 with a .523 OBP with 47 hits, seven home runs and 54 runs scored. Donels also has nine wins and a 1.79 ERA.
CLASS 4A: LINN-MAR AT IOWA CITY WEST
On paper, this has the makings of being the toughest first-round matchup in the area. The Trojans are 19-19 and the Lions have an 18-20 record. The two teams split a doubleheader on June 2 with West winning the second game, 6-4, and the Lions taking the opener, 4-3. Linn-Mar had won six straight in the series before that last loss. Linn-Mar senior Dylan Muszynski is an offensive dynamo, leading the team with 49 hits, 28 RBIs and has 34 stolen bases, adding to his record for career swipes. West’s Declan Bunn paces West’s offense with 44 hits. He bats at a .383 clip and has scored 39 runs. Kyle Henkenius has a team-best 27 RBIs, while Kyle Cherry leads the Trojans with five wins and 44 strikeouts in 37 1/3 innings pitched.
CLASS 4A: CEDAR RAPIDS JEFFERSON VS. IOWA CITY HIGH, AT MERCER PARK
The Little Hawks (28-9) are the top seed and the J-Hawks are just 3-34. The matchup isn’t as interesting as how City High performs. The Little Hawks were the preseason No. 1 team in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association poll. They seem to be healthier and have won four of their last five games. A win will give them a semifinal bye awaiting Ankeny, Indianola, Ottumwa or West Des Moines Dowling in one of the more challenging substate groupings. Drake Obermueller and Dominic Salibi help power the offense. Obermueller has 48 hits, 34 runs and a .410 batting average. Salibi has four home runs and 28 RBIs. Jaxton Schroeder leads a pitching staff with a team ERA of 1.76. He has 52 strikeouts in 42 innings pitched. Jefferson’s Dayten Guy bats .321 with 15 runs and a team-best 34 hits.
CLASS 3A: WILLIAMSBURG AT BENTON COMMUNITY
The Bobcats (26-6) have reached 26 wins for a third consecutive season, making it the most successful three-run in the program since 2007. They have won 10 of their last 11 games and captured the Wamac West title. Benton has won six straight in the series, including two shutouts (3-0, 10-0) in the doubleheader sweep over the Raiders on June 5. V.J. Schulte has been a two-way leader for Benton. He leads the team with 42 hits at the plate and seven wins and 36 strikeouts on the mound. Nile Sinn is a multisport standout for the Raiders. He paces Williamsburg with hits, including 10 doubles, and has 27 runs with 17 RBIs.
CLASS 3A: DEWITT CENTRAL AT MOUNT VERNON
The teams moved their game to 4 p.m. at Cornell’s Ash Park. Both teams have 17 victories. Mount Vernon is 17-12, while Central is 17-18. The Sabers have a strong baseball tradition and are capable of beating anyone. The Mustangs have made a habit of playing well in the postseason, challenging state title contending teams in substate battles. The Sabers own a 15-12 lead in the series, winning six of the last seven. The Mustangs last win was in 2022. Both teams have similar stats. Central scores 5.4 runs per game to Mount Vernon’s 5.5. The Sabers allow 4.3 runs a contest compared to the Mustangs’ 5.0. Colin Bentley leads Mount Vernon with 40 hits and Erik Lamb has a team-high 33 RBIs. The Mustangs’ A.J. McDermott has been reliable on the mound with six wins, a 3.12 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
Comments: [email protected]
