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SIOUX CITY – The last time Iowa City High played for a state baseball title none of the current players were born and Coach Brian Mitchell was a bright-eyed all-stater for the Little Hawks.
The 30-year drought has ended.
Dominic Salibi smacked a bases-loaded triple in the five-run third inning and No. 3-seeded City High defeated No. 7 Cedar Rapids Prairie, 6-3, in an all-Mississippi Valley Conference Class 4A state baseball semifinal Thursday at Lewis & Clark Stadium.
“It means a lot,” Salibi said. “The coaches and the City High program has put a lot of time into us. I’m just glad it’s paid off and have a chance at a state title.”
The Little Hawks (32-9) will face the winner between Bettendorf and Waukee Northwest on Friday at 2:30 p.m. It is their first title-game appearance since a runner-up finish in 1995.
“It chokes me up,” Mitchell said. “We’ve been knocking on the doorstep for a while, recently. We’ve been on a great run. I think we’ve been in the semis for three of the last four years. We’ve been building and we felt we had good teams that didn’t get over this hurdle. Just to be able to do that says a lot.”
Prairie (30-10) took an early lead. Tait Tierney led off the game with a bunt single and scored on a Collin McClintock sacrifice fly and the Hawks held a 1-0 until the bottom of the third.
City High had little luck against Prairie’s pitching staff, scoring just two runs in the Hawks’ regular-season doubleheader sweep. The struggle continue with City High’s first six batters retired in order.
Blaine Heick opened the third with a walk and scored on a one-out triple from No. 9 batter Paxton Bell.
“It broke the ice a little bit for us,” Mitchell said. “It gave us some confidence in the box. I think from there on out you saw better swings. They were on time more with the fastball.”
After a fielder’s choice, Jaxton Schroeder’s single and a walk to Talon Young loaded the bases for the Little Hawks RBI leader, Dominic Salibi. He ripped a triple inside the right field line.
“There was obviously a lot of pressure going into that at-bat,” Salibi said. “There were two outs and bases loaded. I knew I just needed to get the big hit and I got it. I’m just happy I could come through for the team. It was great.”
Drew Nye added an RBI single to drive in Salibi, giving City High a 5-1 advantage and a lead it didn’t surrender.
Nye knocked in Salibi for an insurance run in the fifth.
Salibi and Nye each had two hits and combined for five of the Little Hawks six RBIs. Mitchell praised Salibi’s leadership as a third basement and his work ethic, noting that Salibi is reaping the rewards of doing things the right way.
“Dom is a really good player and hitter,” Mitchell said. “He’s really capable of doing damage. I told guys next to me in that moment that he was going to clear the bases. I think that’s really exciting for him.”
Michael Day’s RBI double scored McClintock in the fourth for Prairie, who didn’t score until a seventh-inning rally.
Kamren Francois reached on an error and Maddux Mueller walked. Shraden Lechtenberg batted in Francois and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. Owen Hicks came on in relief and induced a flyout to left to end it.
Lechtenberg had two hits and walked twice, reaching base each time at the plate. Prairie made its fifth state trip in school history.
City High will make its fourth championship contest, placing second in 1959, 1992 and 1995. The Little Hawks will have to stay hot at the plate and play solid defense.
“Just keep the hitting streak going,” Salibi said. “We have Jaxton pitching tomorrow. He’s going to pitch great and we’ll make the plays for him. We’ll do fine.”
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