Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state tournament field is nearly set.

24 teams in three classes earned trips to Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge with regional final wins on Monday.

The final 16 spots are up for grabs on Tuesday with regional finals in Classes 4A and 5A.

City High and Liberty High are among the teams seeking state tournament spots on Tuesday.

Liberty High will face Independence in its first ever regional final showing while City High is seeking the first back-to-back state tournament appearances in program history.

Here is a quick breakdown of both of the regional finals featuring area teams on Tuesday.

Class 4A, Region 5 Final

Liberty High (21-21) at No. 5 Independence (29-11)

When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Where: Independence  

Top Players: Liberty High – Brylee Klosterman, Jr., OF .482 BA, 19 2B, 35 RBI; Tiffany Jones, Soph., C, .336 BA, 30 RBI; Kara Maiers, Soph., P, 13-6, 2.37 ERA, 128 K. Independence – Mackenzie Hupke, Sr., P, 19-6, .51 ERA, 262 K; Allie Jo Zieser, Jr., 1B, .409 BA, 35 R, 28 RBI; Mary Puffett, Jr., 3B, .333 BA, 23 R, 20 RBI

About the Lightning: Liberty High is making its first regional final appearance in just its second season of varsity action.

After falling to Cedar Rapids Xavier 1-0 in the regional semifinals last season the Lightning reached the first regional title game in program history with an 11-0 win over the Saints on Saturday.

Liberty High lost four of its final five games during the regular season but has rebounded with a pair of regional road wins over Washington and Xavier by a combined score of 14-1.

A .307 hitting team during the regular season Liberty High has been red hot during regional play, hitting .411 as a team.

Junior Brylee Klosterman leads the way for Liberty High with a .482 average, 19 doubles and 35 RBI while sophomore catcher Tiffany Jones is hitting .336 with 30 RBI.

About the Mustangs: After snapping a 12-year state tournament drought last season Independence is seeking a second consecutive trip to the 4A state tournament.

The Mustangs opened the season 3-5 but have gone 26-6 since with all six losses coming to ranked teams.

Independence has won eight of its last nine, the lone loss a 3-1 setback to Class 5A seventh-ranked Muscatine in the regular season finale.

Senior pitcher Mackenzie Hupke tossed a three-hit shutout with six strikeouts in a 1-0 regional semifinal win over Marion and boasts a 19-6 record with a .51 ERA and has struck out 262 in 180 innings this season.

Hupke is also the top hitter for the Mustangs with a .400 average, four home runs and 27 RBI.

What to Watch: One of the top pitchers in the state Hupke has been at her best over the past several weeks.

The Drake recruit has allowed just four runs in her last eight appearances, posting a 5-1 record and .34 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings in the span.

Runs will be hard to come by against Hupke but Liberty High has shown the ability to put up runs in a hurry as evidence by its eight-run first inning on Saturday against Xavier.

The Lightning have outscored opponents 9-0 in the first inning in two regional wins and are 14-2 this season when they score in the first inning.

Class 5A, Region 5 Final

No. 11 Dubuque Hempstead (32-7) at No. 6 City High (33-7)

When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Where: City High

Top Players: City High – Ayana Lindsey, Soph., P, 18-3, 1.29 ERA .480 BA, 17 HR; Carey Koenig, Soph., C, .463 BA, 12 HR, 48 RBI; Sydney Fellows, .395 BA, 4 HR, 34 RBI. Dubuque Hempstead – Malarie Huseman, Jr., P, 20-5, 1.10 ERA, 188 K; Katie Schaul, Sr., 3B, .469 BA, 16 2B, 46 RBI; Kayla LaPage, Sr., C, .477 BA, 8 2B, 36 RBI.

About the Little Hawks: City High snapped a long state tournament drought last season with its first trip to state since 2001 and will now attempt to make history with its first ever back-to-back trips to state.

In order to return to the state tournament City High will need to get past one of the hottest teams in Class 5A in Dubuque Hempstead.

City High is hot in its own right, winning 12 of its last 13 games after surviving an upset bid by Davenport West in the regional semifinals.

The Little Hawks rank among the most potent offensive teams in the state.

City High is hitting .349 as a team and has hit a Class 5A-leading 52 home runs this season with seven different little Hawks slugging multiple home runs.

Sophomore Ayana Lindsey leads 5A with 17 home runs while classmate Carey Koenig has 12 home runs and leads the Little Hawks with 48 RBI.

Lindsey boasts an 18-3 record and 1.29 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings after falling 11 in a 5-4 eight-inning win over Davenport West in the regional semifinals.

About the Mustangs: Dubuque Hempstead made its first state tournament appearance in program history last season and is once against playing its best softball at the right time.

The Mustangs have won 15 of 16 and seven in a row entering Tuesday’s regional final and are averaging 8.5 runs per game during that stretch.

Since a 2-3 start to the season the Mustangs have gone 30-4 with three of those losses coming to top-five teams.

The Mustangs are among the top hitting teams in Class 5A, ranking fourth in 5A with a .374 batting average.

Four different Hempstead players are hitting .414 or better led by senior Kayla LaPage who is hitting a team-high .477 with 36 RBI.

Katie Schaul is a .469 hitter with three home runs and 46 RBI while eighth-grader Jadyn Glad is hitting .414 with three home runs and 34 RBI.

Junior Malarie Huseman is the top pitcher for the Mustangs with a 1.10 ERA and a 20-5 record with 188 strikeouts in 146 2/3 innings.

What to Watch: One of the premier regional finals in all Classes this one has all the makings of a classic.

The two teams played a pair of one-run games back in May with City High winning 2-1 in nine innings and 5-4.

In both regular season games City High scored a run in the top of the final inning to earn the win.

Expect a similar outcome this time around between two teams with strong and deep lineups and top not starting pitchers.

City High has home field advantage in the regional final for the second year in a row and is expecting a big crowd at its home field where the Little Hawks are 14-1 this season.

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