Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The Matchups

No. 6 City High (34-7) vs. No. 3 Cedar Rapids Kennedy (37-2)

After snapping a 17-year state tournament drought last season City High is making its first ever back-to-back trips to state.

The Little Hawks have won eight straight and 13 of their last 14 after a 2-0 win over No. 11 Dubuque Hempstead in the regional finals.

City High leads Class 5A with 54 home runs and is one of only two teams in 5A with two players with double digit home runs in sophomores Ayana Lindsey (18) and Carey Koenig (12).

Six different Little Hawks have at least four home runs this season and five have driven in 30 or more runs.

Five players have done both for City High this season, Lindsey (18 HR, 35 RBI), Koenig (12 HR, 48 RBI), Sydney Fellows (4 HR, 34 RBI), Ella Cook (5 HR, 38 RBI) and Keli Potter (5 HR, 38 RBI).

One of the top offensive teams in the state in City High will open with the best pitching team in the state in Cedar Rapids Kennedy.

Kennedy ranks third in the state and leads Class 5A with a .53 team ERA this season and opponents are hitting just .125 against Kennedy pitching this season.

The Cougars are making their second state tournament appearance in three years after finishing third in 2017.

Kennedy enters riding a 17-game winning streak that includes 13 shutouts. The Cougars have won five straight games via shutout and have 21 shutouts on the season.

The Cougars haven’t allowed more than two runs in a game this season and held City High to seven total hits in a pair of 2-1 wins over the Little Hawks on June 11.

No. 1 Waukee (38-3) vs. No. 9 Ottumwa (33-7)

Top-ranked Waukee returns to the state tournament for the first time since finishing runner-up in 2017 and has reached the state title game in each of its previous two trips to Fort Dodge winning the 5A title in 2015.

The Warriors are among the best offensive teams in the state and enter the state tournament leading 5A in runs per game (9.2), team batting average (.414) and on-base percentage (.474).

Six regulars in the Warrior lineup are hitting over .400 led by sophomore Heidi Wheeler (.474) and senior Delaney Taylor (.469).

Waukee has scored at least four runs in 39 of 41 games this season, putting up double digits 17 times and hasn’t been held to fewer than two runs.

Ottumwa returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2013 after a 12-9 nine-inning win over seventh-ranked Muscatine in the regional final.

The Bulldogs possess the offensive firepower to keep up with Waukee led by junior Kaylee Bix (.420, 9 HR) and senior Morgan Greiner (.404, 9 HR).

Ottumwa has scored double digit runs 18 times this season the most among 5A qualifiers.

No. 4 Indianola (33-4) vs. No. 5 Johnston (34-8)

Two of the hottest teams in Class 5A square off in a quarterfinal battle of programs familiar with state tournament success.

Johnson brings an 18-game winning streak into its seventh consecutive state tournament appearance after scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh of a 9-8 regional fin win over two-time defending state champion Pleasant Valley.

The Dragons have lost back-to-back state quarterfinals after reaching four straight title games and winning two championships from 2013-2016.

Johnston has gone 32-3 after a 2-5 start to the season and hasn’t loss since a 5-0 setback to West Des Moines Valley on June 20.

Defending 5A runner-up Indianola returns to Fort Dodge riding a 5A-best 22-game winning streak that featured its own thrilling 5-4 regional final win over No. 12 Southeast Polk in nine innings.

Led by sophomore ace Kate Kralik (30-3, 1.23 ERA) the Indians rank second in 5A with a 1.28 team ERA and have allowed more than one run just three times during their 22-game winning streak.

Indianola is second in 5A in home runs with 47 and joins City High as the only 5A qualifier with two players with double digit home runs.

Senior Brooke Tucker (.432) has a team-high 14 home runs while sophomore Destiney Lewis (.439) has 11.

No. 2 Fort Dodge (34-6) vs. No. 8 West Des Moines Valley (29-10)

The hometown Dodgers are back at the state tournament for fourth time in five seasons seeking their first quarterfinal win since 2006.

Fort Dodge brings a 10-game winning streak to the state tournament that features a pair of regular season wins over West Des Moines Valley (12-10 and 6-2) less than two weeks ago. 

Four of the six losses for Fort Dodge this season have come to top-ranked Waukee and the Dodgers have won 16 of 17 since dropping a doubleheader to the Warriors on June 24.

Fort Dodge boasts a .402 team batting average and joins Waukee as the only teams in 5A hitting over .400 this season and has struck out just 66 times in 40 games, the fewest in Class 5A.

West Des Moines Valley is making its seventh straight state tournament appearance and has reached the semifinals in four of its previous five trips to Fort Dodge.

The Tigers lost four straight to end the regular season but own wins over three teams in the Class 5A field including two against top-ranked Waukee.

Junior Alex Honnold leads 5A state qualifiers with a .504 batting average and has eight home runs among 26 extra-base hits.

The Faces

City High: Ayana Lindsey, Soph., P: Among the top all-around players in the state Lindsey is hitting a team-best .480 and leads 5A with 18 home runs while posting a 19-3 record and 1.23 ERA.
Cedar Rapids Kennedy: Kaylin Kinney, Jr., P: A Nebraska recruit, Kinney is unbeaten in the circle (20-0) and leads 5A with a .39 ERA and has a .506 batting average and 14 home runs.

Waukee: Molly Jacobson, Sr., P: The Waukee ace (19-2, 1.80 ERA) is also one of the most dangerous bats in a loaded Warrior lineup with a .453 batting average and team highs of eight home runs and 54 RBI.

Ottumwa: Morgan Greiner, Sr., 3B: A returning first-team all-state pick Greiner is hitting .404 with nine home runs and 34 RBI.   

Indianola: Brooke Tucker, Sr., P: Tucker is hitting .432 and leads Indianola with 14 home runs and 44 RBI.

Johnston: Sophie Maras, Sr., 2B: One of the top hitters in 5A Maras ranks in the top 11 in on-base percentage (.559, 7th), slugging percentage (.933, 4th) and batting average (.481, 11th).

Fort Dodge: Loghen Schnetzer, Jr., 1B: A power threat with 14 home runs and 46 RBI Schnetzer is hitting .357 and has only struck out nine times in 115 at bats.

West Des Moines Valley: Alex Honnold, Jr., SS: A career .482 hitter with more than 250 career hits Honnold is hitting .504 with eight home runs and 33 RBI this season. 

The Favorite

Waukee moved to the top of the 5A rankings one week into the season and hasn’t budged since.

The Warriors have reached the state title game in each of their previous two trips to Fort Dodge and enter as the favorites to win their second title in five seasons.

Waukee enters the state tournament riding a 13-game winning streak and is 7-2 against 5A state qualifiers this season with both losses coming to West Des Moines Valley. 

The Forecast

Waukee is a favorite to get past eighth-seeded Ottumwa but the rest of the opening round isn’t nearly as clear cut.

Defending runner-up Indianola enters with a 22-game winning streak but will have its hands full with state tournament regular Johnston in the opening round.

Fort Dodge has home field advantage but West Des Moines Valley is a state tournament staple while City High and Cedar Rapids Kennedy meet for a third time after the Cougars won a pair of 2-1 games during a regular season doubleheader.

The Focus

Does the loss for two-time defending champions Pleasant Valley in the regional finals open the door for the CIML to start a new string of titles?

Pleasant Valley stopped a 14-year string of CIML dominance in 2017 when it became the first non-CIML team to win the big school title since North Scott in 2002 by knocking of Waukee in the title game.

Last season Pleasant Valley won a second straight championship in the first big school title game without a CIML squad since 2000.

The CIML has five teams in 2019 field including the top two seeds in top-ranked Waukee and host Fort Dodge.

The Mississippi Valley Conference is guaranteed a semifinalist with City High and Cedar Rapids Kennedy meeting in a semifinal and is seeking its first title game representative since Linn-Mar in 2006.

Five Fast Facts

* – City High sophomore Ayana Lindsey is one of only two players in the state with double digit home runs (18) and more than 30 stolen bases (31).

* – The 51 walks Cedar Rapids Kennedy junior Kaylin Kinney has drawn this season is second most in the state and just 16 fewer than 5A qualifier Fort Dodge has as a team.

* – Cedar Rapids Kennedy has made just 24 errors in 39 games this season and leads 5A with a .975 fielding percentage.

* – Better than half of the 65 hits for Johnston senior Sophie Maras have gone for extra bases. Maras has 15 doubles, eight triples and 10 home runs.

* – Five teams in the 5A field enter with double digit winning streaks led by Indianola with 22 straight victories. Johnston (18), Cedar Rapids Kennedy (17), Waukee (13) and Fort Dodge (10) have all won at least 10 straight.

The Schedule

Quarterfinals, July 23

Waukee (38-3) vs. Ottumwa (33-7), 5 p.m.

Indianola (33-4) vs. Johnston (34-8), 5:30 p.m.

Fort Dodge (34-6) vs. West Des Moines Valley (29-10), 7 p.m.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy (37-2) vs. City High (34-7), 7:30 p.m.

Semifinals, July 24

Waukee/Ottumwa winner vs. Indianola/Johnston winner, 7 p.m.

Fort Dodge/West Des Moines Valley winner vs. City High/Cedar Rapids Kennedy winner, 7:30 p.m.

Championship, July 26

Semifinal winners, 8 p.m.

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