Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – In its first go around as a Class 4A program Liberty High proved it could play with the big boys in the state of Iowa.

It took one of the biggest on the block to finally take on the Lightning on Monday.

Defending 4A semifinalist West Des Moines Valley scored the final four runs to rally for a 7-5 win over Liberty High in a Substate 7 semifinal at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids.

“Valley is another team that is a state semifinal team last year that has five seniors and they have been through the battles,” Liberty High coach Tom Cronk said. “Now we are getting seasoned and we are getting through those battles and our guys are going to come through.”

West Des Moines Valley (17-18) scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to snap a 5-5 tie as the Tigers advanced to take on sixth-ranked West Des Moines Dowling (29-11) in the Substate 7 title game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Liberty High closed the season 23-18.

“I truly believe that every experience we have is going to help us get better,” Cronk said. “You can say it’s a kick in the butt and it is but we are getting better and we were in big spots and the next time we are in this big spot we are going to know how to handle it a little better because we’ve done it.”

Liberty High had to rally twice to earn an 8-7 win over Cedar Rapids Washington in its first 4A postseason game on Monday.

The Lightning came up one hit shy of another late-inning comeback against the Tigers.

Trailing 7-5 in the seventh Liberty High loaded the bases on one-out singles by Nolan Frey and a walk to Alec Boldt.

Valley senior reliever Cooper Johnson struck out Sam Funke looking and got Isaac Bender swinging to secure the win.

“Anytime you have the tying run on base you have a chance and that’s what we did,” Cronk said. “There are a lot of teams that strikeout to start the seventh and they just fold and we don’t do that. They just keep battling and fighting all the way through.”

Liberty High scored two runs in the first inning and two more in the second to take a 4-3 lead. Funke had an RBI single in the two-run first.

Jack Kinzer doubled in the second and scored on a Tyler Dahm RBI triple and Frey had an RBI single in the two-run second that chased Valley starter Alex Ling.

“We had guys on base and we knew they had good arms,” Cronk said. “Our guys competed and had good looks we were just one hit short.”

Liberty got an unearned run in the third off Tiger sophomore reliever Oliver Parizek but that’s all the Lightning could muster in the final five innings against the Valley bullpen.

Parizek allowed just one hit and struck out four in four strong innings of relief before Johnston struck out the side in the seventh to pick up the save.

Meanwhile the Tigers pulled even with single runs in the fifth and sixth before the game-winning two-run seventh.

Gabriel Miller and Ben DeTaeye each had RBI infield singles in the seventh inning that gave Valley a 7-5 lead.

“We are going to learn from this and get better,” Cronk said. “Next year when my guys are senior and we get it then we will get it done and I’m confident that we will have a shot to get to Des Moines next year.”

West Des Moines Valley       120  011  2  –  7  12  3

Liberty High                          221  000  0  –  5  10   0

W – Oliver Parizek                 L – Ethan O’Donnell              SV – Cooper Johnson

2B – ICL: Jack Kinzer. WDV: Kyle Westhoff, Caleb Corbin

3B – ICL: Tyler Dahm

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