Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The field is complete.

With the release of the Summer Sports Region the Your Prep Sports Best Moment Bracket is complete revealed giving readers a look at 64 of the best moments in Your Prep Sports history.

The 64 top moments since Your Prep Sports began covering prep sports in 2016 are divided into four regions by sports season with each of those regions unveiled to readers this week.

Starting this weekend readers can nominate a favorite memory from each region to go into the voting for the best memory in Your Prep Sports history.

Here is a look at some of the top moments in summer sports.

City High Reaches State Softball For First Time Since 2001 (July 10, 2018)

For most members of the City High softball team reaching the state tournament was simply a dream.

The Little Hawks saw that dream come true with a 4-2 win over Linn-Mar in a Class 5A regional final.

Sydney Fellows hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Ella Cook added a two-run double in the sixth as City High reached the state tournament for the first time since 2001.

City High won a combined 28 games over three seasons from 2014 to 2016 and had gone four years without a winning season before posting a 25-19 mark in its return to the state tournament.

“If someone had told me in eighth grade that you’re going to state right now, I wouldn’t have believed them,” City High junior Brianna Bentler said. “But being in this moment right now is just amazing and I couldn’t be any more happier about it.”

Regina Wins State Softball Title in 16-inning Thriller (July 21, 2017)

The longest game at the state softball tournament eventually came with a happy ending for Regina.

Regina scored four runs in the bottom of the 16th inning to rally past ninth-ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 5-4 to win the Class 2A state title in a game that tied for the longest in state tournament history.

Emma Corkery scored the game-winning run on a Katie Bracken ground ball to cap the four-run rally in the 16th inning that gave Regina its second championship in its third straight trip to the 2A title game.

Senior Sarah Lehman set a state tournament single game record with 22 strikeouts in the win allowing two earned runs on 12 hits and seven walks in her final prep game.

“It was so up and down so crazy, I’ve never been through anything like that,” Lehman said. “It’s just one to remember.”

Walk-off Winner Sends West Branch to State Baseball Tournament (July 23, 2019)

One of the best turnaround stories in the state was capped by the most memorable comeback in West Branch history.

Down to its final out, four straight West Branch batters reached base in the bottom of the ninth inning with Trey Eagle’s two-run single to left field the walk-off winner in a 3-2 nine-inning substate final victory over Camanche that sent the Bears to the state tournament for the first time since 2012.

The win was the 20th of the season for West Branch and was the exclamation point on an incredible turnaround for a program that hadn’t won more than 12 games or posted a winning season since 2012.

“You just don’t stop fighting, you just don’t quit, you fight through adversity,” West Branch head coach Andy Lapel told his team heading into the ninth inning. “These guys are so mentally tough, you just knew that they weren’t out of it. You just knew it. It means so much to me. For those four seniors that have given everything for this program, I didn’t want to be done and they didn’t want to be done.”

Solon Reaches State Baseball Tournament (July 18, 2018)

Solon had to wait 366 days for a shot at redemption and the state tournament after falling to Marion 4-3 in nine innings on its home field in a substate final in 2017.

The Spartans made the most of their opportunity when it came.

Cam Miller struck out 10 in 6 1/3 one-hit innings as Solon returned to the state tournament for the second time in three seasons with a 4-0 win over Fairfield in a 3A substate final.

Spencer Wegman gave Solon a 2-0 lead with a two-run triple in the fourth inning and added two more runs in the sixth, the second coming on an RBI single by senior Luke Ira.

“We were still talking about it today,” star senior Luke Ira said of the loss to Marion. “Right before the game we were still talking about it. I don’t think we ever get over it. We use it as redemption.”

West High’s Nick Gallagher Drafted (June 14, 2017)

Nick Gallagher almost ended his baseball career following his senior season at West High.

At the last minute Gallagher accepted a walk-on opportunity from Iowa coach Rick Heller.

Three years later Gallagher became the first West High graduate to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft when he was picked by the Cleveland Indians with the 492nd pick.

“I guess it just shows if you have dreams and aspirations to do something don’t give up on that just because maybe at that time you aren’t the best player on your team,” Gallagher said. “People develop at different stages of their life and I was just really fortunate to have such great people helping me get to where I am today.”

In a span of four years Gallagher went from being the fourth starter at West High as a high school junior to an All-Big Ten pitcher and 16th round draft pick.

Gallagher went 8-2 with a 3.48 ERA during his junior season at Iowa tossing a team-high 95 2/3 innings as the Hawkeyes’ Friday night starter.

“It’s all on Nick how much better he has got physically, mentally and everything,” West High coach Charlie Stumpff said. “He just took it to another level and it’s awesome that he got drafted. Nick is blazing a whole new world for us that is really exciting.”

Liberty High Over CR Xavier Softball (July 13, 2019)

Liberty High coach Jeff Kelley figured it would take four runs, maybe five for his team to get a breakthrough win at No. 11 Cedar Rapids Xavier.

The Lightning doubled Kelley’s number before giving the Saints a chance to bat.

Liberty High exploded for eight first-inning runs, all with two outs, in a stunning 11-0 five-inning win over Xavier in a Class 4A regional semifinal.

Brylee Klosterman capped the eight-run first inning with a three-run home run and Kara Maiers tossed a three-hit shutout as Liberty High advance to the first regional final in program history.

Seven straight Liberty High hitters reached base with two outs in the first inning as Mallory Jones had a two-run double and Ella McLaughlin and Tiffany Jones each had RBI singles.

“I was keeping my fingers crossed that we could put four or five on the board,” Kelley said. “You get to the postseason and it’s hard to score. I was trying to think positive and if we could get four or five and shut down the top of their order I was figuring it would be a 4-3 or maybe a 5-4 type ball game.”

West High Wins Rain-delayed State Tournament Opener (July 27, 2017)

A long wait couldn’t stop West High from getting off to a quick start in its state tournament opener.

West High scored five runs in the first inning and rolled to a 12-2 six-inning win over Cedar Rapids Washington in a Class 4A state quarterfinal that had first pitch pushed back nearly six hours to 10:40 p.m.

Braden Houston had a three-run double in the first inning and pitched five shutout innings striking out eight as West High advanced to the 4A semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.

Logan Sims ended the game via the 10-run rule with a two-run triple at 12:43 Thursday morning making it the latest ending game in state tournament history. The previous record for the latest finish for a state tournament game was 12:34 in 2005.

“This is way past my bed time, coach (Tom) Cronk fed me a little coffee while we were waiting and it will be easy for me to sleep on the bus no matter what these guys are doing,” West High coach Charlie Stumpff said. “It’s a late night but if you are going to be here this late it makes for a good bus ride back.

Walker, Gahan Toss Consecutive No-hitters (July 2, 2018)

Throwing a no-hitter is often a once in a career type of moment for a pitcher.

That wasn’t the case for area pitchers Lucas Walker and Mitch Gahan who accomplished the normally rare achievement in consecutive starts.

Walker and Gahan each completed a second consecutive no-hit performance in a span of a week on the same day in 2018.

Gahan struck out 10 in a complete game no-hitter against Durant and followed it up with a nine-strikeout, five-inning no-hitter against Northeast a week later.

Walker, tossed seven no-hit innings in a 5-0 win over Benton Community and followed it up by fanning nine and walking one in a six-inning no-hitter against Maquoketa.

City High Stuns Cedar Rapids Kennedy at State Softball (July 23, 2019)

A year after ending a 17-year state tournament drought City High returned to the state tournament wanting more.

City High got more, much more in its second consecutive trip to the Class 5A state tournament.

The Little Hawks broke a scoreless tie with a seven-run fourth inning that featured hits from five different players and rolled to a 10-2 win over a third-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy team that hadn’t allowed more than two runs in a game all season.

City High had 11 hits from seven different players in its first winners bracket victory at the state tournament since 1982 and avenged a pair of 2-1 regular season losses to the Cougars.

The Class 5A leader in home runs on the season, City High didn’t hit a home run in the win but ripped 11 hits and had at least two hits in three of the final four innings.

“If you would have told me we were going to score 10 runs on Kennedy I would have said we must have hit two or three bombs,” City High coach Jeff Koenig said. “We squared some balls up and put some hits together but normally we would much rather put something out of the park.”

West High Wins Rain Delayed State Opener – Part 2 (July 31, 2019)

For the second time in three seasons West High had to wait out a lengthy rain delay before playing its opener at the Class 4A state baseball tournament.

Once again, West High made the wait worth it with a 6-3 win over Pleasant Valley that began after 10 p.m. and wrapped up well after midnight.

West High won a 2017 quarterfinal over Cedar Rapids Washington in just the second game in state tournament history to finish after midnight.

This time around second-ranked West High used a strong outing from Marcus Morgan to down Pleasant Valley in a two hour and 25-minute game that concluded at 12:34 a.m.

Morgan struck out 11 in 5 2/3 innings and Jason Strunk drove in three runs as West High advance to the state semifinals for the fifth time in six seasons.

“I need to get some sleep before these games,” Strunk said. “It was really similar to a few years ago and so I knew I had to be a leader for these guys and help get us through it.”

Marth’s Hit Sends Regina to Fourth Straight State Title Game (July 18, 2018)

A year after winning the state championship game in a 16-inning marathon the Regals only needed half as many innings to return to the Class 2A title game.

Lauren Marth snapped a scoreless tie with a two-out single to center field in the eighth inning as Regina reached the state title game for the fourth consecutive season with a 1-0 win over fourth-ranked Des Moines Christian.

Katie Bracken struck out 12 in a complete game four-hitter and Marth provided all the offense she would need with the first state tournament hit of her career in the eighth inning.

“I just wanted to make contact and get it through a gap somewhere,” Marth said. “It felt really good to finally make contact because I wasn’t do very well at the beginning of the game so it felt really good to finally get it through.”

Stumpff Gets Career Win 700 (May 30, 2017)

Charlie Stumpff has a career resume that can stack up with nearly any coach in state history.

The long-time West High head coach added another accomplishment to an already long list of career achievements when he became the 28th coach in state history to record his 700th win with a 9-4 victory over Cedar Falls in the second game of a double header.

Win number 700 for Stumpff came in his 24th season at West High and made him one of just six active coaches with 700 career victories.

Kies Comes up Big as Regina Reaches 2A Championship Game (July 26, 2018)

Jayden Kies helping Regina reach the Class 2A state title game came as no surprise to the Regal senior.

It was how Kies helped Regina make its first championship game appearances since 1994 that was surprising.

An outfielder with two varsity innings pitched before the season, Kies struck out a career-high 10 in a five-hit complete game as Regina held off Van Meter 4-3 in a Class 2A state semifinal.

Kies improved his season record to 6-0 allowing just one earned run on five hits in the semifinal win as Ryne Schooley had an RBI single in a three-run Regina second inning that gave the Regals a lead they would never give up.

“Heck yes it’s been a surprise,” Kies said when asked about his pitching performance this season. “Hitting I’ve always been able to piece something together, I feel like I’m hitting better this year than I ever have but pitching I didn’t see that coming. It’s been a surprise.”

West Branch softball upsets Regina (July 10, 2019)

Mackenzie Heise couldn’t have picked a better time for the biggest hit of her prep career.

Heise launched a three-run home run in the sixth inning to lift West Branch to a 3-1 upset of seventh-ranked and defending state runner-up Regina in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal at Regina.

The win for West Branch snapped a string of four consecutive state title game appearances for Regina which hadn’t lost a regional contest since July 11 of 2014.

West Branch trailed 1-0 after five innings but Lexie Peak led off the sixth with a single and Nicki Henson followed with a bunt single to set the state for Heise who hammered her team leading seventh home run of the season to the opposite field.

That was enough for Kaiya Luneckas who allowed just one unearned run on three hits while striking out five in the complete game win.

“It’s unbelievable,” Heise said. “We haven’t won against Regina forever and this is just the icing on the cake.”

McSweeney Collects Win 500 (May 31, 2019)

At first glance the 10-0 five-inning win over Solon over Mid-Prairie seemed like a run of the mill early-season non-conference victory.

For long-time Solon coach Keith McSweeney it was history.

McSweeney picked up career win number 500 with the 10-0 victory, becoming the 72nd coach in Iowa baseball history to join the 500-win club.

McSweeney became one of 18 active coaches with 500 wins and improved his career record to 500-258 at the time of the victory.

West High Baseball Rallies Past City High (July 11, 2019)

Cross-town rivals City High and West High have met a lot of times on the baseball diamond over the years.

Few of those meetings can stack up with the Trojans’ 11-10 eight-inning come-from-behind win over City High in the first of two meetings between the two rivals in 2019.

City High scored five first-inning runs off West High ace Marcus Morgan and led 8-0 after five innings but West High battled back, forcing extra innings with a three-run home run by Owen McAreavy that capped a seven-run Trojan seventh inning.

The Little Hawks again answered, this time with a pair of runs in the top of the eighth on a Liam McComas double but West High scored three runs in the bottom of the inning securing the win on a walk-off single down the left field line by McAreavy.

“It feels really, really good,” McAreavy said. “Down big early we were just trying to get back in the game. We had a really rough start and we were just trying to work hard to get back to a close game and we were able to pull it off.”

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