Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state tournament field began to take shape on Monday.

On Tuesday the final pieces of the state tournament puzzle will be put into place.

Regional finals in Class 1A, 2A and 3A produced 22 state qualifiers on Monday with the final 18 spots up for grabs on Tuesday.

Classes 1A and 2A each had one regional final pushed back to Tuesday due to rain while all eight regional finals in both 4A and 5A are set for Tuesday evening.

As fans prepare for the action to get underway around the state on Tuesday Your Prep Sports takes a quick look at the regional final matchups featuring area teams.

Class 2A, Region 8

Cardinal (17-13) at No. 14 Regina (18-12)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Regina

Top Players: Regina – Courtney Kessler Soph., .661 BA, 3 HR, 27 RBI; Annie Gahan Sr.,  .382 BA, 11 2B, 24 RBI; Emma Nibaur Jr., .337 BA, 2 HR, 14 RBI. Cardinal – Emma Becker Fr., .412 BA, 31 runs, 21 SB; Kinsey Hissem 8^th, .389 BA, 25 RBI; Caitlyn Reber 8^th, .384 BA, 23 Runs, 16 RBI.

About the Regals: A challenging regular season schedule that produced 10 losses to either 5A or ranked competition has paid dividends during the postseason as the Regals are a win away from their first trip to the state tournament since 2018.

Regina held off Pekin 5-3 in its playoff opener and rallied for an 8-7 win over third-ranked Louisa-Muscatine in the Region 8 semifinal on Monday.

The Regals have lost just three times to 2A competition this season, a pair of one-run losses to top-ranked Wilton and 6-4 loss to Durant.

Regina has relied heavily on the offensive production of senior shortstop Annie Gahan and sophomore catcher Courtney Kessler and the pitching of junior Emma Nibaur.

Nibaur is 16-7 with a 1.98 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 148 1/3 innings and is also third on the team with a .337 batting average.

Gahan is hitting .382 with three home runs and 24 RBI while Kessler leads the state in hitting at .661 and has 13 extra-base hits including three home runs and a team-high 27 RBI.

About the Comets: Cardinal has been one of the best stories of the postseason winning three consecutive games, including two over ranked opponents to move within a win of its first state tournament appearance since 2005.

With 17 wins the Comets have already posted their highest win total since 2014 and locked up a second straight winning season following five consecutive sub-.500 seasons.

The Comets defeated Mediapolis 11-1 in the opening round, knocked off No. 11 Wapello 4-3 in the quarterfinals and avenged a pair of regular season losses with a 3-0 win over No. 15 Van Buren in the semifinals.

Nicoa McClure is 11-10 with a 2.88 ERA this season but has been at her best in the postseason.

In three regional starts McClure is 3-0 with a .73 ERA allowing just 14 hits and three walks in 19 innings.

What to watch: Annie Gahan and Courtney Kessler have provided the pop in the middle of the Regina order all season combining for six home runs and 51 RBI.

Both Gahan and Kessler have been at their best in the postseason combining to go 8-of-13 with nine RBI in a pair of regional wins.

Kessler had a key home run and drove in two runs in a win over Pekin and Gahan doubled in each of her final two at bats driving in three runs in the Regals’ 8-7 upset of third-ranked Louisa-Muscatine on Monday.

If Cardinal is going to upset the Regals on Tuesday the Comets must keep Gahan and Kessler under control.

Another big game from the two leaders in the Regina lineup will likely lead the Regals to the state tournament.

Class 4A, Region 8

No. 12 Marion (26-11) at No. 8 Clear Creek Amana (28-9) 

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Oxford

Top Players: Clear Creek Amana – Gabrielle Bedford Sr., .429 BA, 6 HR, 37 RBI; Bailey Olerich Jr., .473 BA, 33 SB, 31 Runs; Avery Allan Soph., .394 BA, 3 HR, 33 RBI. Marion – Peyton Johnson Soph., .492 BA, 5 HR, 35 RBI; Peyton Steffen Jr., .382 BA, 33 Runs, 11 2B; Gracie Goad Jr., .325 BA, 3 HR, 37 RBI.

About the Clippers: Regular season rematches are common in the postseason but perhaps no team is more excited about its opportunity for regional final redemption than Clear Creek Amana.

After being swept by Marion in a season-opening doubleheader back on May 24 Clear Creek Amana gets a final opportunity against the Indians in a winner-take-all format in Oxford.

Clear Creek Amana lost four of five and three straight, albeit all to ranked teams, to end the regular season, but was impressive in an 11-1 five-inning route of red-hot Central DeWitt in the Region 8 semifinal on Monday.

Freshman Bliss tossed a three-hitter on Monday in her first career playoff start and owns a 6-2 record and 2.91 ERA in 45 2/3 innings this season.

Clear Creek Amana will look to carry its offensive momentum over from Monday. Junior outfielder Bailey Olerich leads the Clippers with a .473 batting average and has scored 31 runs while senior shortstop Gabrielle Bedford is hitting .429 with six home runs and a team-high 37 RBI.

About the Indians: Much like Clear Creek Amana, Marion has bounced back in impressive fashion after enduring a challenging stretch against tough competition to end the regular season.

Marion lost four straight and five of six during a stretch of consecutive doubleheaders against ranked WAMAC teams Mount Vernon, West Delaware and Solon but has won four in a row since including a 6-1 win over North Scott in the Region 8 semifinals on Saturday.

Marion has already had its most success season in recent history. The 26 wins are the most for the Indians in more than 15 seasons and Marion is seeking its second ever state tournament appearance and first since 1999.

The Marion offense is led by sophomore catcher Peyton Johnson and senior pitcher Morgan Kessens. Johnson is hitting .492 with five home runs and 35 RBI and Kessens is batting .462 with 12 RBI.

In the circle Kessens owns a 19-7 record with a 2.24 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 171 2/3 innings.

What to watch: This isn’t just a rematch of a regular season doubleheader it’s a meeting of two teams that are mirror images of one another from a record and statistical standpoint.

The numbers aren’t the only similarities with both the lineups for both teams setting up the same with strong leadoff hitters at the top and pop in the middle of the order.

A key for both teams will be controlling the talented leadoff hitters for the opposition.

With a .473 average, 31 runs and 33 stolen bases Olerich is the spark for the Clippers at the top with four players with multiple home runs on the season behind her.

For Marion it is Johnson who sets the table in the leadoff spot. The sophomore is 8-of-16 with two home runs, six runs and eight RBI during Marion’s current four-game winning streak.

Class 5A, Region 6

No. 14 Cedar Rapids Prairie (28-13) at No. 6 City High (32-7)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: City High

Top Players: City High – Ella Cook Sr., .454 BA, 8 HR, 58 RBI; Carey Koenig Sr., .388 BA, 8 HR, 52 RBI; Ayana Lindsey Sr., .355 BA, 52 Runs, 52 SB. CR Prairie – Alexis Barden Jr., .500 BA, 19 2B, 27 RBI; Amaya Snyder Sr., .482 BA, 7 HR, 45 RBI; Jensyn Jones, .306 BA, 8 HR, 40 RBI.

About the Little Hawks: City High returns to the regional finals for the fourth consecutive season seeking a third trip to state in the past four years after falling to Muscatine a game shy of the state tournament last season.

The Little Hawks have won four in a row and 11 of their last 12 following an 8-0 win over Marshalltown in the regional semifinals on Saturday.

Senior Ella Cook continued her stellar senior season with a 15-strikeout, one-hitter in the regional semifinal win over the Bobcats setting the single-season school record for strikeouts in the process.

Cook as been among the top all-around players in the state this season hitting .454 with eight home runs and a team-leading 58 RBI while posting a 17-3 record in the circle with a 1.32 ERA and 180 strikeouts in 121 2/3 innings.

She has had plenty of help from familiar faces namely all-state seniors Carey Koenig and Ayana Lindsey.

Lindsey is hitting .355 with four home runs, 21 RBI and 52 stolen bases while Koenig is batting .388 with eight home runs and 52 RBI.

About the Hawks: Cedar Rapids Prairie outlasted Linn-Mar 2-1 in the regional semifinals in what has been perhaps the game of the 5A postseason to date.

Jade Hynek had an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Hawks to the 2-1 regional semifinal win after the two teams split a pair of one-run games earlier this month.

The win gives Prairie an opportunity to reach the state tournament for the third time in program history and first since 2016 against another team it played tight in the regular season.

City High swept Prairie in a doubleheader back on June 22 winning the opener 2-0 in nine innings and taking the nightcap 3-1.

Prairie is led by junior Alexis Barden who is hitting .500 with three home runs and 27 RBI but has pop behind her with senior Amaya Snyder (7 HR, 45) and junior Jensyn Jones (8 HR, 40 RBI).

What to watch: The easy answer here is the pitching, with Cook and Prairie senior Megan Steffens (15-4, 1.64 ERA) seemingly set for another showdown after locking up in the 2-0 extra-inning pitches duel earlier this season.

With a pair of strong pitchers the key on Tuesday could be the long ball.

With baserunners, scoring opportunities and ultimately runs expected to be at a premium a home run could end up being the difference if someone can take advantage of a pitch that misses its location.

Both teams feature lineups with more than one player capable of going deep. Cedar Rapids Prairie has 28 home runs as a team with 10 different players contributing to that total and four players (Snyder, Jones, Barden and Riley Sauser) with three or more homes.

City High has homered 29 times this season, with eight different players hitting home runs and have four players (Lindsey, Koenig, Cook and Makayla Ribble) with four or more homers.

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