Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The state tournament fields are set in Class 1A and 2A.

By the end of the night on Tuesday all 40 of the teams headed to Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge next week will be solidified.

Regional finals will take place in the three largest classes across the state on Tuesday with a trio of Your Prep Sports area teams chasing a spot at the state softball tournament next week.

Before first pitches start flying on Tuesday here is a quick breakdown of the three games featuring area teams.

Class 4A, Region 7

Burlington (19-13) at No. 7 Clear Creek Amana (29-9)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Oxford

Top players: Clear Creek Amana – Bailey Olerich, .448 BA, 46 Runs, 14 RBI; Ashley Webb, Jr., 13-4, 1.45 ERA, 137 K, 120 1/3 IP. Burlington – Morgan Schroeder, Sr., .434 BA, 2 HR, 33 RBI; Saydee Plummer, Soph., 10-7, 1.85 ERA, 119 K, 117 1/3 IP

About the Clippers: Clear Creek Amana snapped a six-year state tournament drought with a memorable come-from-behind win over Marion in the regional title game last season.

The Clippers are seeking back-to-back state tournament appearances for the first time since making its fourth consecutive trip in 2012.

Clear Creek Amana lost six of its final 10 regular season games with four of those losses coming by one run and all but one coming to ranked opponents.

The Clippers rebounded by advancing to the regional final with a 3-1 win over Marion on Saturday.

About the Grayhounds: Burlington returns to the regional title game seeking its first trip to the state tournament since 2011.

The Grayhounds allowed 23 runs while losing all four regular season meetings with Fort Madison before downing the Bloodhounds 4-0 in the regional semifinals on Saturday.

Burlington has a couple of wins that stand out with victories over 5A No. 9 Bettendorf and 3A second-ranked Davenport Assumption splitting doubleheaders with both teams.

The Grayhounds have an ace in sophomore Saydee Plummer who has a 1.85 ERA and has struck out 119 in 117 1/3 innings this season while posting a 10-7 record.

Eighth-grader Aubrey Hesler has been a solid second option with a 1.45 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 82 innings.

What to watch: Runs could be at a premium in this one with a pair of stellar starting pitchers.

Pitching rules in the postseason and no team in Class 4A has been better at shutting down opposing offenses than Clear Creek Amana.

The Clippers lead Class 4A with a 1.13 team ERA led by junior ace Ashley Webb.

Webb owns a 13-4 record and 1.45 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 120 1/3 innings while sophomore Bliss Beck has been stellar in the number two role.

Beck is 15-4 with a .52 ERA striking out 136 in just 93 2/3 innings.

Burlington has also been solid in the circle this season meaning any run should be valuable on Tuesday evening meaning extra bases could end up being the difference in what should be a high-leverage contest.

Class 5A, Region 4

City High (19-20) at No. 6 West Des Moines Valley (25-13)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: West Des Moines Valley

Top players: City High – Lianna Hull, Fr., .536 BA, 56 Runs, 31 SB; Avy Lindsey, Fr., .409 BA, 3 HR, 43 RBI. West Des Moines Valley – Gianna Lara, Sr., .509 BA, 14 HR, 52 RBI; Claire Long, Soph., .380 BA, 3 HR, 33 RBI.

About the Little Hawks: City High pulled off the upset of the 5A playoffs to date knocking off ninth-ranked Bettendorf 4-3 in the region 4 semifinals on Saturday.

Now the Little Hawks will go for an even bigger road upset when it travels to sixth-ranked West Des Moines Valley.

City High is no stranger to postseason success over the past several seasons.

The Little Hawks are appearing in their fifth consecutive regional final and have reached the state tournament three of the past four seasons.

Senior Kylie Cronk (11-7, 4.35 ERA) is coming off the best game of her career against Bettendorf when she allowed just six hits and struck out seven in a complete game in the semifinal upset.

About the Tigers: One of the top programs in the state over the past decade West Des Moines Valley had a string of eight consecutive state tournament appearances stopped last season with a 2-1 loss to Waukee in the regional title game.

This season the Tigers returned to the regional final with a 12-2 win over Urbandale and are seeking to start a new state tournament streak after winning a state title and reaching the semifinals five times over the past eight seasons.

West Des Moines Valley has five regulars in its lineup hitting over .330 on the season led by senior standout Gianna Lara who is hitting .509 and ranks second in 5A with 14 home runs.
What to watch: Two teams that love to hit the long ball whoever succeeds in keeping the other team in the park could have the advantage.

Paced by the power hitting of Lara, West Des Moines Valley leads Class 5A in homers this season.

The dinger total of City High is down from past seasons but the Little Hawks still have 22 homers as a team and have good for 12^th most in 5A and have eight different players with a home runs this season showing any batter in the lineup can change the game for City High.

Molly Carlson leads City High with five home runs while Makayla Ribble has four and Sydney McCleary, Elyse Rios and Avy Lindsey all have three home runs.

Class 5A, Region 8

No. 14 Liberty High (28-13) at No. 3 Muscatine (34-4)

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: Kent Stein Park in Muscatine

Top players: Liberty High – Kinsley Robertson, Sr., 15-6, 1.87 ERA, 166 K, 131 IP; Mischa Reiners, Soph., .420 BA, 5 HR, 30 RBI.

Muscatine – Ysabel Lerma, Soph., .395 BA, 6 HR, 36 RBI; Maura Chalupa, Jr., 19-2, 1.16 ERA, 176 K, 121 IP.

About the Lightning: Liberty High is making its third regional final appearance in the past four seasons still seeking the first trip to the state tournament in program history.

The Lightning have been oh so close in their previous two regional final appearances falling to Independence 4-2 in 2019 and at Cedar Rapids Kennedy in 2020.

Liberty High will once again be on the road for its regional final but has shown the ability to compete against the best this season.

The Lightning have six wins over ranked opponents this season and are coming off a 12-2 win over Davenport West in the regional semifinals.

Liberty High has gotten a stellar season from senior pitcher Kinsley Robertson who is 15-6 with a 1.87 ERA and backs her up with one of the best offensive lineups in Class 5A.

About the Muskies: A state qualifier in 2020 Muscatine is seeking a second trip to Fort Dodge in the past three seasons after falling in the regional title game last season.

The Muskies have been among the most impressive teams in Class 5A this season outscoring opponents by 177 runs, the fifth highest differential in 5A.

All four losses for the Muskies have come to top-10 ranked opponents including a trio of losses to top-three teams in Williamsburg, Davenport Assumption and Fort Dodge.

Muscatine defeated Davenport North 9-0 in the regional semifinal and has eight wins over ranked opponents in its last 16 games dating back to June 18.
What to watch: This is a matchup of strength on strength between one of the best teams in the state at limiting runs in Muscatine and one of the top hitting teams in Liberty High.

Led by junior ace Maura Chalupa Muscatine has one of the toughest teams to score against in Class 5A this season.

The Muskies rank third in 5A in both team ERA (1.78) and earned runs allowed (60) and have limited opponents to a .198 batting average.

Chalupa is 19-2 with a 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 121 innings this season and opponents are hitting just 1.38 against her.

Meanwhile Liberty High has emerged as one of the top offensive teams around ranking eighth in 5A with a .343 team batting average.

Seven Liberty High players are hitting over .310 led by senior Kinsley Robertson who si batting a team-high .456.

Sophomore Mischa Reiners is hitting .420 with 22 extra-base hits including five home runs and junior Haileigh Smith is hitting .350 with nine home runs and 52 RBI.

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