Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

SIOUX CITY – The baseball season will come to a close on Friday with state championship games in all four classes.

Championship Friday opens with a doubleheader in Sioux City where state champions will be crowned in Class 3A and 4A and closes with Class 1A and 2A title games in Carroll.

City High will face Bettendorf in the 4A title game on Saturday with both teams seeking the first state titles in program history.

Fourth-ranked City High reached the state title game for the first time since 1995 with a 6-3 win over Cedar Rapids Prairie in the 4A semifinals on Thursday while eighth-seeded Bettendorf advanced with a 5-3 semifinal win over Waukee Northwest.

Before first pitches are thrown on Friday Your Prep Sports takes a look at what to expect in the 4A championship contest.

Class 4A State Championship

No. 4 City High (32-9) vs. Bettendorf (29-12)  

When: Friday, 2:30 p.m.

Where: Lewis & Clark Park in Sioux City

Statistical leaders: City High – Drake Obermueller, Sr., INF, .400 BA, 38 R, 21 EBH, 24 RBI; Paxton Bell, Jr., OF, .320 BA, 21 R, 5 HR, 21 RBI; Dom Salibi, Sr., INF, .303 BA, 32 R, 4 HR, 33 RBI.

Bettendorf – Wrigley Matthys, Sr., OF, .511 BA, 65 R, 20 EBH, 39 RBI; Landon Potts, Sr., C, .385 BA, 25 R, 30 RBI; LayDen Banks, Jr., INF, .373 BA, 28 R, 10 EBH, 28 RBI.

About the Little Hawks: City High returned to the state title game for the first time since 1995 by avenging a pair of regular season losses to Cedar Rapids Prairie with a 6-3 semifinal win over the Hawks on Thursday.

City High is making its fourth ever title game appearance after finishing runner-up in 1959, 1992 and 1995.

The Little Hawks have been close to state title games in the past, losing in the 4A semifinals in 1997, 2003, 2022 and 2024.

City High brings a six-game winning streak into the title game, allowing a total of nine runs during that stretch.

The Little Hawks have gotten their offense going at the state tournament this week, posting seven hits in each of its two wins in Sioux City.

City High has gotten solid starts from seniors Jaxton Schroeder and Drake Obermueller in its two state-tournament wins but has relied heavily on its bullpen in victories over Waukee and Cedar Rapids Prairie.

Seniors Nick Meredith and Owen Hicks and junior Adam Bowman have combined to allow four this and one run in 7 2/3 innings of relief.

About the Bulldogs: Perhaps the best postseason story in the state this season, eighth-seeded Bettendorf has continued its Cinderella postseason run this week in Sioux City.

Bettendorf scored twice in the seventh inning of a 4-3 substate final win over Dubuque Hempstead to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2002.

The Bulldogs have been impressive in Sioux City this week downing top-seeded Sioux City East 2-1 and advancing to the state title game for the second time in program history with a 5-3 win over fourth-ranked Waukee Northwest.

Bettendorf is chasing its first ever state title in its first championship game appearance since 1998.

Who to watch: Little Hawks – Senior leftfielder Drew Nye has been red-hot this week in Sioux City while helping to bolster a City High offense that has hit its stride at the right time. Nye is 3-for-6 with a home run and four RBI in a pair of state tournament wins this week. On the season Nye is batting .268 with 16 runs scored and 20 RBI.

Bulldogs – Senior centerfielder Wrigley Matthys is among the most dynamic and all-around best players in the state. Matthys leads Class 4A with 65 runs scored and 54 stolen bases and leads the Bulldogs in batting average (.511), hits (70), extra-base hits (20), RBI (39), walks (29), on-base percentage (.599), slugging percentage (.766) and OPS (1.365).

What to watch: Can City High keep Matthys off base.

Matthys has been kept partly in check at the state tournament, posting just one hit and scoring one run in two wins.

However, Matthys has still been on base constantly.

The senior leadoff hitter has drawn six walks in two games at state, including four against Waukee Northwest on Thursday.

Bettendorf left 12 runners on base in its 5-3 semifinal win over the Wolves.

If Matthys continues to find his way on base the 4A leader in stolen bases and runs scored is eventually going to start crossing home plate.

In what figures to be a tight game keep Matthys off base is a big key in keeping Bettendorf off the scoreboard.

The breakdown: Who will make history on Friday?

One of these two teams will make the long drive back to Eastern Iowa with the first state baseball title in program history.

City High is seeking to become the first Iowa City school to win a baseball title in its fourth appearance in the 4A title game.

Meanwhile Bettendorf is appearing in the championship game for the second time.

Playing for the third time in four days pitching depth will be tested for both teams on Friday.

City High has used four pitchers in its two state tournament wins while Bettendorf has used three thanks to a complete game from quarterfinal starter Jackson Hatler.

City High senior Jaxton Schroeder (4-3, 1.98 ERA) is available after throwing just 59 pitches in a quarterfinal start against Waukee and the Little Hawks still have depth behind him with eight players on its roster with an ERA under 2.40 and at least 15 innings pitched.

Bettendorf has allowed a total of four runs in two state tournament wins and hasn’t allowed more than four runs in a game in a four-game postseason winning streak.

An early lead would be big for both sides in a pressure-packed title game environment.

City High has allowed runs in the top of the first inning in both games at state this week falling behind 3-0 in a quarterfinal win over Waukee and 1-0 in its semifinal win over Cedar Rapids Prairie.

A strong start or early lead would be a big boost for the Little Hawks on Friday.

Did you enjoy this subscription free article? Help keep Your Prep Sports free by donating