Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

It’s state baseball week in Iowa.

Technically, the state baseball tournament opened last week with quarterfinals in Class 1A played last Friday and Saturday.

This week everyone gets into the act at Principal Park in Des Moines with 2A, 3A and 4A quarterfinals on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before semifinals on Thursday and Friday.

Four state champions will be crowned on Saturday with title games in all four classes.

With six straight four-day games ahead here are a few things to watch at the Des Moines home of the Iowa Cubs.

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Three of the four state champions from a year ago are back to defend their titles this week.

Remsen St. Mary’s (28-7) has already taken a step toward defending it’s 1A crown with a 5-1 quarterfinal win over top-ranked North Linn.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (4A) and Harlan (3A) also return to Principal Park seeking back-to-back titles.

Harlan (34-2) downed Carlisle 12-4 in the 2016 title game and enters ranked second in 3A.

Cedar Rapids Prairie (29-12) is after a second straight title after defeating West High 12-3 in the 4A title game last season.

Class 2A is the only class guaranteed to crown a new champ with defending champion Clear Lake failing to qualify.

Red-hot Regals

Regina comes into the state tournament without a high ranking, flashy record or standout statistics.

Don’t let any of that fool you the Regals believe they are a title contender and they’ve got the resume to back it up.

Regina (27-7) enters ranked ninth in 2A but has played a schedule dotted with top-notch competition from larger classes and riding a 2A tournament-best eight-game winning streak.

Of the seven losses for Regina, four have come to 3A or 4A opponents that played in a substate final.

Regina posted a 14-2 record against 2A competition with both losses coming to third-ranked Wilton, losses the Regals avenged with an 11-7 substate win.

The Regals face the highest ranked team in the 2A field, second-ranked Treynor (32-4) in the quarterfinals on Monday.

Sixth Time’s the Charm

The recent state tournament history for West High is a mix of good and bad.

West High has had plenty of state-tournament success over the last decade.

The Trojans have more title game appearances than any other 4A team in the past 10 seasons, playing in the championship game five times in the past eight seasons.

That’s the good. The bad is that West High is 0-5 in those games that includes a string of three consecutive runner-up finishes.

Third-ranked West High (31-8) hopes to end that title game disappointment this season.

The Trojans have pushed it into postseason mode over the last several weeks, winning eight of their last nine games entering Wednesday’s 4A quarterfinal with Cedar Rapids Washington (24-15).

Packing a Punch

Part of what makes West High one of the favorites in a crowded 4A field is its wealth of tournament experience.

A lineup that is unmatched by any team in 4A is another part of what makes the Trojans an unenviable opponent for state tournament foes. A big, big part.

West High enters state tournament play hitting .348 as a team, top in Class 4A.

The Trojan batting order has a little bit of everything, power, speed and average and they have it up and down the lineup.

West High has 10 players that come to Des Moines hitting .300 or better, five Trojans have hit multiple home runs and six have double digit stolen bases.

The Trojans lead 4A with 7.9 runs per game and have gone about it just about any way they like.

West High has hit a 4A-leading 30 home runs, 10 more than any other team, and ranks second in 4A with 141 stolen bases.

Seniors Izaya Ono-Fullard (.425 BA, 10 HR, 58 RBI) and Connor McCaffery (.397 BA, 6 HR, 48 RBI) lead the Trojans power surge while classmates Nate Disterhoft (.406 BA, 34 runs, 25 SB) and Logan Sims (.343 BA, 38 runs, 22 SB) lead in stolen bases.

CIML vs. MVC

For the eighth straight season the 4A champ will come from the Central Iowa Metro League or the Mississippi Valley Conference.

That much is known with each conference qualifying four teams to make up the 4A field.

What will be determined this week is which conference gets bragging rights for 2017.

The balance of power in the state’s biggest class has had a heavy central Iowa slant for the past two decades.

The CIML has won 17 of the last 20 4A crowns and seven of the last 10.

Cedar Rapids Prairie snapped a five-year CIML reign atop 4A with its title last season in an all-MVC final.

Both of last year’s 4A finalist return for the MVC this season along with Cedar Rapids Washington and Linn-Mar.

The CIML counters with top-ranked Johnston (38-3) leading a group of qualifiers that features No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (34-8), Mason City (26-17) and Waukee (28-13).