Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – In a doubleheader between two of the top teams in Class 4A it was the pitching by a pair of junior standouts that stole the show.

Mason Waterbury and Jaxton Schroeder each tossed shutouts as 4A No. 8 Liberty High and third-ranked City High split a Mississippi Valley Conference cross-divisional doubleheader on Monday in North Liberty.

Waterbury spun a complete game one-hitter as Liberty High (21-11) won the opener 5-0 and Schroeder countered with six shutout innings as City High (28-5) took the nightcap 10-0.

“It’s City, a cross-town rival and it’s always a fun game,” Waterbury said. “I was excited to be able to pitch in a game like this.”

Waterbury was brilliant in the opener.

The left-hander allowed just one hit, a single by Drake Obermueller to lead off the second inning.

Obermueller was erased on a double play one batter later and Waterbury was nearly flawless the rest of the way walking two while striking out seven.

“He just knows how to pitch,” Liberty High coach Uby Martinez said of Waterbury. “His mentality is different than a lot of people, he isn’t afraid of anybody.”

Liberty High backed up Waterbury with a 12-hit effort led by senior leadoff hitter Ryan Schmierer who went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

Seven different players had a hit for Liberty High in the opener as Cooper Hughes and Brayden each joined Schmierer with multi-hit games.

“I think a lot of teams just assume that we can only bunt but we had 10 hits against an extremely talented pitcher,” Martinez said. “I feel great about where we are at we just have to clean some things up.”

City High had a 14-game winning streak snapped with the loss in the opener but bounced back quickly behind Schroeder.

Before throwing a pitch Schroeder gave the Little Hawks an early lead with an RBI triple off the right center field fence that scored Kael Kurtz in the top of the first inning.

“That changed the energy,” Schroeder said. “That was big for our team. Early runs help a lot.”

The left-handed throwing Schroeder allowed just four hits and two walks while striking out two in six stellar innings.

“He attacks the strike zone,” City High coach Brian Mitchell said. “He has a presence to him, where he can mix the fastball and the slider. He’s a big kid and he has a big presence.”

Just as Liberty High did in the opener, City High backed up a strong pitching performance with offensive output.

Jake Mitchell and Max Waldschmidt each homered as part of a 10-hit City High performance.

Waldschmidt hammered a grand slam to left field to put the finishing touches on the 10-0 win in the nightcap.

“We just had to change the mindset and change the mood in the dugout,” Schroeder said. “We really had to attack and set the tone early in the game because they were looking for the sweep and they had a strong showing in the first so we had to change the mindset.”

The doubleheader was the end of a 10-game stretch for Liberty High against ranked opponents.

Liberty High finished 4-6 in that stretch that featured doubleheaders against five opponents all ranked in the top six.

“What I am trying to get them to understand is we are every bit as good as any team we are playing,” Martinez said. “I feel great about where we are at.”

Game 1

City High                   000  000  0  –  0   1   0

Liberty High             110  003  x  –  5  12  0

W – Mason Waterbury                       L – Talon Young

2B – ICL: Liam Bender, Ryan Schmierer

Game 2

City High                   102  110  5  –  10  10  0

Liberty High             000  000  0  –   0    5   1

W – Jaxton Schroeder                         L – Cooper Hughes

2B – ICH: Ethan Nace, Aidan Wetmore. ICL: Ryan Schmierer

3B – ICH: Jaxton Schroeder

HR – ICH: Jake Mitchell, Max Waldschmidt

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