BGM knocks IV baseball out of playoffs

Playoff action started Saturday in Class 1A baseball and for the visiting Tigers from Iowa Valley it ended just as it was getting started. BGM (10-12) scored three first inning runs, added one in the second and cruised to a 4-1 win.

Caleb Haack got the start for Iowa Valley on the mound and settled in after the first two innings to hold the Bears scoreless through the next three with eight strikeouts. Nolan Kriegel closed the game in the sixth by striking out two.

The Tigers just couldn’t get past a stingy Bear defense. Dane Smith led Iowa Valley going two for two with a pair of singles and added a couple of stolen bases for good measure, but as a team the Tigers turned 26 at bats into just four hits and one run in the fifth inning.

Iowa Valley wraps the season with a 7-11 overall record and 6-8 in the South Iowa Cedar League Conference. The Tigers will take a still young, but more experienced, roster into next season. The 2023 team was very young, featuring just two seniors in a final lineup that also had two sophomores and five eighth-graders.

BGM moves on to play Don Bosco in the next round on Wednesday.