Daily Newsletters
Account
Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
2024 area baseball recap
Conference races red-hot, no teams at state
There may not be a Union area baseball team at one of the two state baseball sites this week, but that doesn’t mean the 2024 season didn’t show plenty of promise.
A competitive year in Union area baseball saw three conference races go right down to the wire, and all three ended with area teams on top.
Fairfield, Hillcrest Academy and Mid-Prairie each grabbed a conference championship this summer, and plenty more Union teams were right in the thick of the races.
The Southeast Conference came down to Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant. It was the Panthers that had the early advantage after starting the conference slate 6-0, but the title was up in the air when Mt. Pleasant, then 7-1, faced the 6-2 Trojans for a series in mid-June.
Mt. Pleasant looked to be in control after splitting a doubleheader in Fairfield on June 17, but the Panthers needed to take care of business three days later at home.
Instead, Fairfield notched its biggest win of the season. The Trojans blew past the Panthers 13-1 to tie up the SEC race, and give themselves a path to victory.
While the Panthers took two of three from Fort Madison one week later, the Trojans jumped into the lead with a sweep of Keokuk, which set Fairfield up to win the conference with a victory over Washington in a rain delay game.
On July 2, Fairfield could finally celebrate. The Trojans walked the Demons off 2-1 on a walk off hit by Luke Konczal, and Fairfield clinched the SEC championship alone.
The Southeast Iowa Super Conference’s North Division title was hanging in the balance all year long. Hillcrest Academy, Highland and Pekin all challenged for the top spot, but it was the Ravens that narrowly came out ahead.
Hillcrest won the conference with a 9-2 division record. Highland was second, at 8-3, and Pekin finished third, at 8-4.
Hillcrest’s only conference losses were an early defeat at the hands of Louisa-Muscatine and a 2-0 loss to Pekin on July 2, but by the time July came around, the Ravens had already locked up the title.
Mid-Prairie competed in a stacked River Valley South division, and a 13-5 conference record gave the Golden Hawks the championship. Mid-Prairie beat out eventual state qualifier Wilton (12-6) by one game, and West Liberty (11-7) by two.
In the closing stretches of conference play, Mid-Prairie beat West Liberty in two out of three games on June 17 and 20, and took two of three from Durant on June 21 and June 24.
The Super Conference’s South Division wasn’t quite as competitive. Van Buren County was the best area team, with a 3-7 league record, for fifth. New London went 2-8, for sixth.
Cardinal had a nice year in the South Central Conference, going 11-9 for third place. Keota was 5-9 in the South Iowa Cedar League, finishing seventh in the standings.
Unfortunately, the area didn’t get anybody into a Substate final. June 9 proved to be a rough day for area teams, as it took out every small school besides New London, which would get rain delayed and lose later in the week.
Among the losses was a tough 7-6 upset for BGM over Hillcrest Academy in the Class 1A Substate 6 tournament, and a 2-1 loss for Mid-Prairie at the hands on Mediapolis in the Class 2A Substate 5 tournament.
After Washington was defeated in the Class 3A quarterfinals, falling to eventual state qualifier Central DeWitt by a 2-1 score, the area was down to just two; Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant.
The Panthers and Trojans both pushed ranked teams in the Class 3A Substate 5 semifinals, but neither could break into the final game. Central DeWitt took out Mt. Pleasant, 8-3, and Fairfield fell 6-3 against Assumption.
