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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Baseball set to begin
Mid-Prairie leads Union Area with No. 2 preseason ranking
As the spring sports season draws near its close, that means summer action is about to begin.
In fact, a number of teams will have kicked off their season on Monday night.
Leading off the season for the big schools will be Mt. Pleasant.
The Panthers, who finished last season at 9-19, take on Van Buren County on Monday night. By the release of this article that game will have been completed.
Mt. Pleasant and the Warriors both bring back integral pieces from last seasons squad. Van Buren finished the season 12-16 last year. The Warriors made quite a run in last years postseason.
Fairfield also opens its season on Monday. The Trojans will have compete against Grinnell on the road.
They will be in action on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, taking on Oskaloosa and Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremond in the coming days.
The Trojans went 16-16 last season.
Washington will open its season next week against Highland. The Demons finished 6-21 last year.
Leading the small schools is Mid-Prairie. The Golden Hawks, who hold the No. 2 spot in the preseason Class 2A rankings, bring back much of their roster from last years state tournament squad, a team that went 19-11.
They will have played Davenport West on Monday and will follow up with Johnston on Tuesday.
Highland and Keota will take on one another in back-to-back days. The Huskies and Eagles open the season on Monday and follow up on Tuesday.
The Huskies, who lost a great senior class, went 22-4 last time around and Keota finished 17-6.
The defending Class 1A state champion New London Tigers will open their season against Cardinal on Friday.
Both teams lost much of their starting lineup to graduation.
The Tigers won the title with a 31-1 record, while Cardinal finished 17-8.
Pekin plays Davis County on Monday and will match up with Moravia on Tuesday. The Panthers went 10-13 last year.
As for Columbus, Hillcrest Academy and Winfield-Mt. Union, they will all have to wait a week.
The Ravens will take on Lone Tree next Tuesday. Columbus’ first game will be against Wapello next Friday and WMU will begin its season on June 1.
WMU and Columbus together finished 2-19 last year, while Hillcrest Academy went 12-11.
As for the preseason rankings, the full list can be found below. Rankings were released by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Preseason Rankings
Class 1A
1. Remsen-St. Mary’s
2. Newman Catholic
3. North Linn
4. Lisbon
5. Kingsley-Pierson
6. Lynnville-Sully
7. Don Bosco
8. Gehlen Catholic
9. Saint Ansgar
10. West Harrison
Others mentioned (alphabetical order): Coon Rapids-Bayard, Moravia, St. Albert, Wapsie Valley, Woodbury Central
Class 2A
1. Van Meter
2. Mid-Prairie
3. Kuemper Catholic
4. Beckman Catholic
5. Dike-New Hartford
6. Williamsburg
7. Estherville Lincoln Central
8. Underwood
9. Cascade
10. Osage
Others mentioned (alphabetical order): Central Lyon, Clarinda, DM Christian, New Hampton, West Marshall
3A Rankings
1. Western Dubuque
2. Marion
3. CR Xavier
4. Assumption
5. Lewis Central
6. Wahlert Catholic
7. North Polk
8. Independence
9. MOC-Floyd Valley
10. Pella
Others mentioned (alphabetical order): ADM, Ballard, Bishop Heelan, Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Waverly-Shell Rock
4A Rankings
1. Dowling Catholic
2. Ankeny Centennial
3. Johnston
4. CR Prairie
5. Waukee Northwest
6. Pleasant Valley
7. CR Kennedy
8. WDM Valley
9. Iowa City High
10. Indianola
Others mentioned (alphabetical order): Ankeny, Cedar Falls, Sioux City East, Southeast Polk, Waukee
