Golden Hawks versus regular Hawks

MEDIAPOLIS - The Mid-Prairie High School baseball team is looking to end a drought.

Central Lee is looking for a little redemption.

One team will get its wish when the teams hook up in a Class 2A substate final game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Mediapolis Athletic Complex.

The winner will advance to the state tournament, which begins Monday at Principal Park in Des Moines.

Mid-Prairie is seeking its first trip to the state tournament since 2007. The Golden Hawks won the Class 2A crown in 2004.

Central Lee advanced to state last year, bowing out with an 8-5 loss to Bondurant-Farrar in the quarterfinals. The Hawks won the Class 3A title in 1989.

Sixth-ranked Mid-Prairie (14-3) wants to end a 13-year drought. Central Lee (12-1) is looking for a little redemption. Only one team will get its wish.

'If anybody is counting that's three straight district championships for this group,” Central Lee head coach Shane Weirather said. 'It's nice. It's a big win. They're always tough.”

On paper, this matchup would appear to be a low-scoring pitchers' duel.

Mid-Prairie is hitting .333 with five home runs as a team (four from Aidan Rath) and is scoring 9.2 runs per game. Rath is second in 2A in batting average (. 581) and home runs. Brad Tornow is hitting .408 and has a 5-1 record with a 0.91 earned run average on the hill, averaging two strikeouts per inning. Keegan Gingerich is 4-0 with a 0.86 ERA.

The Golden Hawks are riding a seven-game winning streak after rallying for a 7-5 victory over River Valley Conference rival West Liberty in Saturday's district final.

Central Lee also faced a league rival in Super Conference opponent Mediapolis, downing the Bulldogs 2-1 to advance. The Hawks are hitting .317 with four home runs as a team and averaging 8.5 runs per game. Senior catcher Luke Simmons is hitting a team-high .441, while senior center fielder T.J. Stutes is hitting .395. Senior pitcher/shortstop Jadon Hawk is hitting .429 and is 4-0 with a 1.24 ERA on the hill. He has allowed just four earned runs all season, all of them coming in a 9-6 win over Van Buren in a district semifinal game. Dylan Stuecker is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA and has surrendered just three earned runs.

As in most championship games, the team which makes the fewest mistakes and executes in the clutch is likely to come out on top.

'It's nice to be able to play for a chance to go to state again,” Weirather said. 'I know this team has been wanting to go back the whole time and go farther than they did last year. It will be another tough game.”

Mid-Prairie head coach Andy Greiner has his team focused on the things they can control. 'We don't know much about Central Lee, but we expect a great game on Tuesday. We need to play well to advance.”