Round one state baseball recap

The 2023 Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Baseball State Tournament is in full swing after Monday’s 1A and 3A slate of opening round games.

Class 1A opened up play at Carroll’s Merchants Park, while 3A kicked off play in Iowa City at Duane Banks Field.

In Class 1A, every higher seed but one was victorious in their opening round matchup.

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No. 1 seeded Kingsley-Pierson (28-2) took care of business in the first game of the tournament.

The Panthers defeated No. 8 seeded South Winneshiek (24-12) 6-1. Kingsley-Pierson scored five runs in the first inning and that proved to be more than enough to get by the Warriors.

Kingsley-Pierson will take on No. 5 Lisbon (26-4) in the semifinal round.

Lisbon moves on after a shutout 5-0 victory over No. 4 seeded Burlington Notre Dame (26-7).

The Lions scored one run in the first inning before tacking on three more insurance runs off a three RBI triple in the third.

On the bottom half of the 1A bracket No. 2 seeded Remsen St. Mary’s (30-2) downed No. 7 Saint Ansgar (26-8) 3-1.

Remsen St. Mary’s, last year’s Class 1A state runner-up, was down 1-0 from the third to the bottom of the sixth, but the Hawk went on to score three runs in the sixth to pull out the win.

The Hawks will match up with No. 3 seeded Lynnville-Sully (29-1).

Lynnville-Sully held off the No. 6 seeded Gehlen Catholic (23-6) rally for a tight 8-7 victory.

The Hawks led the Jays 8-0 after four innings, but Gehlen Catholic came back with seven runs of its own. Lynnville-Sully was able to shut the Jays out in the final two innings to win it.

Kingsley-Pierson and South Winneshiek will play at 7 p.m. on July 19. Remsen St. Mary’s and Lynnville-Sully will play the same day at 4:30.

In Class 3A, all but one of the higher seeds advanced.

Top seeded Western Dubuque (34-9) won big over No. 8 Harland (22-15) 10-0.

Western Dubuque will take on No. 4 Wahlert Catholic (30-13) in the semifinals.

Wahlert Catholic defeated No. 5 Ballard (21-11) 11-1 in first round action.

One of the biggest upsets came between No. 3 Marion (30-7) and No. 6 Carlisle (23-12).

Marion led 2-0 heading into the fifth inning, but the Wildcats scored five runs in the fifth, which would be enough to win it.

Mt. Pleasant alum Blake Heitmeier picked up his 200th coaching win in the victory.

The Wildcats will battle with No. 2 North Polk (28-5) in the semifinals.

North Polk defeated No. 7 Spencer (23-8) 3-1 to advance.

The Comets scored one run each between the third and fifth innings to win it.

North Polk and Carlisle will play at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19. Western Dubuque and Wahlert Catholic will follow at 7:30 p.m.