State baseball: Pekin out in 1A quarterfinals

DES MOINES - One round of quarterfinal games has finished up in Des Moines. The Class 1A quarterfinals were played this weekend, and they spelled the end for the last Golden Triangle area team in contention.

Pekin, the No. 8 seed in Class 1A was upended by Newman Catholic 8-7 after a spirited comeback on Friday. The Panthers nearly pulled off a miracle comeback to keep their season alive after a shaky start to the contest.

The Panthers trailed by seven runs, at 7-0 after the third inning, but they wouldn't go down without a fight. Pekin cut the lead to 7-3 in the top of the fourth, and after trailing 8-4 going into the final inning, they scored three runs in the final frame to nearly complete a stunning comeback.

Pekin's Kennan win went 2-4 with four RBIs in the loss. Quinn Ledger was 1-3 with two RBIs, and Tanner Bainbridge went 3-3 2ith two runs scored.

Brady Latcham gave up eight runs (six earned) over three innings to take the loss. Caleb Comstock through three innings in relief, giving up no runs.

No. 4 Don Bosco knocked off No. 5 Coon Rapids-Bayard 3-1 in the quarterfinals. No. 2 Alburnett cruised 13-4 over No. 7 South Winneshiek, and No. 6 St. Mary's Remsen upset No. 3 Martensdale St. Mary's.

The tournament will pick back up today (Monday) with the Class 2A quarterfinals. Central Lee, another Southeast Iowa Super Conference team, will take on Des Moines Christian at 1:30 p.m., in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 game.