The softball season is starting to wind down in Iowa, and the regional brackets for all five classes have been released.

In Class 1A, Region 4 has Montezuma hosting BGM in an area matchup with the winner drawing #3 Alburnett in the quarterfinals on the road. That matchup is on Tuesday, July 5^th at 7 PM. In the same half of the Region 4 bracket, English Valleys will be on the road to face Don Bosco in Gilbertville on July 5^th at 7 PM.

In Class 1A Region 5, Moravia gets a couple of home games in their section of the bracket. They’ll first face Twin Cedars at home on July 5^th at 7 PM. The winner of that game will face either Cardinal or Moulton-Udell, who play in Eldon on the 5^th at 7 PM. Second round games are the next night, July 6^th.

In the bottom of that Region 5 bracket, Sigourney also gets a chance to host two games. The Savages will play Keota in a Keokuk County battle on July 5^th at 7 PM with the winner playing either Lone Tree or Tri-County. That matchup is in Lone Tree on the 5^th at 7 PM.

There are two area teams in the bottom half of the Class 1A Region 6 bracket. Lynnville-Sully is hosting Southeast Warren on July 5^th at 7 PM with the winner to play either Colfax-Mingo or Melcher-Dallas. Melcher-Dallas has to go on the road for that one, and that is in Colfax on July 5^th at 7 PM.

In Class 2A, Region 3 has Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont with a couple of home games. The Rockets will first face North Mahaska in Eddyville on July 6^th at 7 PM. Pleasantville is in that same part of the bracket, as they face Des Moines Christian at home at 7 PM on the 6^th. The winners of those two games will play in Eddyville on July 8^th at 7 PM in the regional semifinals. Van Meter is the top seed in the bracket despite EBF ranked one spot higher in the most recent rankings.

In Class 2A Region 5, Pella Christian got a tough draw. The 10^th ranked Eagles will face Madrid at home on July 6^th at 7 PM, then should they win, they would host any of three non-area teams. If they win that game, they would be in the regional final, but that would be against #1 ranked Iowa City Regina on July 11^th.

Pekin is the lone school in our area in Class 2A Region 6. The Panthers host Van Buren on July 5^th at 7 PM for the right to play Highland on the road on July 6^th. Highland recently fell out of the rankings.

Class 3A is very interesting, and Region 4 is the headline bracket in our area. Four area teams are in the same half of the eight team bracket. Centerville will host Davis County and Albia will host Mid-Prairie. Both of those games are at 7 PM on July 6^th. The winner of those two games will play in Centerville on July 8^th. 2^nd ranked Davenport Assumption is the top team in the bracket.

PCM is in Region 7 in Class 3A, and they have to face #12 CMB in the first round in Collins on July 6^th at 7 PM. #13 Clarke is actually the top seed in what is a wide open bracket.

In Class 4A, Newton has had a great season, and the 13^th ranked Cardinals get a first round bye in Region 2. They’ll face either Boone or Webster City at home on July 9^th at 7 PM. #4 Waverly-Shell Rock is the other top team in the region.

In Region 4 in Class 4A, Fairfield gets the bye, as the Trojans will face either Fort Madison or Davenport North at home on July 9^th at 7 PM. Southeast Conference foe Keokuk is the other top team in the bracket, which could set up a classic matchup. Keokuk is currently ranked 7^th with Fairfield 8^th. Fairfield has lost both games against Keokuk this year so far. They do have two more meetings later this year.

In Class 4A Region 5, Oskaloosa was rewarded for a great season by getting the top seed. They will host either Clear Creek-Amana or Marion in a favorable matchup on July 9^th at 7 PM. Should the fifth ranked Indians win, they would host the regional final on July 12^th at 7 PM. Their toughest competition will come in the form of 11^th ranked Mount Pleasant, who is currently 18-6.

The Region 6 bracket in Class 4A has a pair of teams from the area. Grinnell received a home game and they will host Ballard on July 7^th at 7 PM. If the Tigers win, they’ll face #2 ranked Carlisle on the road on July 9^th. July 9^th will also be the first game for Pella, who got a first round bye. The 14^th ranked Lady Dutch will host either Vinton-Shellsburg or Cedar Rapids Xavier at 7 PM. Barring an upset, Pella would then have to go on the road to face Carlisle for a trip to state.

The last area team in Class 4A is Knoxville, and they are on the road from the get-go against Des Moines Hoover on July 7^th. Should they pull that upset, the Panthers would have to face three-time defending state champion Dallas Center-Grimes, who is the top seed in the region.

Finally, Class 5A’s lone area team is Ottumwa and they are in Region 2. The #15 Bulldogs will host Southeast Polk in the regional semifinals on July 9^th at 7 PM. The unfortunate part of the draw for Ottumwa is that #1 Johnston looms in that region, and would likely host Ottumwa for a trip to state on July 12^th.

We will have full coverage of all area teams and their postseason brackets on radiokmzn.com and during our sports segments on 104.9 FM KBOE and 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN.

The Oskaloosa softball team has been on a roll lately, and that roll continued with a hard fought win against archrival Pella on Thursday night.

The Indians have had a long week, as the game with the Lady Dutch was their fourth straight night playing a conference game. After a grueling pitchers’ duel, Osky also got their fourth straight win, 1-0 in 8 innings.

The first seven innings were dominated by both teams’ pitching and defense.

Oskaloosa’s Alexis Groet continued her string of dominant outings by allowing only two hits in the first seven innings of play and walked only two. The big surprise was Pella senior Alexa Dingeman, who matched Groet out-for- out.

Dingeman would strike out Kylee Silliman and Alexis Westercamp twice each on the night. That is notable because Silliman and Westercamp both came in with two strikeouts each on the season.

After seven innings of three-hit ball, however, Pella opted to lift their senior and bring in sophomore Sabrina Tallman. Dingeman pitched eight innings in a victory against Pella Christian on Wednesday night, and with sophomore ace Kinzi Van Wyk on the shelf with an injury, Pella Head Coach Robin Llewellyn decided to pull Dingeman to keep her fresh for the next couple of days.

Oskaloosa would pounce immediately on Tallman, as Anna Jones led off the 8 th with an infield hit, and Aubrey Miller would follow with an RBI double to score Jones from first.

Osky couldn’t add a second run, but that’s all that Alexis Groet and the defense would need.

The biggest defensive play of the game for the Indians came in the bottom of the 8 th as All-State leadoff hitter Sara Tallman came to the plate with one out for the Lady Dutch. On a 3-2 pitch, Tallman roped a ball off the wall in left-center field. As she rounded second and headed for third, left fielder Josie Bunnell got to the ball quickly and fired a strike to Kylee Silliman, who then relayed the ball to third where Devan Welch made the tag for the second out. Groet would induce a groundout on the next batter to end the game.

Oskaloosa moved to 19-3 with the victory and sit in good shape at 8-2 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. Pella fell to 13-11 overall and 3-7 in the conference.

Osky is back in action Friday in Solon against two 5A opponents: Des Moines Lincoln and Iowa City High. After getting the weekend off, Oskaloosa returns to conference action to face #13 Newton on the road before facing Eddyville-Blakesburg- Fremont next Tuesday at home. The Indians wrap up conference play next Wednesday with a home game against Norwalk.

You can hear the EBF and Norwalk games on our airwaves on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com starting with the pregame at 7:15 with the first pitch scheduled for 7:30.

Area Softball Scores From 6/20/2016

Belle Plaine 7, Sigourney 4 (Mahaska Zone Network Softball Game of the Week)
Colfax-Mingo 4, Lynnville-Sully 3
Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 8, Chariton 4
Iowa Valley 11, Keota 0
Mid-Prairie 14, Bellevue 3
North Mahaska 4, Montezuma 2
Oskaloosa 1, Pella Christian 0
Ottumwa 12, Des Moines North 0
Ottumwa 14, Des Moines North 0
Pleasantville 4, Southeast Warren 0
Tri-County 6, English Valleys 3

Area Baseball Scores From 6/20/2016

Albia 6, Highland 5
BGM 12, HLV 3
Belle Plaine 8, Sigourney 3
Bellevue 2, Mid-Prairie 0
English Valleys 12, Tri-County 9
Fairfield 15, Washington 3
Fairfield 3, Washington 0
Gladbrook-Reinbeck 14, PCM 4
Iowa Valley 8, Keota 3
Lynnville-Sully 4, Colfax-Mingo 3
North Mahaska 13, Montezuma 4
Ottumwa 16, Des Moines North 1 (4 innings)
Ottumwa 5, Des Moines North 1
Pella 2, Grinnell 0
Pella Christian 5, Oskaloosa 0
Pleasantville 10, Twin Cedars 4

History was made in Oskaloosa on Monday night. In a classic pitchers’ duel, Oskaloosa senior Kylee Silliman conquered Pella Christian with a no-hitter to lead the Indians to a 1-0 victory. The loss avenges one of Osky’s conference losses from earlier in the season.

The game was back-and-forth as Silliman and Pella Christian ace Emma Schnell traded clean innings through four. As the 5th inning started, Silliman had allowed just one baserunner on a hit-by-pitch, and Schnell had allowed two hits to Osky’s Aubrey Miller.

When the bottom of the 5^th rolled around, Oskaloosa got a one-out walk issued to 8^th grader Ava VandeWall. After a flyout by Alexis Groet, Devan Welch came up with two outs and socked a fly ball to deep right field, just out of the reach of Eagle right fielder Hanna Vos. VandeWall would score, and that would be the last baserunner the Indians would get on base.

Silliman would do the rest with her defense strong behind her. She would strike out nine, including the last batter of the game, to complete the no-hitter.

Pella Christian defeated Oskaloosa earlier this season in Pella, 7-0, in what has been Osky’s worst outing this year in softball. With this win, the Indians have positive momentum heading into a huge week.

Tuesday night, the girls are back in action against three-time defending state champions Dallas Center-Grimes on the road. Wednesday it will be a home game against Grinnell for the Indians. Thursday, the hits keep coming as Osky goes on the road to face Pella in a single varsity game. If those conference matchups aren’t enough, Oskaloosa will be facing Class 5A schools Des Moines Lincoln and Iowa City High on Friday at the Solon tournament.

The big week comes just days after Oskaloosa Head Softball Coach Jay Harms locked up his 800^th career victory as a head coach in varsity softball, an achievement he reached Saturday in a 7-0 victory over Bondurant-Farrar.

The Indians enter this week’s gauntlet with a record 16-3 after Silliman’s no-hit performance, and we’ll have the Dallas Center-Grimes ball game on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com. The action begins Tuesday night with the pregame show at 7:15 and the first pitch at 7:30.

The summer sports season is hitting overdrive in Iowa, and the Class 1A and 2A baseball districts have been announced as the postseason draws near.

There are 16 districts in both classes, and champions in adjacent districts will play in a substate final for a berth to the state tournament.

In Class 1A, District 12 is the heavy bracket, as eight of the nine teams are area schools.

BGM, Cardinal, Montezuma, Moravia, North Mahaska, Sigourney, Tri-County, and Twin Cedars join Moulton-Udell. BGM is in the watchlist in Class 1A in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings, which would make them the prohibitive favorites in that district.

The sister district is District 11, and the top ranked team is Don Bosco of Gilbertville, which is currently ranked #2.

Other Class 1A teams include English Valleys in District 9, Keota in District 10, and Lynnville-Sully and Melcher-Dallas in District 13.

In Class 2A, District 11 is the headline bracket with all six participating schools in the Mahaska Zone Network area. Albia, Centerville, Davis County, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, Pella Christian, and Pleasantville will all be competing for the district crown. Pleasantville and Albia are both in this week’s watch list in Class 2A and should be the two favorites.

The sister district is District 12, and there are no area teams, and #7 Van Meter is the team that should be the favorite to face the District 11 Champion in the Substate 6 Final for a trip to state.

There are a few other Class 2A area teams alone in different districts. Mid-Prairie is in District 9, Pekin is in District 10, and PCM is in District 13.

The full bracket with schedules should come out next week for Class 1A and 2A. The first scheduled date is July 9^th for first round action.

Class 3A and 4A districts will likely be released next week with their full bracket released the following week.

You can catch area baseball action during the postseason on the air on both 104.9 FM KBOE and 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN. Also check out radiokmzn.com for stories and other information.

Oskaloosa–Two high placings by the women’s golf and men’s outdoor track and field teams kept the William Penn athletics department in the top 100 as the final Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings were released Tuesday.

The Statesmen added 71.5 points in the spring to finish with 179.5 overall points and place 77th in the NAIA.  A total of 190 NAIA institutions scored points in 2015-2016, while 248 schools comprise the association.  It marks the 12th time in 15 years that WPU has been in the top 100 since joining the NAIA.

The women’s golf program’s 19th-place finish at nationals was good for 36 points, while Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) and his runner-up discus effort at track and field nationals assisted WPU to another 35.5 points.

Men’s basketball (70 points) and wrestling (38) also contributed to the school’s tally back in the winter.

Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) took the crown with 852.75 points, while Oklahoma City (777), Wayland Baptist (Texas) (750), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) (735.5), and Indiana Wesleyan (646) rounded out the top five.

COMPLETE STANDINGS go to http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/directorscup/auto_pdf/2015-16/misc_non_event/june14naiafinalstand.pdf

William Penn ranked fifth among all Heart of America Athletic Conference institutions; Baker topped the league in 25th place with 372.75 points.

The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today.  Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 12 sports-six men’s and women’s.

COMPLETE SCORING STRUCTURE go to http://www.nacda.com/directorscup/nacda-directorscup-scoring.html

William Penn in Past Directors’ Cups
2015-2016–77th (179.5 points)
2014-2015–88th (176.5 points)
2013-2014–62nd (230 points)
2012-2013–61st (245.5 points)
2011-2012–123rd (107 points)
2010-2011–91st (150 points)
2009-2010–63rd (206 points)
2008-2009–91st (128.5 points)
2007-2008–112th (142.5 points)
2006-2007–90th (179 points)
2005-2006–Did not place (0 points)
2004-2005–65th (242.5 points)
2003-2004–54th (261 points)
2002-2003–86th (194.5 points)
2001-2002–87th (152.5 points)

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Bizarre is the only word that can adequately describe the softball game Wednesday night between archrivals Oskaloosa and Pella. Although it wasn’t pretty, Oskaloosa found a way get an extra inning win, 8-7.

Pella started the game well, plating the first run in the top of the first. Oskaloosa bounced right back with a six-run first inning, with all of the damage being done with two outs. The Indians would add another run in the second, and the lead would be 7-1.

Pella refused to give up, however, as they would score two runs in the 3^rd, two runs in the 6^th, and two runs in the 7^th. All this occurred while sophomore starter Kinzi Van Wyk managed to stay composed and shut down the Indian offense while her team fought back into the game. Eventually, we would be forced to play extra innings.

Oskaloosa starter Alexis Groet had issues getting quick outs on a sweaty night, but came up huge in the top of the 8^th. Pella got Sidnie VanVark on to lead off the inning with a single and she moved to second and third on two separate errors with nobody out.

Groet reached back and got two huge strikeouts, one against All-Stater Sara Tallman, to limit the risk. Hannah Emmert would foul out in left field, and Osky was out of the jam.

In the home half of the 8^th, Kylee Silliman led off the inning with a single and was bunted to second by Anna Jones. Aubrey Miller came up and launched a ball to the left-center field gap and Silliman would score from second to win the game for Osky, 8-7.

Oskaloosa is now 12-2 on the season and 4-2 in Little Hawkeye Conference play, while Pella fell to 9-9 and is currently 0-6 in the conference.

The Indians will look to shore up spots in their lineup and defensively, as they have four non-conference games to round out the week. They face Albia on Friday at 7:30 PM as a part of a reunion night with a large contingent of former Indian softball players expected to be in attendance. Then on Saturday, the Indian Classic will be held at Lacey Recreation Complex, and Oskaloosa will play Sigourney at 9:15, Bondurant-Farrar at 12:45, and Fairfield in a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal at 4:15.

We’ll have all three of the Indian Classic games on our airwaves on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com, starting 15 prior to game time.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn University Athletics Booster Club has announced the recipients of May’s Player of the Month awards.

Junior men’s track and field athlete Derek Seddon (Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) claimed the Male award, while senior women’s golfer Demi Coertze (Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) took home the Female honor.  The award is the sixth for Seddon (fourth this year) and the ninth for Coertze (fifth this year).

Seddon competed in three meets (eight events entered), breaking his own school record in the discus to place second at nationals at 188-1.75.  The junior also had three other runner-up finishes and tallied five total top-10 efforts.  He competed in the shot put and hammer at nationals as well.

Over the span of two events (four rounds), Coertze owned a 76.3 stroke average (low score of 74).  She was named to the conference and national all-tournament teams, highlighting her month by finishing sixth at the NAIA Championships.  She posted three rounds in the 70s.

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–The Heart of America Athletic Conference announced its Scholar-Athlete honors for the 2015-2016 year.

William Penn recorded 34 award recipients over 16 conference-sponsored sports, led by four honorees from the volleyball program.

A total of 598 student-athletes from the league’s 14 schools (including provisional members Clarke and Mount Mercy), including a number of student-athletes receiving academic honors in multiple sports.

In order to be eligible for Scholar-Athlete recognition, student-athletes must have earned a 3.40 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), have accumulated a minimum of 60 semester hours (at least five semesters), and attended the nominating institution for at least two semesters prior to being nominated, as well as be a varsity participant on their respective team.

For a complete list of the Heart Scholar-Athletes, go to http://www.heartofamericaconference.com/d/2015-16/2016%20Heart%20Scholar%20Athletes.pdf

Story provided by Wade Steinlage

The Oskaloosa softball team entered play Monday night against #5 Norwalk looking to cut into their lead in the Little Hawkeye Conference standings. They did just that, winning 9-2, as heard on the Mahaska Zone Network.

The 10^th ranked Indians wouldn’t waste any time, taking advantage of early baserunners to get two runs in the top of the 1^st inning. That held up until the bottom of the 4^th, as Norwalk would get a clutch two-out two-run double from senior Shelby Nelson to tie the game. Both teams made mistakes reading fly balls in the outfield to lead to both scoring situations.

Both offenses would silence until the bottom of the 6^th, as Oskaloosa starter Alexis Groet walked the bases loaded (one of those walks was intentional), but with two outs, she induced #7 hitter Regan Julch into a fly ball in right field that was caught on the run by Anna Jones to get out of the inning.

While that play saved the game for Osky at that moment, the offense exploded in the top of the 7^th to take the game by the horns.

Josie Bunnell reached on a bunt single while batting in the #9 spot in the order for the first time this season, and would subsequently steal second. With two outs in the frame, Anna Jones, batting second for the first time in her career, poked a groundball to shortstop. She was able to use her speed to beat it out, but Bunnell got hung up between third and home. The throw home was wide of the catcher, however, and Bunnell would score the go-ahead run.

Aubrey Miller would follow with an RBI double, Alexis Westercamp had an RBI single, Alexis Vroegh singled, Alexis Groet had a two-run double to the fence, Devan Welch drew a walk, and Ava VandeWall pounded a two-run double to the wall. After the barrage, the Indians took a 9-2 lead into the bottom of the 7^th, and the lead stuck for the win.

Groet was very good in the pitching circle for the Indians. Despite giving up two runs and walking four, she struck out 13 batters and allowed only four hits to a very balanced offense in Norwalk.

The Indians are now 11-2 on the season and will be back in action on Wednesday against archrival Pella at home. Pella has gotten off to a shaky start this year following their miracle run to fourth place at the state tournament last year. They still find themselves ranked 13^th in the state, and Oskaloosa will need another fine outing from their offense to get the win.

That game will be broadcast on Wednesday night on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com. The pregame will start around 7:15 PM for the 7:30 first pitch.