Five Honored in Class 4A and 5A All-State Softball Teams

Posted on August 1, 2017 by Rick Watts

Last week, the All-State Softball Teams were released by the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, and there are athletes from all five classes that were honored in our listening area.

We’ll start by breaking down the lists from the large schools in Class 4A and 5A.

Oskaloosa finished in third place at the state tournament this year and several players were a big part of that success.

Perhaps the most important player for Oskaloosa softball once again was pitcher Alexis Groet, who was named First Team All-State once again, and finishes her high school career as a five-time All-State player for Head Coach Jay Harms.

She is joined by fellow senior Aubrey Miller, who was named to the Second Team after five successful seasons at the plate for the Indians. Freshman Ava VandeWall finished a great year as one of the best hitters in the Osky lineup and she was named Third Team All-State.

The trio of Osky players were the only ones from Class 4A in our listening area.

As for Class 5A, Ottumwa is the only team in our listening area and a pair of Bulldogs were named as All-State players.

On the Second Team, sophomore Morgan Greiner made the list after a great season for Head Coach Frank Huston. She is joined by freshman Kacy Nickerson, who was named to the Third Team.

Ottumwa finished one win away from the State Softball Tournament in Fort Dodge, but the future is bright for the Bulldogs with two underclassmen leading the way.

Later this week, we’ll look at the Class 1A, 2A, and 3A All-State Teams from the IGHSAU as we continue to wrap up our coverage from the summer sports season.

Oskaloosa Quartet Highlight Class 3A and 4A All-District Teams

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Rick Watts

The baseball season was a memorable one for our listening area and the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association have released their All-District teams for 2017.

Today, we’ll take a look at the lists for Class 3A and 4A, with a look at Class 1A and 2A tomorrow.

In Class 3A, the Central District is chock full of area players, led by state qualifier Oskaloosa, who has four players honored.

On the First Team, Osky’s Bennett Spry had a great senior year, and he was listed as the second baseman. Freshman Tyler Miller led the Indians in batting with a .463 average and he was honored as an outfielder on the First Team.

Joining them on the top squad was Pella’s junior catcher Jaden Rolffs, who hit .449 this year. Pella’s Tyler Hillman was listed as a utility player with great batting and pitching numbers this season as a senior.

Knoxville made it to a district final this season, and three of their players were named to the first team. Third baseman Rylan Cox, outfielder Jacob Zuck, and utility Ben Wallace were all honored for their outstanding work for the South Central Conference Champions.

Rounding out the First Team is Grinnell shortstop Ethan Mitchell, who spearheaded a renaissance year for the Tigers.

On the Second Team, Oskaloosa has two more players who made the cut.

Sophomore pitcher Rian Yates had an outstanding season and was one of three pitchers on the team. He’s joined by outfielder Tucker Nunnikhoven, who batted nearly .400 this year while playing great defense.

Knoxville again is well represented with three more players on the second list. Catcher Patrick Crawford, first baseman Cam Liston, and utility Blake McClung were named to the Second Team, which puts two-thirds of the Panther lineup on the All-District Teams for 2017.

Pella’s Caleb Piersma and Grinnell’s Jayden Gibson round out the Second Teamers from our listening area. They are honored as a utility player and catcher, respectively.

In Class 4A, Ottumwa and Newton are the only teams from the area and both are represented in the South Central District.

On the First Team, Ottumwa’s junior catcher Tyler Ward and senior third baseman Austin Shotts received the honor. Ward hit .320 this year for the Bulldogs, while Shotts led the way hitting .480 to wrap up his stellar career.

On the Second Team, two more Bulldogs made the list. Pitcher Jaylon Jones went 5-2 in his junior campaign. He was joined by senior Kane Brumbaugh, who went 5-1 on the mound, including throwing a no-hitter. Brumbaugh was listed as a utility player.

Rounding out the list is Newton senior Trey Vanderlaan, who batted .342 and is listed as the first baseman on the Second Team.

While Oskaloosa was the only team from the area to make it to the State Baseball Tournament, Pella, Knoxville, Grinnell, and Ottumwa all had winning seasons, and Ottumwa played in a substate final.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at the Class 1A and 2A All-District Teams, which is full of players from several schools dotting the area.

Oskaloosa and Sigourney To Play In Third Place Game

Posted on July 21, 2017 by Rick Watts

Connor Swim, Announcer

After each dropping their semifinal games to tough opponents, the Indians and the Savages look to end their seasons on high notes by winning their respective 3rd place consolation games.

In the first game of the day on Thursday morning, Oskaloosa ran up against a defensively stout Winterset team. Winterset, the number one seed in 4A, was a defensive machine, only giving up one run early in the game. This run gave Oskaloosa an early 1-0 lead, but it would not be enough. Winterset made defensive play after defensive play, and finally broke through with their hitting in the 6th inning, with some help from untimely errors from the Indians. Before Osky knew it, they were down 3-1 and down to their last out. Winterset would go on to win the game and advance to the 4A championship. Oskaloosa advances to the 3rd place game, where they will take on #7 Charles City at 9:30 am with pre-game starting at 9:15 on 99.5 FM 740AM, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. If Oskaloosa defeats Charles City, they will set the school record for wins in a season.

Sigourney played in most likely the craziest shootout Fort Dodge has ever seen. After Sigourney and Clarkesville put up two runs in the first inning, a lightning delay side lined the action for an hour and a half. When played resumed, an absolute barn burner broke out, and both teams fought tooth and nail for a chance to advance to the Class 1A Final. The game ended up in a 9th inning, with a tournament record 40 hits between the two teams, and Clarksville setting an individual team record with 26 hits. After a three run shot in the top of the 9th, Clarksville found themselves with a 15-12 lead, and they finally finished the game to advance to the finals. You can catch Sigourney in their 3rd place game at 1:30 with coverage starting at 1:15 on 104.9 KBOE, radiokboe.com, and the KBOE mobile app.

Indians Beat Vikings to Advance to State

Posted on July 20, 2017July 20, 2017 by Rick Watts

John Hirl, Announcer

The Oskaloosa Baseball team has been knocking on the door of the State Tournament for 3 straight years. The Indians have lost in the Substate Final the previous two seasons to Pella, but last night Oskaloosa finally knocked that door down against a Vinton-Shellsburg team ranked 3rd in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Poll. It took a dominant pitching performance and clutch batting for the Indians to pull of the upset against the Vikings, and now they’re off to Principal Park in Des Moines for a chance to call themselves State Champions.

It was all pitching in this game, with runs hard to come by. Vinton Shellsburg (35-6-1) was the first team to put a run on the board when a passed ball allowed the Vikings to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd against Oskaloosa (28-13). From then on, no runs would come across until the 7th inning. Ethan Arnold led off the 7th, singling to put the tying runner on. Casey Hill was subbed in for Arnold and a couple pitches later, Hill advanced to 2nd on a Viking mistake. After an Alex DeJong flyout, Peyton Crouse stepped in and hit a ball into right to put Hill on 3rd and himself on 2nd. With the tying and winning runs on base, Blake VanVeldhuizen stepped in and hit an RBI groundout to short to tie it all up, 1-1. Seth Sarver then stepped in with a runner on 3rd and 2 away, and the senior came through in the clutch with a single to score Crouse and make it 2-1 Indians. Vinton-Shellsburg would come to bat in the bottom of the 7th facing a seemingly untouchable Peyton Crouse. The Vikings would get a runner on with 2 outs, but Crouse would end the game with huge strikeout to push the Indians to Principal Park.

Oskaloosa is now on to their second State Baseball Tournament in school history, and their first since 1998. The Indians have never won a game up at state however, as the last Osky team to advance to the tourney lost to Vinton-Shellsburg, who would go on to win it all that year. As mentioned previously, the Indians have believed this was possible for a couple of seasons now, and many thought the 2017 group had the best chance to make it to Des Moines.

Oskaloosa was assigned the #7 seed for the State Baseball Tournament and will play the #2 seed Harlan Cyclones (34-2). That game will take place at 7:30 PM on Tuesday, July 25th, at Principal Park. The No Coast Network will have coverage of the quarterfinals of the Class 3A State Tournament starting with the pregame at 7:15 on 99.5 FM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app.

Photo courtesy of: Blake VanVeldhuizen

Oskaloosa Survives in Extras, Into State Softball Semis

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Rick Watts

If the 2016 State Softball Tournament wasn’t thrilling enough for Oskaloosa supporters, the beginning of the 2017 edition should kickstart their adrenaline.

#4 Osky played from out front in their Class 4A Quarterfinal against #5 Mount Pleasant, but had to go into extras to pull out a 3-2 win and advance to the final four.

The game began with Oskaloosa’s Alexis Groet and Mount Pleasant’s Cali Liechty trading clean innings through three. In the top of the 4th, Mount Pleasant would threaten, but a great catch and throw by Josie Bunnell in left field got the Indians out of the jam with a double play.

In the bottom of the 4th, Osky finally broke through on the scoreboard. Ava VandeWall singled and that was followed by an Aubrey Miller double off the left field wall. Taylor Wills would fly out, but Maddie Haines would draw a walk to load the bases with just one out.

Freshman Meghan Moorman came to the plate and dumped a little blooper into shallow left field. Panther shortstop Anni Liechty made a great catch ranging into left, but was upended by left fielder Chi Glaha who was also trying to make the catch. After Liechty fell down, Coach Jay Harms sent VandeWall from third and she would score ahead of the throw.

Mount Pleasant immediately would answer, however, as they would get a leadoff single by Makayla Cam, and she would score on a Chi Glaha double with two outs in the 5th.

The game would stay there until the bottom of the 6th, when Taylor Wills would launch her second home run of the season. The moonshot to straight away centerfield gave Osky a late 2-1 lead with just three outs left to get.

As they have all season, the Panthers battled back, getting a leadoff single by Allison Buckert and she immeiately stole second. After a couple of quick outs, Glaha came through with an RBI single to tie the game off of Groet.

We went into the 8th, and Groet settled back in, striking out the dangerous Bailey Johnson and getting the Panthers 1-2-3 to set up the middle of the Osky order in the bottom half of the inning.

Aubrey Miller led off with a walk and that was followed by a Wills single. Haines would pop out, and that would bring Moorman back to the plate with the potential game-winning run at second base. After Emily Richmond entered as a pinch runner for Miller, Moorman crushed a ball off the base of the centerfield wall to get the RBI and give Osky the win.

Alexis Groet picked up the win in the circle, striking out 11 Panthers and allowing just six hits.

The Indians are into the state semifinals for the second straight year, and they will face #1 Winterset, who enter at 33-7 after a 5-2 win over #8 Sergeant Bluff-Luton on Tuesday.

That state semifinal will be played on Thursday morning at 11:30 AM on Diamond 2 at Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge. You can hear the action live on 104.9 FM KBOE, 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, kboeradio.com,radiokmzn.com, and the KBOE and KMZN mobile apps. The pregame show will begin around 11:15 AM.

No Coast Network Announces Broadcast Lineup for State Softball Tournament

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Rick Watts

State softball is on deck and five area teams will be playing for state titles in four different classes.

All the action on the No Coast Network begins Monday morning around 10:45 on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app. In Class 1A, #8 Montezuma will face #1 Kee in the first game on Buena Vista University Diamond at the Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge. Monte enters at 19-12 while Kee is 35-2.

Following that contest on the same field at around 3 PM will be #7 Sigourney vs. #2 Akron-Westfield. That game will also be broadcast on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app. Sigourney is 22-11 entering the tourney and Akron-Westfield is 35-2.

Not too long after that will be the Class 2A quarterfinal between #6 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont and #3 Waterloo Columbus Catholic. First pitch is on Diamond 2 around 5:30 PM Monday evening. The Rockets will be playing on 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app just before the first pitch. If the Sigourney game is still going on prior to first pitch, the game will begin on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app. EBF enters at 30-8, with Columbus Catholic entering at 34-5.

Tuesday morning, #7 Albia takes the field in the Class 3A bracket. The Lady Dees are playing #2 Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley. First pitch is at 11 AM on Buena Vista University Diamond. You can check for regular updates on 104.9 FM KBOE throughout the game, as well as the KBOE 104.9 FM Facebook page. Albia goes into the tournament at 28-8, and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley enters at 32-2.

Finally, Oskaloosa will round out our first round games Tuesday afternoon at 3 PM in the Class 4A quarterfinals. The #4 Indians play #5 Mount Pleasant on Buena Vista University Diamond, and that game can be heard on both 104.9 FM KBOE and 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN. It will also be streamed on both kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com. Osky goes into the tournament at 29-12 and Mount Pleasant enters at 31-10.

You can follow all of the state tournament action by liking our Facebook pages, KBOE 104.9 FM and KMZN. You can also follow us on Twitter: @KBOERadio and @KMZNRadio.

Oskaloosa Native Returns for Weekend Festivities

Posted on July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 by Rick Watts

An Oskaloosa native is returning back to the city for festivities this weekend. Steve Bell grew up in Oskaloosa and was an Oskaloosa graduate in 1954. From there he went on to Central College for his undergraduate studies. Bell went on to Northwestern University where he earned his master’s degree in Journalism.

Bell began his early career in Omaha, Nebraska working for WOW-TV when he was assigned the story when President John F. Kennedy was shot. Four years later, Bell was sent to New Jersey to start his career with ABC News covering the long hot summer; which was filled with riots and protests from racial tensions and high unemployment. He was a correspondent for ABC News for nearly two decades and covered events during the Vietnam War in Southeast Asia. He went on to work for ‘Good Morning America’ for 11 years and eventually evolved into a news anchor. Moving to Philadelphia in 1986 to co-anchor evening newscasts for KYW-TV.

After Bell’s career in news, he went on to teach telecommunications in 1992 at Ball State University in Indiana
Making his appearance Thursday night, Bell will be in attendance of the Oskaloosa City Band performance. Reminiscing of the time when he once played for the same band, nearly 60 years ago.

Along with the events on Thursday night, Steve Bell will also be participating in Christmas in July on Saturday, July 15 for the Reception in the Alley from 3 PM to 5 PM.

Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office Warns of Black Bear

Posted on July 12, 2017July 13, 2017 by Rick Watts

Mid-morning on Wednesday, July 12, the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office had received a report of a black bear walking in a soybean field north of Oskaloosa. The partying reporting the sighting spotted the bear at the intersection of Highway-163 and 235th Street.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was contacted regarding the sighting. Law Enforcement was unable to location the animal, however, they did obtain hair they believe is from a black bear and sent it off to the DNR lab for testing.

Over the past several weeks, the Iowa DNR noted there has been multiple reports of bear sightings in Iowa over the past several weeks; closest being in Tama and Iowa Counties. The DNR believes this bear is no danger to the public and will vacate the state eventually.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind residents that if a bear is sighted to not approach or attempt to feed the animal. Remember to also keep all children and pets inside if a bear has been spotted in the area. Also, make sure to report any sighting to the local Law Enforcement.

Note from Editor: Please do not attempt to shoot or corral animal. Contact the Iowa DNR or Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office.

Information from Mahaska Sheriff’s Office Press Release.

www.iowadnr.gov

Customer Service: 515-725-8200

Oskaloosa Defeats Burlington with Late Rally, Back to State in Softball

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Rick Watts

The Oskaloosa Indians were trying to make history on the softball diamond on Tuesday night, and riding another unbelievable performance from their ace, they did just that.

#7 Burlington was in town to face the #5 Indians in the Class 4A Region 5 Final with a trip to state on the line. When the dust settled, Osky would grab the win, 5-1.

Oskaloosa hit the ball well all night long against Grayhound pitcher Alivia Fawcett, getting hits in every inning but the fourth. They would plate the game’s first run in the second after singles by Aubrey Miller and Taylor Wills, which would be followed by a Maddie Haines sacrifice bunt and a Meghan Moorman RBI single.

On the other side in the early going, Osky pitcher Alexis Groet struck out the first eight she saw before allowing a couple hits in the fourth. She’d pitch around that jam to keep the score 1-0. After both teams were quiet in the fifth, Burlington brought the top of their order back up in the 6^th. Slap hitting senior Mia Ruther would get her second hit of the game to lead off the inning, then she would promptly steal second. After back-to-back strikeouts, clean-up hitter Heather Geiger hit a soft grounder down the first base line. She would leg that out for an infield hit, and the throw to first from Groet would go down the right field line, allowing the tying run to score.

Into the bottom of the 6^th, Oskaloosa wanted to get more runs before they fell behind. Ava VandeWall led off the inning with a double, representing the go-ahead run. Aubrey Miller would walk to follow that, and Taylor Wills would move the runners to 2^nd and 3^rd on a groundout to first base.

Maddie Haines would come through with a single down the left field line to give Osky the lead. Another bloop hit was hit to right field by Meghan Moorman, which set the table for senior Devan Welch, who got her second hit of the game for an RBI to increase the Osky lead. Josie Bunnell would also hit an RBI single to make it 5-1.

In the 7^th, Groet would quickly retire all three batters she faced to give the Indians the win and move them to state for the third time in four years. This is also the first time in school history that Oskaloosa qualified for state in back-to-back campaigns. They won the Class 4A State Championship in 2016.

Osky advances to state where they will play on Tuesday next week at 3 PM against Mount Pleasant. The Indians are the #4 seed in the bracket with Mount Pleasant the #5 seed. You can catch all of the state tournament games for Osky on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app.

Montezuma, Sigourney, EBF, Albia All Qualify for State Softball Tournament

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Rick Watts

The softball regional finals did not disappoint in our listening area on Monday night as four games produced four area teams qualifying for state.

In a game heard on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app, the Montezuma Bravettes took on Fort Dodge St. Edmond in a most improbable matchup. After three quick, scoreless innings, Monte would plate three runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and another run in the sixth. A solo home run would be all the Gaels could match in that span. Eventually, Monte would get the final out and win by a score of 7-1. Bravette pitcher Hanna Jones would only surrender one run on three hits in the game.

Montezuma will be the #8 seed in Class 1A and will face #1 seed Kee in the quarterfinals on Monday at 11 AM.

On 104.9 FM KBOE, kboeradio.com, and the KBOE mobile app, the Sigourney Savages looked to upset #3 Martensdale-St. Marys on the road. The Savages would score two runs early, but Martensdale-St. Marys would battle back and tie the game. Sigourney would hang tough and walk-it-off in the bottom of the 7^th to advance to state with the upset.

Sigourney will be the #7 seed and will face #2 seed and perennial powerhouse Akron-Westfield Monday at 3 PM.

Joining Montezuma and Sigourney at state are Colfax-Mingo and Belle Plaine, who found ways to win their respective regions as well. That means that four of the eight teams in the Class 1A state tournament bracket are out of the South Iowa Cedar League, a conference that had zero teams ranked in the top ten heading into the postseason.

In Class 2A Region 6, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont travelled to Pella Christian High School to face the #4 team in the state and picked up a 4-1 win to get back to state for the first time since 2014. They’ll be the #6 seed in Class 2A and face #3 seed Waterloo Columbus Catholic on Monday at 5:30 PM.

In Class 3A Region 7, Albia went on the road to face Solon and got a big upset win, 11-3. The Lady Dees have shown the ability to play with anyone and they’ll get a chance as the #7 seed in the Class 3A bracket. They’ll play #2 seed Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley in the quarters on Tuesday at 11 AM.

Tonight, the Class 4A and 5A Regional Finals will be decided. Among them is the Class 4A Region 5 Final between the Oskaloosa Indians and the Burlington Greyhounds tonight at 7 PM. You can hear that contest live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app starting at 6:45 PM.

Also, the Ottumwa Bulldogs will be on the road to face top-ranked Waukee in the Class 5A Region 1 Final. That game is at 7 PM as well.

You can check out a full schedule for the State Softball Tournament for all of our listening area when we announce it by the end of this week for both KBOE and KMZN. Keep updated by checking out the websites, kboeradio.com and radiokmzn.com.

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