L-S baseball to face familiar foe at state tournament

According to Lynnville-Sully head baseball coach Scott Alberts, the Hawks might not have truly felt like they belonged at the beginning of last year’s state tournament.

But after walking away from a 1-0 loss against eventual state champion Remsen St. Marys in the semifinals, they believed they were good enough to win a state title.

While this year’s team is a little bit different than the 2023 Hawks that went 29-2, the goal remains the same.

Lynnville-Sully is heading to Merchants Park in Carroll to win the state championship.

“We’re a different team than last year,” senior all-state catcher Corder Noun Harder said. “We’re excited to get back up there. Our goal is to win the whole thing. I think we’ll get a favorable matchup in the first round. I think we’ll be the four seed playing Newman.”

Noun Harder made that prediction before the bracket was out. The No. 5 Hawks are the No. 4 seed, but they will face a familiar foe in the opening round. The No. 5 seed went to Sigourney, which lost to L-S, 4-3, in their one matchup this season. The two teams will play at 1:30 p.m. on Monday in Carroll.

The South Iowa Cedar League champion Hawks and SICL runner-up Savages have played 22 times since 2009. L-S is 12-10 against Sigourney during that time.

Most of that damage came in the past nine meetings though as the Hawks have won three straight and eight of the last nine.

“I think that’s awesome,” Alberts said after learning Sigourney won its substate game, too. “It speaks volumes to the type of competition we have to face all year long. One on each side of the conference. I’m really proud of Sigourney for punching their ticket through.”

The No. 8 Savages enter their first state tournament 21-4 and are coming off a 4-2 win over No. 2 Burlington Notre Dame in the substate finals.

Sigourney is led by Caden Clarahan, who is batting .543 and has an on-base percentage of .648. He also has six homers, 42 RBIs and 63 total bases.

Clarahan also is the team’s ace pitcher. He’ll likely take the ball against the Hawks in their opening-round game. Clarahan is 6-2 with an earned run average of 1.50 and has 68 strikeouts in 42 innings.

In the first meeting, L-S led 2-1 after three innings but it was tied at 3-all after five. The Hawks scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

Clarahan had two doubles in the loss. He also took the pitching loss after allowing two earned runs and four walks in six innings.

Lynnville-Sully threw its top two pitchers and Lucas Sieck and Carson Maston combined to allow one earned run and four hits with nine strikeouts.

“The best part about this year is we know what it’s like,” Noun Harder said. “We don’t have to play a game to get acclimated. The goal is to win it all. That’s been our goal from the beginning.”

Last year’s team batted .361, had a fielding percentage of .962 and the pitchers had an earned run average of 1.60. The Hawks lost ace pitcher Conner Maston as well as Bryce Richards, Caleb Rea and Reese Dunsbergen from that squad.

The 2024 Hawks have numbers of .365, .932 and 1.86. The replacements on this year’s team are seniors Davis Utech and C.J. Nikkel, junior Terran Gosselink and sophomore Jaiden Richards.

Nikkel made 23 starts in the outfield last year but only had 20 at-bats. Utech registered 21 at-bats and made seven starts last year, while Gosselink and Jaiden Richards combined for 11 at-bats.

Nikkel leads the newcomers with an on-base percentage of .505. He also has 26 hits, 38 runs, 30 RBIs and a team-best 23 walks.

“This senior class knew we could get back,” Utech said. “We put in the time and effort to be back there. We are trying to follow in the footsteps of last year’s seniors. That was our focus. We wanted to honor them.”

This year’s senior class includes Noun Harder, Utech, Sieck, Nikkel, Blake Van Wyk, Karter Smead and Samuel Philby.

Noun Harder is one of the very best players in the state. He leads 1A with a .667 on-base percentage and seven home runs. His .570 batting average and 84 total bases rank second in 1A and he sits tied for second with five triples and tied for seventh with 45 hits.

Noun Harder also has 41 runs, eight doubles, 26 RBIs, 26 steals and 22 walks from the lead-off spot. His fielding percentage is .990.

The other team leaders include Carson Maston (11 doubles), Jaiden Richards (eight hit by pitches) and junior Lannon Montgomery (33 RBIs).

“There was a lot of motivation this year,” Carson Maston said. “Some even thought we wouldn’t be conference champions. We lost four seniors who were great in our success last year, but we have guys who were great this year, too.”

A big part of the Hawks’ success, too, came on the mound. L-S has a team ERA of 1.86 and 260 total strikeouts, which rank tied for fifth and seventh, respectively, in 1A.

Sieck is 10-1 with an ERA of 1.30. He has 83 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings. The 10 wins are the most in the class.

Carson Maston is 8-0 with an ERA of 1.14. He has 82 strikeouts in 49 innings and his eight wins rank tied for seventh in 1A.

Lynnville-Sully, which has not lost to a 1A school this season and enters the state tournament with eight straight wins, ranks second in the class with a .365 batting average. Sigourney is eighth at .334. Both teams have 14 home runs, which lead the class.

The Hawks also rank fourth in 1A with 387 total bases and sit fifth with 285 runs scored. Sigourney is averaging 9.2 runs per game and its ERA is 2.68.

“I think we accepted we were at state last year, but I don’t know that the kids truly felt like they belonged,” Alberts said. “When they finished that 1-0 game against Remsen St. Mary’s, I think they walked away believing they belonged on that stage. They believe they can get to the championship game and compete. I think they believe they can go the distance with this thing.”

The Hawks, who have gone 79-8 over the last three seasons, have posted three straight postseason shutouts. They have 11 shutout wins this summer.

The winner between Lynnville-Sully and Sigourney plays either No. 1 Akron-Westfield (27-3) or Bedford (20-10) in the state semifinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Carroll. The state championship game will be at noon on Friday.

The other side of the bracket features matchups of No. 3 Mason City Newman Catholic (31-5) against South Winneshiek (24-5) and No. 4 Remsen St. Mary’s (23-4) versus North Linn (24-8).

The 1A state tournament does not include the No. 2, No. 6, No. 7, No. 9 or No. 10 ranked squads.

“It’s not easy at all. It’s getting kids to buy in that there’s something bigger than themselves,” Alberts said about clinching back-to-back state tournament berths. “Davis (Utech) is a great example. He didn’t play as a junior. He filled in at catcher and got some reps. He wasn’t a main starter last year and for him to stick with it and keep grinding is what this takes.

“If we keep that kind of mentality, and get kids who are willing to put the time in like that, this thing won’t stop. We have something really good happening.”