Class 3A

Region 2

PCM 10, Greene County 2
Clarke 8, Des Moines Christian 0
Clarinda 5, Harlan Community 0
Atlantic 13, Red Oak 0

Class 4A

Region 2

Mason City 9, Boone 7
Webster City 6, Nevada 1

Region 3

Carroll 5, Bishop Heelan 3
Perry 6, Denison-Schleswig 0

Region 4

Indianola 10, Creston 0
Glenwood 5, Lewis Central 4

Region 6

Ballard 3, Newton 0
Pella 16, South Tama 4

The Atlantic Trojan Softball team won 13-0 against the Red Oak Tigers on Thursday night to advance to the semifinals of their postseason region. Atlantic’s starting pitcher Riley Wood got to work quickly in the top of the first retiring the first 3 Red Oak batters. Then in the bottom of the first inning Atlantic took complete control of the ball game tallying 9 runs in the inning. It started with a Makenna Schroeder RBI triple to put the Trojans up 1-0. Later on, in the inning the bases became loaded, and Jillian Saathoff capitalized thanks to a 2 RBI single, creating a 3-0 lead. The runs continued to pour in for Atlantic with an error thrown at home and 6 straight hits to hang a 9-0 advantage after one inning.

In the top of the second inning Wood seemed to slow down as she gave up a base hit and a walk, but still held the Tigers scoreless. The Trojans response in the bottom of the second was to load the bases again after 3 players were hit by a pitch. Makenna Sonntag came up to hit a sac fly making the game 10-0 for Atlantic. Two additional runs were scored off of mistimed throws at home plate and Schroeder would get her third RBI of the day to make a daunting 13-0 score. The top of the third inning saw Peyton McClaren come in as a relief pitcher for Wood and she threw 3 consecutive strikeouts to end the game.

Atlantic looked sharp throughout the day thanks to the efforts of Wood in the circle pitching 2 innings, with 1 hit, 1 walk, and no runs. In the batter’s box the Trojans were assisted by Schroeder going 3-3, with a triple, and 3 RBI’s.

Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann liked the difference in execution from his team compared to the first time they played Red Oak on Monday.

The Trojans next game will be a semifinal matchup against a familiar opponent the Clarinda Cardinals on Saturday. Atlantic is 1-1 against Clarinda on the year and to get a win on Saturday the Trojans have to be consistent with every aspect of the game.

Red Oaks ends their season with a record of 3-24.

Josef Newgarden will try to keep his winning streak alive at the Iowa Speedway this weekend. The back-to-back Indy 500 champion has won six times at the Iowa Speedway, including both ends of an IndyCar twinbill last year. The first of two races this weekend is Saturday night’s Hy-Vee Homefront 250. Newgarden says the Iowa Speedway is a uniqiue oval track in terms of the physical challenge it offers.

Newgarden says the partial repaving in both sets of turns will make it a different track this weekend.

Newgarden says Friday afternoon practice runs will be even more important.

The weekend concludes with Sunday’s Hy-Vee One Step 250.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Craig Ballard has been named an assistant coach for the University of Iowa gymnastics team, head coach Jen Llewellyn announced Thursday.

“I am thrilled to welcome Craig to our coaching staff,” said Llewellyn. “I have known Craig for over a decade and have high respect for the career he has built for himself. Craig brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience for our sport. He has had many great accomplishments in his 17-year coaching career, and I am confident he will have an immediate impact on our program through his passion, work-ethic and vision for greatness.”

Ballard joins the Hawkeyes after 13 seasons at Kent State where he served as an assistant coach for 12 seasons before being named associate head coach in 2024. Prior to Kent State, Ballard served as an assistant coach at Bowling Green and Rhode Island.

In his time with the Golden Flashes he helped lead them to six regular season Mid-American Conference championships and nine NCAA postseason appearances. During his tenure, he coached six MAC Gymnast of the Year, three MAC Senior Gymnast of the Year, three MAC Specialist of the Year, and two MAC Freshmen of the Year. Ballard was instrumental in having eight individual MAC champions and two WCGA All-Americans. In the classroom the Golden Flashes had 153 student-athletes recognized as WCGA Academic All-Americans.

Prior to his arrival at Kent State, Ballard spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bowling Green. There, Ballard helped spearhead a turnaround that saw the Falcons go from last place in the MAC to fourth and improve seven positions in the final national rankings. He guided six gymnasts to NCAA Central Regional berths in three years.
Ballard spent the 2008 season as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator at Rhode Island, earning Eastern College Athletic Conference Assistant Coach of the Year honors as the Rams took second place at the conference championships.

Ballard got his start in collegiate coaching as a team manager/student coach at West Virginia, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communication studies in 2006.
A native of Morgantown, W.V., Ballard and his wife, Allyson, have two sons, Reed and Carter Thomas.