Corydon — The Grisowld softball team lost a close one Monday night against the Wayne Lady Falcons 5-4.  For those in attendance Monday night, the 1A Region 4 Championship had all the softball drama you could want.  Homeruns, strikeouts, dives in the outfield, and late game rallies.

The bottom of the first inning had our first indicator of excitement. Izzie Moore stepped into the batter’s box and hit a two-run homerun. The ball launching over 215 feet and the Wayne fans erupted.  They were the first to score and led 2-0. The next hit for Wayne was a solo homerun deep in left field from Ava Whitney. The Falcons had all the momentum heading into the 5th and leading 3-0. Dakota Reynolds started off the fifth with a double and life came back into the Griswold dugout. Reynolds would then score when a mistimed throw to first rolled off the dugout wall.

The Tigers had life as the score was now 3-1. Wayne responded with a 2 RBI single from Allie Fortune in the fifth and things seemed to be over as the score was now 5-1.

Karly Millikan struggled in the circle Monday night. She had 5 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts.

In the 6th inning things got interesting for Griswold.  They had two straight base hits, then an error to bring a run in.  The score was 5-2. Karly Millikan then hit a 2 RBI single to make it 5-4 but was thrown out while running towards second.

When the top of the 7th inning came Griswold was ready for the comeback and so was Izzie Moore.  She retired the side and ended a solid night with a strikeout.  Moore threw 7 innings, had no walks, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, and 6 strikeouts.  The Lady Falcons won 5-4 and would advance to the state tournament.

It was a bitter ending for Head Coach Jody Rossell, but she kept her head high from the heart her teams showed.

Griswold ends their season with a record of (26-4).  The Wayne Lady Falcons continue on to the state tournament with a record of (21-8).

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa redshirt senior Jared Simpson was selected by the Washington Nationals on Monday in the 8th Round of the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft. Simpson was the 225th pick overall.

Simpson is the 28th player drafted under head coach Rick Heller.

The Clinton, Iowa, native had a 4-3 record in 22 appearances in 2023. He tallied 64 strikeouts in 42.2 innings. Simpson had a 6.54 ERA with a .253 batting average against. Simpson made one start and had one save.

A transfer from Missouri and Iowa Western CC, Simpson made 41 career appearances and had a 4-4 record. Simpson tallied 93 strikeouts to 45 walks.

The Hawkeyes finished the 2023 season with a 44-16 overall record with the 44 wins tied for most in program history. Iowa finished third in the Big Ten regular season standings, advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game and the team won two games at the Terre Haute Regional in Iowa’s first NCAA Regional appearance since 2017.

IHSAA Baseball Playoffs
Substate Semifinals
07/10/2023

CLASS 3A

Substate 8
Lewis Central 9, Glenwood 3
Harlan 8, Storm Lake 4

CLASS 4A

Substate 3

Valley 3, CB Abraham Lincoln 2

IGHSAU Softball Playoffs
Regional Finals
07/10/2023

CLASS 1A

Class 1A Region 1: Remsen St. Mary’s 10, Logan-Magnolia 0
Class 1A Region 2: St. Edmond 11, Newell-Fonda 1
Class 1A Region 3: Southeast Warren 3, Exira-EHK 0 – AUDIO ON KJANTV
Class 1A Region 4: Wayne 5, Griswold 4 ON KJAN
Class 1A Region 5: Martensdale-St. Marys 4, Collins-Maxwell 0
Class 1A Region 6: Saint Ansgar @ Clarksville 12, Saint Ansgar 2
Class 1A Region 7:  North Linn 17, Calamus-Wheatland 7
Class 1A Region 8: Sigourney 2, Twin Cedars 1

CLASS 2A 

Class 2A Region 1: West Monona 7, North Union 6
Class 2A Region 2: Missouri Valley 8, Sioux Central 4
Class 2A Region 3: Van Meter 10, Pocahontas Area 0
Class 2A Region 4: I-35 2, South Hardin 1
Class 2A Region 5: Columbus Catholic @ Central Springs PPD to Tuesday 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 6: Lisbon 11, South Winneshiek 1
Class 2A Region 7: Regina Catholic 6, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 1
Class 2A Region 8: Northeast 5, Wilton 1

For the second straight season the Southeast Warren Warhawks defeated the Exira-EHK Spartans 3-0 in the Class 1A Region 3 Final to advance to the state tournament. The Warhawks will head to state for the third straight season and try to improve on their runner-up finish a year ago.

The Warhawks did their damage against the Spartans in the first two innings. Breanna Nolte had a bloop hit land fair on the right field line in the first and took off to try to make it a triple. An errant throw to third let the ball hit the Southeast Warren dugout and Nolte came home for an inside the park homer to score the opening run. The next inning Lexi Clendenen got a base hit and two batters later Lola Shriver hit her first homer of the season, a two-run shot over left-center to put the Warhawks up 3-0. The pitchers dominated most of the rest of the way and the score never changed.

Olivia Ruble was terrific in the circle for the Warhawks, allowing just one hit and notching 8 strikeouts. She improved her mark to 12-5 on the season. Southeast Warren improved to 25-6 on the season and will head to the first round of state on Tuesday night in Fort Dodge.

Exira-EHK head coach Andrea Schwery said the poor start doomed the Spartans.

Coach Schwery thought the young eighth grader Riley Miller did nice job in the circle bouncing back from the homer in the 2nd.

The Spartans say goodbye to two seniors that meant a lot to Spartan athletics, Quinn Grubbs and Shea Burmeister.

Coach Schwery was proud of what they accomplished this season.

The Spartans fell in the Regional Final for the fourth straight season and end the year at 22-5.

With Jack Campbell and Seth Benson gone some new faces will need to step up at linebacker for the Iowa defense. Senior Jay Higgins is the likely starter in the middle and says summer workouts is a good time to build depth.

One of the additions has been Virginia transfer Nick Jackson. He was a second team All-ACC standout last season.

Higgins says as a senior he has taken on more of a leadership role.

The Hawkeyes open at home on September second against Utah State.

Iowa senior Tony Perkins wants to have a big season for the Hawkeye basketball team. The native of Indianapolis was third on the team in scoring at just under 12 and-a-half points per game and becomes one of the leaders for a team that lost top scorers Kris Murray and Filip Rebraca.

Perkins shot 33 percent from three point range and has spent this summer working on perimeter shooting.

Perkins spent a week training in Las Vegas.

The Hawkeyes were 19-14 last season and lost to Auburn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

IHSAA Baseball Playoffs
Substate Semifinals
07/10/2023

CLASS 3A

Substate 8
Glenwood @ Lewis Central 5:30 p.m.
Harlan @ Storm Lake 7:00 p.m.

CLASS 4A

Substate 3

CB Abraham Lincoln @ Valley 7:00 p.m.

IGHSAU Softball Playoffs
Regional Finals
07/10/2023

CLASS 1A

Class 1A Region 1: Logan-Magnolia @ Remsen St. Mary’s 7:00 p.m.
Class 1A Region 2: St. Edmond @ Newell-Fonda 7:00 p.m.
Class 1A Region 3: Exira-EHK @ Southeast Warren 7:00 p.m. – AUDIO ON KJANTV
Class 1A Region 4: Griswold @ Wayne 7:00 p.m. – ON KJAN
Class 1A Region 5: Collins-Maxwell @ Martensdale-St. Marys 7:00 p.m.
Class 1A Region 6: Saint Ansgar @ Clarksville 7:00 p.m.
Class 1A Region 7: Calamus-Wheatland @ North Linn 7:00 p.m.
Class 1A Region 8: Twin Cedars @ Sigourney 7:00 p.m.

CLASS 2A 

Class 2A Region 1: North Union @ West Monona 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 2: Sioux Central @ Missouri Valley 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 3: Pocahontas Area @ Van Meter 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 4: South Hardin @ I-35 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 5: Columbus Catholic @ Central Springs 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 6: Lisbon @ South Winneshiek 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 7: Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont @ Regina Catholic 7:00 p.m.
Class 2A Region 8: Northeast @ Wilton 7:00 p.m.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., July 9, 2023 – The St. Louis Cardinals selected outfielder Chase Davis out of the University of Arizona with their first-round selection (21st overall) in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft.

Davis, a native of Elk Grove, California, played three seasons at Arizona slashing .319/.444/.644/1.088 with 39 HR, 33 doubles, 132 RBI, 132 runs and a 118:96 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 147 career games.  His 39 home runs are the third-most in the Wildcats school history.

“Chase is someone we’ve been following since his high school days that we are thrilled about adding to our organization,” said Cardinals Assistant General Manager and Director of Scouting Randy Flores.  “He had a banner junior season this year at Arizona, displaying incredible power while also dramatically improving his plate discipline to become one of the most well-rounded outfielders in the country.  He also showed an ability to move very well defensively and possess a strong throwing arm that we believe will be able to play at any outfield position.  During our evaluations, we learned of his tremendous work ethic and deep love of the game, giving our scouting department confidence that he will develop to become the best player possible.”

After limited playing time as a true freshman in 2021 with a veteran-led team that advanced to the College World Series, Davis became a full-time player in 2022, starting 62 games, hitting .289 (68-for- 235) with a .414 on-base percentage along with a team-leading 18 HR, 13 doubles, 54 RBI and 56 runs scored.

The 6’1”, 216-pound left-handed hitter entered the 2023 season as a consensus preseason All-American and led the Wildcats in several offensive categories including batting average (.362), on-base percentage (.489), slugging percentage (.742), runs (71), home runs (21) and walks (43) while starting all 57 games played.  His 21 home runs were tied for first among all Pac-12 hitters and the third-most in a single season in school history.  Davis reached base safely in 55 of 57 games played, including his first 45 games to begin the season.  He also showed tremendous growth as a hitter, raising his batting average by 73 points, lowering his strikeout rate from 22.8% to 14.4% and had more walks than strikeouts (40).  He helped lead the Wildcats to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, defeating 10th-ranked Oregon State and 3rd-ranked Stanford, and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player with a tournament-high 12 RBI in four games.

For his outstanding efforts, Davis was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and selected as a Second-Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).  He was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy.

Davis attended Franklin High School in Elk Grove, California, southeast of Sacramento, a rival to current Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson’s alma mater at nearby Elk Grove High School.  Prior to his junior season, he participated in the 2018 MLB Breakthrough Series and also took part in MLB’s Player Development Pipeline in 2019 and multiple MLB Dream Series showcases.

Davis is the first Arizona player selected in the first round since catcher Daniel Susac went 19th overall to the Oakland Athletics in 2022 and the first Wildcats player (17th total) to be selected by the Cardinals since outfielder Ryan Holgate in the 2nd round (Competitive Balance – Round B) of the 2021 draft and second-ever Arizona player taken by the Redbirds in the first round, joining left-handed pitcher Joe Magrane (18th overall) in 1985.

The 21-year-old is the first college hitter to be selected by St. Louis with their first selection in the first round of the MLB draft since second baseman Kolten Wong (22nd overall) in 2011, and the first college outfielder to be chosen in by the club in the first round since James Ramsey (23rd overall) in 2012.

The Cardinals have drafted a California native in each of the last three seasons, including left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe (Davis, CA) in 2022 and right-handed pitcher Michael McGreevy (San Clemente, CA) in 2021.

Davis is the fifth 21st overall selection for the Cardinals since 1965, joining outfielder Jordan Walker (2020), left-handed pitcher Allen Watson (1991) and right-handed pitchers Todd Worrell (1982) and Dan Larson (1972).  Other notable recent first round picks for St. Louis include left-handed pitcher Zack Thompson (2019, 19th overall), third baseman Nolan Gorman (2018, 19th overall), outfielder Dylan Carlson (2016, 33rd overall), right-handed pitcher Dakota Hudson (2016, 34th overall), right-handed pitcher Jake Woodford (2015, 39th overall), and right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty (2014, 34th overall).

The team’s highest overall selection was right-handed pitcher Braden Looper (3rd overall) in 1996.  The Cardinals have had only 11 top-ten selections, the most recent being outfielder J.D. Drew (5th overall) in 1998.

The 2023 MLB Draft continues tomorrow with rounds 3-10, beginning at 1:00 PM CT, and concludes with rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, July 11, starting at 1:00 PM CT.