HARLAN (July 22) -- Connor Bruck couldn’t have picked a better spot to notch his third and final strikeout against Winterset. Facing the Huskies’ most dangerous hitter in the left-handed Casey Young, who represented the tying run with two on and two out in the top of the seventh, Bruck jumped ahead in the count and eventually got Young to chase a high fastball for strike three as the fifth-ranked Harlan Community baseball team held on to win

 FORT DODGE -- Former IKM-Manning softball pitcher Peyton Gross was honored at the State Softball Tournament Thursday night (July 25) for being a 100-game winner during her prep career. Gross, the daughter of Paul and Joy Gross, Manilla, was recognized prior to the Class 2A championship game as a new member of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s 100-win club.

 HARLAN (July 19) -- On a hot, humid Friday night, Harlan Community’s Brett Sears and Atlantic’s Chase McLaren battled the elements and each other in a pitchers’ duel that lived up to the hype. Both seniors allowed just four singles and combined for 21 strikeouts, but only HCHS was able to scratch across any runs in a 2-0, Class 3A district baseball semifinal win over the Trojans. Luke Schaben had both RBI for the fifth-ranked Cyclones (25-7)

 HARLAN (July 22) -- Friday’s low-scoring district baseball opener - a 2-0 win over Atlantic - could be a prelude of what’s to come this postseason for fifth-ranked Harlan Community (25-7), which hosted Winterset (22-7) in Monday’s District 15 final. The Huskies held back their ace pitcher, Casey Young, on Friday and beat Carroll 12-2 in five innings.

 COON RAPIDS (July 16) -- IKM-Manning finished the baseball season with a record of 7-17 following last Tuesday’s 10-1 loss at Coon Rapids-Bayard in a Class 1A, District 16 semifinal. The ninth-ranked Crusaders (27-4) broke the game open with a pair of early crooked numbers, scoring three runs in the second inning and five in the third to go up 8-0.

 ANITA -- The Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton baseball team lost to CAM 7-2 in a Class 1A district quarterfinal game July 13 and finished the season 10-12 overall. The Spartans scored two runs in the top of the first but the host Cougars answered with four in the bottom of the inning and scored three insurance runs in the fifth. Exira-EHK senior Josh Pettepier took the loss, allowing seven hits and four earned runs in a complete game effort.

 HARLAN (July 19) -- Three wins removed from a potential ninth straight trip to state, the Harlan Community baseball team opens district tournament play Friday night against an opponent that will have its full attention. Atlantic (7-17) takes on the fifth-ranked Cyclones (24-7) in the second of two Class 3A District 15 semifinals at Jim Goeser Field. Winterset (21-7) will face Carroll (13-15) at 5:00 p.m.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (July 15) -- The Harlan Community baseball team let leads of 5-0 and 8-6 slip away on Monday night at Abraham Lincoln, falling to the Lynx 9-8 in a back-and-forth non-conference affair. The game ended in ugly fashion in the bottom of the seventh after AL’s Hunter Nice hit a leadoff single.

 COUNCIL BLUFFS (July 16) -- As soon as AHSTW’s Joel Sampson rifled a bases-clearing triple to the fence in the top of the first, the tone for the night - offense - was set. The Vikings continued to hit the ball well and fought admirably the rest of the way, but never slowed down St.

 ONAWA (July 12) -- When the bats came alive for the AHSTW softball team last Friday, the Lady Vikes scored four sixth-inning runs to pull within 8-5 of West Monona. The drama would be short-lived, however, as the 4th-ranked Spartans answered with six runs on seven hits in the bottom of the sixth to finish off the Lady Vikes 14-5 in a Class 2A regional semifinal. West Monona finished the game with 18 hits and was also aided by AHSTW’s six erro

 FONDA (July 12) -- Seven errors proved extremely costly for Exira-Elk Horn-Kimballton last Friday night as the Spartans lost an 8-1 decision in a Class 1A, Region 2 softball semifinal at 4th-ranked Newell-Fonda. Exira-EHK, which totaled just one less hit (7-6) than the Mustangs, finished 13-15 overall without a senior on the roster.

 BOONE (July 13) -- At the halfway point of Saturday’s Class 4A regional softball semifinal, Harlan Community and Boone appeared destined for a down-to-the-wire finish. Thirty minutes later, the Cyclones could only reflect on how quickly it all came unraveled. The host Toreadors led 1-0 as they came to bat in the bottom of the fourth - a nightmare of a half inning for HCHS that finally ended when Boone walked off the field with a 12-0, mercy-r

 HARLAN (July 11) -- The Harlan Community softball team’s first tournament win in four years was more of a nail-biter than expected, but well worth the wait and the drama. Trailing a five-win Perry team 2-0 and down to their last six outs, the Cyclones scored one run in the sixth and two in the seventh - capped by Morgan Schaben’s walk-off RBI single - to rally past the Jayettes 3-2 in a Class 4A first round regional game Thursday at H.

 AVOCA (July 13) -- A five-run first inning provided more than enough support for junior pitcher Clayton Akers here Saturday night as AHSTW opened the Class 1A district baseball tournament with an 8-0 quarterfinal victory over Fremont-Mills. Akers (4-3) pitched six scoreless innings in just 63 pitches, allowing five hits, walking none and striking out four.

 COON RAPIDS (July 13) -- Trailing 5-1 early on, the IKM-Manning baseball team rallied to keep its season alive here Saturday with a 7-6 win over Ar-We-Va in a Class 1A district quarterfinal. The game ended in bizarre fashion in the bottom of the seventh as the Rockets threatened to tie the score or win.