Beavers beat Knights 9-3 in Lowden

 LOWDEN — The Wilton Beaver softball team broke open a close 3-2 game at North Cedar last Thursday with a three-run fourth to take command of their game with the Knights 7-3, on their way to a 9-3 win.
 Wilton scored twice in the first with Mallory Lange scoring on a past ball and Hayley Madlock with a RBI single. Madlock had her second RBI single in the third inning to break a 2-2 tie and give Wilton a 3-2 lead. In the Beavers three-run fourth, back-to-back-to-back RBI hits from Lange, Peyton Souhrada, and Payton Ganzer accounted for the runs. Souhrada’s RBI double scoring Lange gave Wilton
a 7-3 lead after six innings. An RBI triple by Chole Wells and a Taylor Garvin sac fly gave the Beavers their final two runs in the seventh.
 North Cedar had RBI’s in consecutive at-bats by Kendall Smith and Carly Meier in the bottom of the first inning to tie the score at 2-2. The last Knight run came from a RBI single by senior Kassidie Galloway
in the bottom of the seventh. Mila Johnson was the winning pitcher after four innings of work. She struck out three, walked one and gave up two runs on three hits. Grace Madlock pitched three innings in relief giving up no runs and striking out six. Kendall Smith took the loss for North Cedar. Smith struck out three, walked one and gave up nine runs on nine hits.
 Wilton had 14 hits with five players having multi-hit games. Hayley Madlock was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s while Mallory Lange, Peyton Souhrada, Payton Ganzer and Ella Caffrey each had two hits.

Wildcats pick up win in Solon

 SOLON — The Durant softball team picked up a non-conference victory Saturday over Union of LaPorte City. The Wildcats won the first of two non-conference games on the day 12-3. Later, Durant fell to Solon 12-0 in five innings.
 Durant scored three runs in the top of the first, but Union answered with three runs themselves in their half of the first. Durant broke out with the lead in the second inning, scoring four runs to take a 7-3 lead. Durant added to their lead in the fifth with a pair of runs to set the score at 9-3. The Wildcats added three runs in the top of the seventh to push their lead to 12-3.
Durant had 14 hits in the game and four players with multi-hit games. The Wildcats 3-6 hitters of Allie Poston, Kylie Schult, Kira Schult, and Savanna Meinert did the most damage in the game. The quartet combined to go 12-for-17 with 10 RBI’s and seven runs scored. The quartet had three extra base hits with Poston having a double and a solo home run and Kylie Schult had a double. Shannon Head was the winning pitcher with a complete game over seven innings. Head struck out five, walked three and gave up eight hits.
 Against the Spartans, Durant managed only three hits. Solon took control of the game in the bottom of the first inning, scoring five runs. Solon tacked on three in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 8-0. Pairs of runs in each of the third and fourth got the score to 12-0.
 Kayla West was the winning pitcher after four innings where she struck out four. West was 15-6 last year as a junior. Kylie Schult took the loss after three innings of work. She gave up 12 runs on 13 hits and walked four. Savanna Meinert collected two of the Wildcats hits while Allie Poster had the other Durant hit.

Knights shock Beavers, beat Wilton 11-5

 LOWDEN — The North Cedar Knight baseball team picked up one of their biggest wins in program
history on Thursday, June 18. There, the Knights shocked perennial River Valley Conference
and Class 2A state power Wilton, beating the Beavers 11-5. The win set the Knights record at 2-0.
North Cedar broke a scoreless game open with a two-run bottom of the second to take a 2-0 lead. Wilton responded with a four-run top of the third to take a 4-2 lead. The Beavers would hold the lead until the top of the fifth when they extended their lead to 5-2 with a run int he fifth. North Cedar cut into the Beavers lead in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to get within 5-4 with the Beavers ahead. That score stood until the bottom of  the sixth. There, North Cedar exploded for seven runs to take the lead and seal the game with an 11-5 lead.
Tadan Lange started for North Cedar and pitched the first three innings of the game. Lange gave up four runs on one hit while striking out four and walking five Wilton batters. He did get the pitching
victory. Chase Miller pitched the final four innings in relief. Miller gave up one run on three hits and struck out three Wilton batters.
 North Cedar was led at the plate by two players with multi-hit games. Ethan Sahr was 2-for-5 with a single, double, and two runs scored and Tadan Lange was 2-for-3 with two singles and two runs scored. Tyler Jackson, Jacob Wagner, Brennen Kreel, Gage Walshire, Tyler Thurston, James Garner, and Jaxon Sander all had hits.
 Wilton had four hits in the game by four different players. Gage Hagen, Colby Sawvell, Chase Garvin, and Patrick Barszczewski accounted for the hits. Garvin, and Barszczewski each had RBI’s. Karson Willey took the loss after starting and working four innings he gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out five batters. Patrick Barszczewski pitched in relief and gave up seven runs on four hits.

Tigers are 3-1 with road RVC victory at Mid-Prairie, 2-1

 KALONA — The Tipton softball team has started the 2020 season on fire, winning three of their first four games. The Tigers traveled to Mid-Prairie last Thursday and picked up their second RVC win in as many tries, beating Mid-Prairie 2-1. Tipton senior Morgan Wendel won her third game this season and improved to 3-0 keeping the Golden Hawks off balanced at the plate. Wendel struck out seven and walked one batter in seven innings of work.
 The Tigers scored both of their runs in the first inning. Tipton sent five batters to the plate and pushed two runs home. Britney Ford walked, stole second and went to second on a fielder’s choice. She scored on an RBI single by Avary Calonder. Calonder would come in to score on a double by Kamryn Chapman to give THS a 2-0 lead. Mid-Prairie scored their run in the bottom of the fourth. Tipton would survive the Golden Hawks seventh inning where they had the tying run reach third base.
 Tipton had six hits in the game and had two players with multi-hit games. The Tigers were led by Avary Calonder and Delaney Fitch who were each 2-for-3 at the plate. Calonder had two singles, an RBI and scored a run. Fitch had two singles. Also registering hits were Birtney Ford and Kamryn Chapman.
 Abbi Patterson, Jaselyn Robertson, and Lanie Bowlin had the hits for Mid-Prairie. Myah Lugar took the loss after working seven innings. Lugar struck out nine, walked one and gave up two Tipton runs on six hits.
 

Tigers Split With Davenport Central To Improve To 2-1
 DAVENPORT — Two days after picking their season opening win, the Tipton softball improved to 2-1 after splitting a varsity doubleheader at Davenport Central. The Tigers won game one 6-5 in nine innings, but fell 13-1 in the second game. Tipton improved to 2-1 with the victory.
 In game one, Tipton senior Morgan Wendel improved to 2-0 on the year after getting the win. Wendel pitched all nine innings and gave up five runs, two earned, on six hits. She struck out 11 batters and walked two.
 Tipton trailed 3-0 after the fifth inning of the game. In the top of the sixth, Tipton’s bats came alive with two outs. Britney Ford singled and stole second base. Ford scored on an Avary Calonder RBI single. Calonder stole second base and advanced to third on a Kamryn Chapman single. With runners on the corners, Chapman stole second, and on the play the Davenport Central shortstop made an error allowing Calonder to score the Tigers second run, and cut the Blue Devil lead to 3-2. Grace Nichols stepped up and smacked a hard line-drive to center field scoring Champman to tie the game at 3-3. The Tigers let a prime scoring chance slip through their hands in the top of the 7th. Madison Burmeister drew a one-out walk and a pinch-hit double by Madelyn Ham sent Burmeister to third giving the Tigers two runners in scoring position. Davenport Central recovered, getting the Tigers Sydney Barton and Britney Ford out in consecutive at-bats to end the inning.
 Davenport Central also let a chance to win the game slip through their hands in the bottom of the seventh. DC advanced their first batter of the inning to third base with no outs. The Tigers didn’t flinch, and got the next three batters out in order to end the threat and send the game to extra innings. Tipton got a runner to second base in the top of the eighth but came away with no runs. The Tigers would not make the same mistake in the top of the ninth, scoring three runs to take a 6-3 lead. Three consecutive hits from the 8-9-1 batters of Delaney Fitch, Madelyn Ham, and Sydney Barton produced the go-ahead run and put two runners in scoring position. Fitch and Ham opened the inning with back-to-back doubles with Ham getting the RBI. Ham and then Barton, would later score to give the Tigers a three-run lead. Morgan Wendel had a bumpy bottom of the ninth, facing seven batters and giving up two earned runs to set the score at 6-5 Tigers, but Wendel calmly retired the Blue Devils 1-2 batters for the second and final outs to close out the win.
 The Tiger offense produced 11 hits in the game. Tipton had four extra base hits in the game. Madelyn
Ham collected a pair of doubles while Wendel and Delaney Fitch each had doubles. The Tigers
had three multi-hit players in the game as Kamryn Chapman, Grace Nichols, and Madelyn Ham each had two hits in the game. Avary Calonder led four THS players with a run driven in with two RBI’s. Ham, Nichols, and Britney Ford each had a RBI in the game. Other THS hits came from Sydney Barton, Ford, Calonder, Wendel, and Fitch.
 In game two, Central evened the doubleheader, beating the Tigers 13-1 in a game that ended early due to the 10-run mercy rule. The Tigers had a season low hit total through three games of the season in the game with three. Avary Calonder, Britney Ford, and Grace Nichols each had hits. Kamryn Chapman drove in the Tigers only run. Chapman was leading the RVC in RBI’s with four through the first three nights of the season.
 Delaney Fitch took the loss in her first start of the season. Davenport Central scored ten runs in the one-inning Fitch worked. Ashlyn Curry finished up the game in relief and struck out two batters and gave up three runs.

Wildcats shutout NE Rebels at home, 3-0

 DURANT — The Durant baseball team picked up a shutout win over Northeast last week at home, 4-0. The Wildcats scored single runs in the first and third innings before putting the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to push their lead to 4-0. Durant was retired in order while batting only once in six innings. Eight of nine batters in the Wildcat lineup reached base at least once in the game.
Durant had five hits in the game by four different players. Drew DeLong was 2-for-4 with a double, triple, RBI and run scored. Jake Willkomm, Ben Orr, and Nolan DeLong all had hits. Ben Orr was the winning pitcher, pitching a complete game shutout over seven innings. He struck out three, issued no walks and scattered just three hits.
 

Wildcats Out Hit Rebels, Fall To No. 10 Northeast 6-5
 DURANT — Three days after getting their first win of the year and first for new coach Aubrey Bland, the Durant softball team hosted Class 2A No. 10 Northeast Goose Lake. The Wildcat offense scored five runs on 13 hits, four more than the Rebels, but came up short on the scoreboard by one run, 6-5. The loss evens Durant’s record to 1-1.
 Durant led 2-0 after the first inning, but Northeast tied the score at 2-2 with a two-run top of the third inning. Northeast would grab a 6-2 lead with a four-run third. That lead held until the bottom of the fifth when Durant pushed two runs across the plate to get within 6-4. Durant got within one run in the bottom of the seventh inning, 6-5, but could not get closer.
 Shannon Head started and took the loss after working four innings. She struck out three and walked three batters. She gave up six runs on eight hits. Kylie Schult pitched the final three innings in relief. She gave up one hit and struck out one batter. Madison Kluever was the winning pitcher after working seven innings and giving up five runs on 13 hits. She struck out two and walked three Durant batters.
Durant had 13 hits in the game and had four players with multi-hit games. Kylie Schult was 3-for-3 with four RBI’s while
 Nicole Brown, Kira Schult, and Abbey Rhoades each had two hits. Allie Poston had a double and Ally Happ, Brooklyn Bullard, and Hannah Peel each had hits.
 The Wildcat softball team played in Solon last Saturday where they played two non-conference games. The Wildcats played Class 3A Solon and Union, LaPorte City.

Rain interrupts Tigers game with Wilton, ends in loss 3-2

 WILTON — A rainstorm late in the Tigers road game at RVC power Wilton ended a good ballgame with Wilton taking the game by one-run, 3-2. The Tigers fell to 2-2 while Wilton improved to 2-1.
Wilton scored all three runs in a two-inning stretch of the second and third innings. Wilton scored twice in the second inning after getting their first two batters in the inning on-base. Caleb Sawvell doubled and Leo Durocher walked. Both later scored to give Wilton a 2-0 lead. In the next inning, Karson Willey walked to lead off the inning and scored on a Chase Garvin two-out single to set the score at 3-0.
 Tipton struggled to solve Wilton starting pitcher Jackson Hull. Hull got through the first three innings facing ten batters as the Tigers only baserunner was Carter Hill after hitting a single in the second inning.  The Tigers would send five batters to the plate in the fourth and fifth innings and score single runs in each inning to cut the Beavers lead to 3-2. After Wilton batted in the bottom of the fifth inning, lightning was seen to the South, and required 30-minute delay clock started. During the delay, there was a heavy rain storm that dumped too much water on the field to continue play.
 Jackson Hull won the game after five innings of work. Hull struck out two, walked two and gave up two runs on five hits. Kael Jauron took the loss after starting and working two innings. He gave up three runs on two hits and struck out four. Cole Syring pitched three innings of relief.
 Wilton had five hits in the game. Caleb Sawvell and Chase Garvin each had two hits and Karson Willey had a hit. Garvin drove in two runs and Sawvell had a double. Tipton had five hits in the game by five different players. Kael Jauron and Connor Hermiston each had a hit and a RBI. Other THS hits came from Trent Pelzer, Nile Schuett, and Carter Hill.

Two in a row! Tigers double up No. 10 Golden Hawks 14-7

 WELLMAN — The Tipton baseball team won their second straight game on Thursday, June 18, beating 10th ranked Mid-Prairie 14-7. The Tigers are 2-1 with the win. The Golden Hawks were ranked highly by the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association. West Branch is also ranked in the top-10. The win is the second in as many seasons against a top-10 River Valley Conference team. The Tigers beat Cascade last year 4-3 on a walk-off Luke Becker hit to defeat the No. 7 Cougars.
 Tipton jumped on the Golden Hawks early with a five-run top of the first inning. The Tigers sent ten batters to the plate including getting seven straight batters safely to base after the Golden Hawks got the first out of the game.
 Tipton added to their lead in the top of the second inning, scoring three runs to take an 8-3 lead. Two more THS runs in the top of the third set the score at 10-3. It would equal the Tigers biggest lead in the game. Tipton led 12-7 after five innings and added a single run in both the top of the sixth and the top of the seventh to get to the 14-7 score.
 Eight different Tigers scored a run in the game. The Tigers 2-4 hitters of Trent Pelzer, Nile Schuett, and Kael Jauron combined to go 7-for-13 with seven runs scored and four RBI’s. The Tigers were 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts in the game.
 Tipton had two players with multi-hit games as the Tigers collected 12 hits as a team. Trent Pelzer and Nile Schuett each had three hits and a RBI. Pelzer scored three runs and Schuett two runs. Kael Jauron, Cole Syring, Carter Hill, Davis Webb, Caden Schmidt, and Kayden Rezac all had a hit and a RBI. Hill drove in two runs and had a double. Davis Webb and Elliot Cummins handled the pitching duty. Webb started and went four innings. He gave up six runs on three hits and struck out five. Cummins allowed one run on two his and struck out one batter.
 

Notes: The Tigers have averaged 13.6 hits a game in their first three games and 11.6 runs in those games. The Tigers have 24 stolen bases through their first three games including going 21-for-22 in their two wins. Through the first three games of the year, Trent Pelzer and Nile Schuett are tied for the most hits in the RVC South with eight. Also, Schuett leads the RVC South in RBI’s with seven and Pelzer with stolen bases with eight in the first three nights’ games.
 

Tigers Cruise To First Win, 18-2 At Central City
 CENTRAL CITY — Two nights after losing at North Cedar in their season opener, the Tipton baseball team collected their first win of the 2020 season at Central City. There, the Tigers pounded out 21 hits and scored a whopping 18 runs to dispatch their opponents 18-2 in six innings to improve to 1-1. The Tigers scored runs in each of the six innings including three innings with three or more runs in them.
Kael Jauron started and got the win after working two innings and giving up no runs and only one hit over two innings. Peyton Gaertner pitched three games in relief and allowed two runs on three hits. The two Tiger pitchers each struck out three Central City batters.
 Five Tipton players had multi-hit games. The Tigers had ten doubles in the game by eight different players. The Tigers also stole ten bases.
 Trent Pelzer had quite a game, going 4-for-5 at the plate with four RBI’s, four Stolen bases and he scored twice. Nile Schuett was 3-for-5 with three RBI’s, three stolen bases and he scored twice. Jauron and Caden Schmidt also each had three hits in the game and each drove in a run. Elliott Cummins
was the other Tiger with a multi-hit game, with two hits.
 Tipton led 1-0 after the first inning and extended their lead to 4-0 after two innings. Tipton
led 5-0 before Central City scored twice in the bottom of the third to cut into the Tigers lead at 5-2. Tipton would take control of the game over the next three innings. Tipton scored five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 10-2 lead after four innings. Tipton led 11-2 after five innings and put the game away with a seven-run top of the sixth to set the score at its final of 18-2.
Ethan

Durant splits RVC games with Comets

 WEST LIBERTY — Both Durant summer ball teams traveled to West Liberty last Friday, June 19 to finish the first week of the 2020 summer season. Both of the Wildcats teams came into their respective contests 1-1 and looking for a win. The baseball team would capture one, winning 12-0 in six innings over the Comets. The softball team would not, falling by a one-sided score of 10-0 in five innings to the state ranked Comets. Durant was supposed to be back in action Monday, but the Wildcats RVC date with Mid-Priarie was rained out. The Wildcats travel to North Cedar Thursday before hosting Wilton on Tuesday, June 30.

State Ranked Comets Too Much For Wildcat Softball Team
 The historical record in the last 20 meetings between Durant and West Liberty on the softball
diamond has slanted Durant’s way (17-3), but the Comets would beat Durant 10-0 and capture their second win in the last three tries against the Wildcats.
 West Liberty broke open a close 3-0 game in the bottom of the third inning with a 6-run inning to blow open the game with a 9-0 lead. The Comets ended the game by the 10-run mercy rule with a single run in the bottom of the fifth. Janey Gingerich was the winning pitcher for the Comets, striking out one and issuing no walks. Kylie Schult took the loss for Durant. Schult gave up nine runs on ten hits and walked four batters. Shannon Head pitched one-inning in relief.
 Durant’s hits came from Kylie Schult, Savanna Meinert, and Nicole Brown. 

Wildcats Score A Dozen Runs In West Liberty Win

 The Durant baseball team scored a season high in runs last Friday when they beat West Liberty 12-0 in six innings. The Wildcats improved to 2-1 with the win. Durant broke open a 1-0 game with a five-run third inning to extend their lead to 6-0. The Comets would score six more runs over the next two innings to push their lead to 12-0.
 Durant out-hit the Comets 13 to 1. Wildcat starter Nate Dierickx spun a one-hitter, striking out three Comets and walking no batters to get the win. Four Wildcats had multi-hit games led by Keagan Head and Dierickx each with three hits. Logan Callison and Lucas Callison each had two hits. Dierickx had three RBI’s and Brendan Paper drove in two runs. Drew DeLong, Logan Callison, and Lucas Callison each had a RBI. Five different Wildcats stole a base in the game.

Wilton stays unbeaten with 12-2 win over Tipton

 WILTON — The Wilton softball team stayed unbeaten with a 12-2 win over Tipton at home in five innings last Friday. Wilton took control of the game in the bottom of the first inning, scoring seven runs for an early 7-0 lead. The Beavers extended their lead to 9-0 with a two-run second, and 11-0 with a two-run third. The Beavers put the game away, ending it by the 10-run mercy rule, 12-2 in the fifth inning.
In the first inning, Wilton had four players with RBI hits. Payton
 Ganzer had a 2-run double while Ella Caffrey, Chloe Wells and Taylor Garvin all had RBI hits as Wilton built a 7-0 lead. Wilton extended their lead to 9-0 with a two-run second and an 11-0 lead with a two-run third. A Peyton Souhrada single in the bottom of the fifth gave the Beavers a 10-run margin.
 The Tigers offense sent at least five batters to the plate in all but one of the five innings. The Tigers had three innings where they had a batter single to lead off the inning. The Tigers scored their only two runs in the game in the fifth. Grace Nichols had a RBI single to score Sydney Barton and Avary Calonder scored on a passed ball to set the score at 11-2.
 Mila Johnson was the winning pitcher after working three innings. She struck out five, walked no Tiger batters and gave up three hits. Grace Madlock pitched two innings in relief. Wilton had 12 hits in the game led by their top-four in their batting order. The Beavers 1-4 hitters - Mallory Lange, Peyton Souhrada, Payton Ganzer, and Ella Caffrey combined for nine hits. Ganzer had three hits while the other three had two hits each. Ganzer had three RBI’s and a double. Souhrada and Chloe Wells also had doubles.
Wells had two RBI’s.
 Tipton had six hits in the game and had two players with multi-hit games. Tipton’s 1-2 batters in their batting order, Britney Ford and Sydney Barton, each were 2-for-3. Seniors Grace Nichols and Morgan Wendel added singles. Wendel took the loss pitching, her first this season. Wendel went four innings
and gave up 12 runs on 12 hits.

Knights Tame Tigers 9-3

 LOWDEN — The 2020 baseball season began Monday night as Tipton traveled to North Cedar to play the Knights. There, North Cedar beat the Tigers 9-3 behind good pitching and an offense that had eleven hits. Ethan Sahr pitched four innings to get the win and struck out five. Cole Taylor pitched three innings. Kayden Rezac took the loss after two innings of work where he gave up four runs. Cole Syring also pitched for THS.
 North Cedar trailed 2-1 going to the bottom of the second. There, the Knights scored three times to take a 4-2 lead. North Cedar led 4-3 after three innings and used two-run fourth and a three-run sixth to extend their lead to 9-3. Sahr led North Cedar batters, going 4-for-5 with a double, four RBI’s and a run scord. Tyler Jackson and Jaxon Sander each had two hits.
 Tipton had eight hits in the game, but couldn’t get the timely hit they needed to push more runs across the plate. Nile Schuett and Kayden Rezacc each had two hits to lead THS. Schuett had two RBI’s and Rezac had one RBI. Other Tipton hits came from Connor Hermiston, Trent Pelzer, Cole Syring and Carter Hill.
 

New Look Beavers Capture Win In First Game
 WILTON — The Wilton Beaver baseball team could be the team in 2A with the most newcomers after a large senior class graduated last year, but the new players picked up a big victory in their season opener Monday night over Monticello, 3-0. The Beavers reached a Class 2A Regional Final game last year and the departing seniors led the 2018 Beaver squad to the state tournament. This year’s team however, still is hungry, and still knows a thing or two about the game of baseball.
 The Beavers played ‘small’ ball in the bottom of the third inning to push across all three runs. Wilton sent seven batters to the plate in the inning. Chase Garvin led off the inning with a single and reached third after Colby Sawvell and Chase Hagen each reached base on bunt singles. Garvin would score on a wild pitch by Monticello and Karson Willey roped a two-out, two-run single to score Sawvell and Hagen to put the score at 3-0. Monticello advanced runners to third base three times over the seven-inning game, but could not score a run. Jackson Hull was the winning pitcher after working 5 ⅓ innings and facing 20 batters. He struck out eight and walked one batter while scattering three hits. Nolan Townsend picked up the save after slamming the door on a Panther comeback over the final 1 ⅔ innings. Townsend struck out three and walked one while facing nine batters.
 Wilton had five hits in the game. Gage Hagen was 2-for-3 with a run scored while Chase Garvin, Colby Sawvell, and Karson Wiley each had hits.
 

Wildcats Fall At Home 5-4
 DURANT — The Wildcats couldn’t solve Iowa City Regina ace Chase Becker Monday night in a 5-4 loss. Becker, one of the top pitchers returning in the River Valley Conference, spun four innings of no-hit baseball to get the win. Becker and two other Regal pitchers combined to limit Durant to two hits in the game. The Wildcats had a tough game defensively too, committing four errors in the game. Brendan Paper took the loss. Danny Molony earned the save for the Regals.
 Regina scored three times in the top of the fourth inning to break the tie and take a 4-1 lead.

THS Seniors get final season in 2020

 TIPTON — The Tipton baseball team is returning 12 players off of their 2019 season and hopes to secure a winning season. Tipton enters this abbreviated season coming off of back-to-back double-digit win totals for a season.
 Tipton will have five seniors on this year’s team that sports 16 players. Seniors on the team are Gavin Belitz, Elliot Cummins, Connor Hermiston, Kael Jauron, and Trent Pelzer.
 Seniors who graduated from last year are Luke Becker, Dylan Mente, and Jacob Tiscuk. Becker led THS in starts with 11 and had an 8-2 record and 1.93 ERA with 41 strikeouts. He was second in batting with a .361 average, 33 hits and 14 RBI’s. Mente was third in batting last year and started at catcher. Mente batted .345 with 25 hits and 21 stolen bases. Tischuk batted .333 with 20 hits, 13 RBI’s and pitched in eleven innings.
 Tipton had three all-conference players last year. Trent Pelzer and Luke Becker each were Elite team picks at pitcher and utility respectively. Dylan Mente also was named to the honorable mention team.
Senior Trent Pelzer was in the top-5 in four statistical categories in the River Valley Conference South last season. Pelzer was second in giving up the lowest batting average to opposing batters (.091). He was third in singles last year with 31, tied with teammate Luke Becker. Pelzer was fourth in batting average with an average of .434. He was fifth in the RVC South in hits with 36
Junior Cole Syring was in the top-5 in two statistical categories in the River Valley Conference
South last season. He was tied for second in the RVC South in sacrifice flies with three.
 Syring was fourth in opponent at-bats for pitchers with 194. After Pelzer, Connor Hermiston
is the next highest batter returning with 20 hits and a .274 average with 18 singles which was one of seven Tigers last year with 15 or more singles. Syring, Kayden Rezac, Brady Connor, and Kael Jauron all return to pitch after working 10 or more innings last year.
 Tipton has 15 games scheduled this summer season. The Tigers began the season Monday, June 15 at North Cedar. It was one of four straight road games to begin the season and one of eight road games this season. Tipton has seven home games this season, one each with Iowa City Regina, West Liberty,
Anamosa, Bellevue, Center Point-Urbana, Monticello, and Maquoketa. Gamenights this summer will be doubleheaders with one junior varsity game and one varsity game with varsity beginning at or around 7:00 p.m.

Tigers welcome new coaches in 2020
 TIPTON — There will be a new coach at the helm of the Tipton softball team this year. Two in fact in head coach Brooke Wiiliams and assistant coach Kendra Whitman. They join returning junior varsity coach Kelly Wendell to lead the Tigers softball program this summer. WIlliams and Whitman are both special education teachers at Tipton Middle School. Williams takes over for Brooklyn Koranda who coached THS last year to a 5-27 record.
 Tipton graduated just two seniors from their team last year that fell to state ranked Camanche
in the first round of the Class 3A regional tournament last year. Hermiston led Tipton in batting with a .348 average with 31 hits, 10 runs and 13 RBI’s. Simmermaker batted .186 with 18 hits and seven RBI’s.
 Six players from last year return for THS. They are seniors Britney Ford, Grace Nichols and Morgan Wendel and sophomores Sydney Barton, Taylor Wendel, and Madelyn Ham. Hermiston was a RVC South Division all-conference selection and Ford was an honorable mention pick on the all-conference
team last year. Ford and Nichols return as the top THS batters from last season. Ford was second in batting and Nichols third. Ford batted .288 with 30 hits, a team high 14 runs scored, 8 RBI’s, and had a .383 on-base percentage. Nichols batted .208 with 21 hits, 9 RBI’s, and seven runs scored. Morgan Wendel returns as the top THS pitcher from last year. She logged 129 innings and had an ERA of 7.33 with 70 strikeouts and 25 walks. Wendel had 23 starts and appeared in 27 games. Taylor Wendel also pitched a lot on varsity last year, with ten starts and she appeared in 12 games. She pitched in 50 innings and had 27 strikeouts and 43 walks last year.
 Tipton has 14 games scheduled this summer season. The Tigers began the season Monday, June 15 at North Cedar. It was one of four straight road games to begin the season.

THS collects 11-1 opening win

 LOWDEN — The Tipton softball team started the 2020 season with a bang Monday night at North Cedar. The Tigers were 5-27 last season and though they won’t play anywhere near 32 games this summer due to the effects from the worldwide pandemic had caused, Monday’s win was a big one for the THS program. The Tigers beat the Knights 11-1 in a game that saw the Tigers score runs in five of the seven innings including two in the top of the seventh. The Tigers
collected nine hits to score those runs and had only one error defensively. The win was the first for new coach Brooke Williams.
 Tipton has five seniors on this year’s squad and they led the way Monday. Senior ace Morgan Wendel tossed a four-hit gem and struck out eleven Knight batters. She walked one batter and gave up one earned run. The Tigers lone returning
all-conference player from 2019, Britney Ford, led the hit parade going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and swiped two stolen bases. Two Tigers were not out last year in Kamryn Chapman and Ashlyn Curry. Chapman was 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple and 3 RBI’s and scored twice. Curry scored two runs as a courtesy runner in the game. Grace Nichols and Wendel also had hits and RBI in the game. Madison Burmeister had two hits, a RBI and scored twice and Avary Calonder had a walk, run scored and RBI in the game.
 Tipton scored first in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead. The Tigers took control of the game in the top of the third, scoring four runs to extend their lead to 5-0. Tipton put the game away in the top of the fourth inning with three runs to take an 8-0 lead after four innings.
 Kassidie Galloway had two of the Knights four hits in the game and scored the only North Cedar run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kayla Syring and Hilary Frey each had hits. Tipton roughed up Alyssa Hefflefinger in the game with eleven runs on nine hits. Hefflefinger struck out eight batters and walked four.
 North Cedar will play twice more this week, hosting Wilton Thursday and Mid-Prairie on Friday. Tipton will continue a road stretch to start the year Tuesday at Davenport Central before playing road games on Thursday and Friday.
 

Wildcats Blow Out Regals At Home, 7-1
 DURANT — The first varsity game for Durant alum Aubrey Bland since starting for the Wildcats in the mid 2010’s, was a success as the Wildcats sidelined perennial River Valley
 Conference power Iowa City Regina Monday night at home, 7-1.
The Wildcats scored first with two runs in the bottom of the first and doubled their lead to 4-0 with two more runs in the bottom of the third. Regina scored their only run in the top of the fifth inning to set the score at 4-1. Durant took hopes of a Regal comeback away in the bottom of the sixth with three runs.
 Kylie Schult was the winning pitcher after scattering six hits and an unearned run over seven innings. She struck out five and walked two. Schult was 2-for-3 at the plate with a RBI. Durant had nine hits in the game. Kira Schult and Savanna Meinert each had a hit and 2 RBI’s. Abbey Rhoades and Allie Postton each had two hits in the game and Ally Happ also had a hit.