Davenport Assumption, Western Dubuque to meet in Class 3A baseball title game
Through two days at the Class 3A state baseball tournament, one message has been sent loud and clear.
Davenport Assumption isn’t messing around.
The top-seeded Knights rolled into Friday’s championship game with a dominant 13-3 five-inning win over Independence Wednesday at Duane Banks Field. After two run-rule victories, Assumption has outscored foes 24-4 at the state tournament and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Credit Independence for landing the initial blow — a three-run first inning that included a Marcus Beatty homer — but Assumption immediately showcased its muscle by plating eight runs over the first two frames. A six-run second eliminated a lot of the drama, as the first seven Knights of the inning reached safely before Independence could recover.
Assumption delivered another ambush in the fifth, scoring five runs to cement the run-rule victory. The Knights again had seven straight reach to start an inning. The Mustangs were out of wiggle room before an out could be recorded.
That was more than enough support for starter Tyler Welch, who yielded three hits, three runs (two earned) and three walks with five strikeouts over five frames. Assumption will face Western Dubuque for it all Friday afternoon.
No. 2 Western Dubuque 9, No. 6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton 6
A seesawing affair finally swung the Bobcats’ way late in this one.
After erasing deficits of 3-0, 5-4 and 6-5, Western Dubuque erupted for three big fifth-inning runs to grab the lead for good. With one on and two outs, Garrett Kadolph and Bryn Vantiger sandwiched run-scoring doubles around an intentional walk to hand the Bobcats an 8-6 advantage. Western Dubuque tacked on another insurance run in the sixth for good measure.
After a rough start from Tucker Nauman — who surrendered three first-inning runs and six overall — Ryan Klostermann stabilized things out of the Western Dubuque bullpen. The right-hander yielded just one hit with five strikeouts over 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
For the second straight season, Duane Banks Field will host an all-eastern Iowa showdown in the 3A championship game. Western Dubuque’s ride to Friday has been a little bumpier than Assumption’s journey, but all that matters are the final seven innings in this 3A baseball season.
Dargan Southard covers Iowa and UNI athletics, recruiting and preps for the Des Moines Register, HawkCentral.com and the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Assumption cruises into 3A state title game, will face Western Dubuque
