Western Dubuque baseball repeats as Iowa high school Class 3A state champions
IOWA CITY — One year after busting through as newbie title winners, Western Dubuque baseball hammered home a repeat bid with just as much force.
The top-seeded Bobcats finished off their roll through Class 3A with Friday's 6-2 championship win over No. 2 seed North Polk at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City. After securing the program's first-ever title last season with a quality underdog effort in the final game, Western Dubuque (36-9) has conquered things from the favorite's side just the same.
"We proved to the state we were here to stay," Bobcats center fielder Caleb Klein said. "No. 1 all season. It's very enjoyable. Back-to-back is hard to do, and we did it."
Entering Friday's final bout, the Bobcats had done things the easy and the hard way in Iowa City. After opening the state tournament with a 10-0 run-rule victory over Harlan, Western Dubuque fell in an early hole before rallying in Wednesday's semifinal victory over Wahlert Catholic. Western Dubuque's championship effort fell right in the middle of the two.
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A four-run second inning handed the Bobcats and starter Isaac Then some early cushion, even though the crooked frame was produced with just one hit. It was a timely one — Jake Goodman's run-scoring single that first dented the scoreboard — but three walks, a hit-by-pitch, a passed ball and a throwing error aided the Western Dubuque cause tremendously. North Polk (29-6) couldn't afford that many miscues with Then dealing on the other end.
It was the Western Dubuque southpaw who carried the Bobcats past top-seeded Davenport Assumption in last season's title game, and his follow-up effort was just as strong. Then scattered six hits and one earned run with five strikeouts and no walks over 5 2/3 frames, doing so on a robust 114 pitches. North Polk finally broke through on Reggie Postel's triple and Austin Parkins' sacrifice fly in the third and again in the sixth. But additional scoring threats were never easy to materialize.
Western Dubuque eventually found more insurance it didn't even need with two more in the fourth on Klein's RBI triple and Then's run-scoring single back-to-back for a 6-1 lead. Little drama lingered at that point.
"We knew we could get here We knew we had the talent. We knew we could do it. Just disappointing we couldn't come out on top," said North Polk second baseman Charlie Bunkers, who finished with three of the Comets' six hits. "But we had so much fun, and it was such a good experience. Looking forward to next season."
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Credit North Polk for a nice run in its inaugural state appearance as a 3A school, and first berth overall since winning the 2A title in 2014. But there was just too much Western Dubuque firepower on the other side.
"We've had a target on our back all season because of that No. 1 spot," Klein said. "So it's great to prove to everybody that we deserve to win. We did our jobs."
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: North Polk baseball falls to Western Dubuque in Class 3A state title game
