After a hiccup in the schedule caused by Mother Nature Thursday in Tipton, the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk baseball and softball teams are on the diamond Friday for doubleheaders. The Golden Hawk boys are hosting the West Branch Bears at Paul N. Bailey Field in Wellman. The Golden Hawks are ranked No. 1 in 2A this week in the latest poll from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. Mid-Prairie is hitting .247 as a team with 48 runs on 56 hits. Karson Grout and Joe Hall are both at .400 at the plate to lead the way. Grout has a team best 12 hits and 10 runs scored, Alex Bean has a Hawk leading nine RBI. The Mid-Prairie pitching staff has a 2.71 ERA in 62 innings with a .232 opponent batting average against, giving up 24 earned runs, 29 walks and 73 strikeouts. Brock Harland and Collin Miller are both 2-0 as starters with a combined ERA under two. Cain Brown, Landry Gingerich and Brady Weber have worked a combined eight innings out of the pen without allowing a run.

West Branch is 0-6 this year after a 12-2 loss in five innings at Solon Tuesday. Ian Nelson had two hits and Wyatt Fiderlein an RBI for the Bears. On the season, West Branch is hitting a paltry .152, with 19 hits and 11 runs scored. They are led by Nelson at .312 with a team best five knocks. Max Lodge leads the Bears bats with a pair of RBI. Noah Pedersen has scored three times. On the bump, the West Branch staff has a 10.12 ERA, giving up a .319 average, 45 hits, 40 earned runs, 29 walks and 14Ks in 28 innings. Nolan Staker has a 1.75 ERA in four frames. Reese Trepanier has worked a team high nine innings, is 0-2 with a 10.89 rate. These two teams met Saturday with Mid-Prairie scoring a 10-2 win. Mid-Prairie has won 25 of the last 36 over the Bears. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5 and KCIIradio.com, beginning with the Jessica Yoder and Sarah Bigley with Lepic Kroeger Realtors Pregame Show at 4:30, first pitch of game one at 5p.m. with game two to follow.

The Golden Hawk ladies will be on the road tonight in Burlington to meet the Class 4A Grayhounds. The Golden Hawks are 6-1 on the year, 4-0 in the River Valley and riding high after doubleheader sweeps of Tipton by 23-4 combined scores and West Branch 25-1 to start the week. The Hawks are hitting .419 as a team with 72 runs scored on 68 hits. Brenna Jehle leads the Mid-Prairie bats with 12 hits, 13 RBI and a .600 average. She is one of five Hawks hitting .400 or better and seven .300 or better. Dakota Mitchell has scored a team best 12 times. In the circle, Mid-Prairie’s team ERA is 3.65 with opponents hitting .229 against the Golden Hawk staff, including 27 total hits, 14 earned runs, five walks and 36 strikeouts. Sophomore Sydney Knebel has four wins with 30 innings of work, a .226 opponent average, 24 hits 13 runs, five walks and 35Ks.

The Grayhounds are 6-1 this season, 3-0 in the Southeast Conference after taking three from Keokuk this week by a combined 36-5 score. The Hounds are hitting .382 combined with 53 runs scored on 66 knocks. Eighth grader Kylee Hill leads the way at .571 with 12 hits, 10 runs scored and 16 RBI all top numbers. She is one of five players hitting over .400 and seven over .300 in the Burlington lineup. The Grayhound staff has a miniscule 1.32 ERA in 37 innings, with an opponent average of just .176, 27 hits, seven earned runs, six walks and 37Ks. Freshman Aubrey Hesler is 3-0 in 16 innings with a 1.75 mark. This is the first meeting between the two schools in more than 20 years.