A pair of conference rivals will face off tonight in Wellman when the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawks entertain the Durant Wildcats in the Class 2A District 9 Championship game. Mid-Prairie comes into the night 26-6 on the year, 17-1 champions of the River Valley Conference. The Hawks are ranked No. 2 in Class 2A according to the final poll of year issued by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. Mid-Prairie advanced through the district semifinals Wednesday with a 10-0 win in Wellman over Wilton. This year the Hawks are hitting .310 as a team with 264 hits and 224 runs. Karson Grout is the individual leader with a .444 average, 44 hits and 35 RBI. Cain Brown has a team best 34 runs scored. On the mound, Mid-Prairie has a 2.57 ERA with a .217 opponent average on 176 hits, 78 earned runs, 94 walks, and 220 strikeouts. The starting rotation of Collin Miller, Brock Harland, Brady Weber and Alex Bean are a combined 21-1 with a 1.95 ERA.

Durant is 14-12 on the year, they finished 11-7 fourth place in the RVC. They were 6-1 winners in Wednesday’s semifinal over West Liberty. This year Durant is hitting .323 as a team with 209 runs on 237 hits. Connor Schwarz is the leader with a .460 average on 40 hits with 34 RBI and 30 runs scored. On the mound, the Wildcat ERA is 3.51 with a .214 opponent average on 134 hits, 84 earned runs, 110 walks and 162 Ks. Schwarz and Ryan Wulf have each won five games with a 2.83 ERA. Mid-Prairie swept all three meetings this year between the two teams. The Hawks have won three straight district titles. The winner of tonight’s contest advances to substate. You can hear all of the action live tonight on AM 1380, FM 102.5, beginning with the Jessica Yoder and Sarah Bigley with Lepic Kroeger Realtors Pregame Show at 6:30 and first pitch at 7p.m. There is no stream for tonight’s game.