Photo courtesy Prep Baseball Iowa social media

A dream for many at the start of the season is a reality for Savage baseball this afternoon. Sigourney meets Lynnville-Sully in the 2024 Class 1A State Quarterfinals at Merchant’s Park, and you can hear their first tournament game in program history on KCII. 

Of the eight remaining teams in 1A baseball, Sigourney has the fifth seed. The Savages finished the regular season at 17-4, and have since rattled off four playoff wins against English Valleys, Lone Tree, BGM, and Burlington Notre Dame. The 4-2 thriller over the Nikes was won in comeback fashion, thanks to a late RBI-single from Caden Clarahan and three-run bomb from Isaac Bruns. Clarahan and Bruns are just two of the big bats in Sigourney’s lineup. Jake Moore, Cole McKay, and Reid Molyneux have helped the team to a .334 average. With the fourth-best slugging percentage, all nine Savage starters have double-digit RBIs and seven have left the yard at least once. While defense has been a strength for Sigourney all year, it has truly shined in the postseason. With only one error in their last three games, the Savages have the tenth-best fielding percentage in their class. On the mound, Molyneux, along with Chase and Caden Clarahan, have frustrated opposing bats and are allowing less than 2 runs per game in the playoffs. 

Savage pitching will be put to the test today against 1A’s best hitting team by average, Lynnville-Sully. At 26-3, the Hawks own the fourth seed and handed Sigourney its only conference loss this season. Their playoff path has taken them through ACGC, Montezuma, North Mahaska, and Ankeny Christian. A 1-0 decision over the Eagles punched the Hawks’ ticket and was their third consecutive shutout. They, like the Savages, are top-10 in their class in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, RBIs, home runs, hits allowed, and runs allowed. Both teams average a little over nine runs per game, and give up around three. For the Hawks, much of that offense is generated by Corder Noun Harder, Carson Maston, and Lucas Sieck. Sieck has also been the go-to pitcher for Lynnville-Sully, leading his class with 14 starts and 10 wins. This is the second-straight trip to Carroll for the Hawks, who appeared in the 2023 State Semifinals before falling to Remsen St. Mary’s. 

Since 2009, Sigourney and Lynnville-Sully have met 22 times. While it’s been a back-and-forth series, the last three have gone to the Hawks, including a walkoff win on June 3. Listen to the rematch and the 2024 1A State Quarterfinals on all KCII signals and streams, beginning with pregame coverage today at 1 p.m. and first pitch live from Carroll at 1:30. The one to count on for local sports coverage is AM and FM KCII.