On the softball side, we now know the regional pairings in all classes to start postseason play.

In Class 4A Region 5, Oskaloosa will have an interested journey back to the state tournament, but will have the opportunity to do so on their home diamond. The Indians will face the winner of Fairfield and Washington, who will play on Thursday, July 9th in Fairfield. On the other side of the bracket, some unfamiliar foes are lurking, including North Scott, who received the other bye in the six-team bracket. North Scott is ranked #15 in the most recent rankings. Clear Creek-Amana and Maquoketa will play for the right to face North Scott in the semifinals. Those semis will occur on Saturday, July 11th, at 7 PM.

In Class 4A Region 6, Knoxville and Pella will meet in Knoxville for the right to face #2 Indianola in the first round. Grinnell will have to go through Ballard to reach #5 Winterset in Class 4A Region 7. Newton will face Des Moines Hoover to advance against Norwalk, the #7 team in the state, in one of the tougher regions.

In Class 1A, there are a few area teams in Region 5. Cardinal and Sigourney got byes on the opposite side of the bracket, which consist of 13 teams each. Sigourney is awaiting the winner of Tri-County and Moulton-Udell, which will be played in the first round on July 6th. North Mahaska plays Twin Cedars on the 6th in New Sharon, with the winner facing either Moravia or Seymour. In the other half, Cardinal is waiting on either Van Buren or Winfield-Mount Union. Keota plays Harmony in the first round, and if they win, will face #5 New London in Eldon as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday, July 8th.

In Class 1A Region 6, Lynnville-Sully, ranked 7th, is the headlining team. They’ll face either Montezuma or Melcher-Dallas on the 8th.
In Class 2A, Region 6 is led by #2 Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. The Rockets could have two home games in the bracket, and will play either Pekin or Danville on July 8th. #6 Pella Christian is in Class 2A Region 7, and will play Van Meter in the quarterfinals. That takes place July 8th in Pella.
In Class 3A Region 5, Albia gets a tough draw against Bondurant-Farrar in the first round of the eight-team brackets. Should they win there, they’ll face either conference foe Davis County, or a very tough Prairie City-Monroe team, who took Oskaloosa to extras last weekend. The first round in Class 3A is on July 8th.

Finally, in Class 5A Region 7, Ottumwa looks to bounce back from a fairly disappointing year by winning at home in the first round against Des Moines North on July 9th. Usually, Ottumwa is in a position to only win two games to get to state, but this year will have to win three times in the five-team bracket. First against North, then against #8 Urbandale. 9th ranked Dowling Catholic of West Des Moines is on the other half of the bracket, playing Des Moines Roosevelt in the semifinals on Saturday, July 11th.

To view the full brackets click here http://ighsau.org/2015/06/23/2015-regional-softball-pairings/, check out the link on our website at kboeradio.com or on our Facebook page, Mahaska Zone Network.

Photo Provided By Bob Ballard

The Oskaloosa summer sports teams responded from a couple of tough losses to get back on the right track last night.

In a game you heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, the Oskaloosa baseball team traveled to Chariton and delivered a big win, 13-2 in six innings of play. While the offense had a parade of 17 hits in the game, the real story was the duo of Joe Sterner and Seth Sarver on the mound. Although the Chargers scored a pair of runs early, Sterner and Sarver, combined with some outstanding defense, held Chariton right there and allowed Head Coach Clint Gingerich to save his top arms for the conference games later this week. Every spot in the Indian batting order had at least one hit, as Osky rebounded from a mini-skid, having lost their last two games.

Tonight, the Indians are back at it on the diamond, going on the road for a scheduled doubleheader against Grinnell, starting at 5:30 PM this evening. Those two games can be heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com, with our pregame starting at 5:15 PM.

The Oskaloosa softball team showed great poise in responding to their lone loss of the season against Pella Christian on Monday. The Indians dominated Newton 7-0 to move to 21-1 on the year. Alexis Groet rebounded nicely in the circle, throwing a three-hit shutout for her 14th win of the year. Anna Jones was one of several players who stood out offensively for the Indians, going 4 for 4 with a couple of runs scored.
The softball team will be a heavy favorite on the road at Grinnell this evening for a JV-Varsity doubleheader, beginning at 6 PM. The varsity game is scheduled to begin around 7:30 this evening.

The Oskaloosa baseball team was in action last night against Pella Christian, having already defeated the Eagles in a pair of games earlier this year at home. PC proved to be very resilient on this evening, however, coming back from a couple of early deficits to get the win, 5-4. Osky’s record fell to 11-4 on the season.
The Little Hawkeye Conference standings are still a mess at the top with four teams within two games of each other. Pella got a win last night to move to 7-2 in the conference and take over first place by themselves. Newton lost to BGM in non-conference play, so they remain at 6-2, a half-game behind Pella. Oskaloosa is now in third, one game back at 6-3. Dallas Center-Grimes is also still hanging around, as they are 5-3 in the conference as well.
Oskaloosa baseball will get a chance to bounce back tonight on the road at Chariton, a South Central Conference opponent who recently lost to Newton, a team Oskaloosa has already beaten this year. You can hear that single varsity game here on the Mahaska Zone Network, 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN and on kboeradio.com. Our pregame will start right around 7:15 this evening.

In a game you heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, the Oskaloosa softball team put their 20-0 record on the line against the #6 ranked team in Class 2A in PC. The night got off to an inauspicious start, with rain soaking the field and making it appear as though the game would not be played. After a long discussion, the Pella Christian staff and some volunteers started to work on the field, and miraculously got it ready for a start time right around the scheduled 7:30 first pitch. Shortly thereafter, more rains came, and delayed the top of the first, where Oskaloosa was threatening. After an 11 minute delay, the Indians found themselves with the bases loaded in the top of the first, but were unable to score. They wouldn’t have many more opportunities.

The teams exchanged goose-eggs until the bottom of the fifth, when sloppy defensive play cost Oskaloosa. The Indians committed three errors in the inning, coupled with two PC hits. The result was four unearned runs charged to Osky starter Alexis Groet. In the top of the sixth, Peyton Zickefoose finally got Oskaloosa’s first hit, but her pinchrunner Ashley Kindley was thrown out at the plate on a single by Groet to end the inning. PC starter Emma Schnell walked three and hit two batters and only struck out one, but still found a way to hold Osky to those two hits and no sustained threats in the game. The game would end with a 4-0 final score in favor of the Eagles, giving Oskaloosa their first loss of the season.

Oskaloosa is now 20-1, and are the final team to get a loss in all five classes in the state. Norwalk is now the top team in the Little Hawkeye Conference with no losses on the year in conference play, but they still have two games against Oskaloosa to play this season. The busy week continues for the Indians, as they look to bounce back against Newton tonight on the road in a single varsity game. The first pitch of that contest is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

Photo Provided By Sherry Vavra of MCRF