The Class 3A and 4A brackets have been released in baseball, and the Oskaloosa Indians know they will dodge Pella until the substate final.

In Class 3A, the substate groupings were split in two districts. In District 11, Pella will face Fort Madison, and then would face either Fairfield or Keokuk in the District Final. Fairfield is the site for all three games, which could bode well for the Trojans, who were ranked for a large chunk of the season.

In District 12, Oskaloosa will play Centerville in the first round, and then would play Mount Pleasant or Chariton in the District Final. All games will be played in Oskaloosa, which is a break for the Indians. Should Osky win those two games, they would play in the Substate 6 Final for a trip to the state tournament. The site is yet to be determined.

The postseason begins for these teams on Friday, July 17^th.

Also starting on the 17^th is Substate 7, which is headlined by Knoxville. The Panthers will be the favorite to make it to state, but in District 13, they’ll have to beat Norwalk to get to Bondurant-Farrar or Winterset. They do get to host those games. Their potential substate final will be at Saydel on the 22^nd for a trip to the state tournament.

In Class 4A, the Ottumwa Bulldogs are in Substate 6, and will have to go on the road in the first round despite an 18-12 record. That game will be against City High out of Iowa City, who are 18-13-1 on the year. That six-team bracket will be reseeded when the three winners are determined, allowing one of the remaining teams to get the bye and only need one more win to go to state. That first round game will be on July 17^th.

For a complete list of all of the brackets in all four classes, check out this link: https://www.iahsaa.org/secure/brackets.php?sport=bs&year=2015

Last night, the Oskaloosa summer sports teams dominated as the regular season starts to wind to a close.

In a game you heard on the Mahaska Zone Network, the Oskaloosa Indian softball team took care of Grinnell, 11-1 in six innings. The offense scratched across five runs in the first four innings, but it was a six-run sixth inning that gave the Indians a big boost in the conference game, as they moved to 25-6 on the season.

The offense belted three home runs in the game to add to the school record for team homers in a single season, which now sits at 20. Those homers were hit by Alexis Westercamp, Peyton Zickefoose, and Aubrey Miller. Westercamp leads the team with five dingers, while Miller has four. Zickefoose hit just her second of the season, but the four-year starter officially grabbed a piece of Oskaloosa history all to herself, as last night’s bomb put her alone at the top for career home runs for Oskaloosa. Peyton has hit 11 long balls in her phenomenal career.

Oskaloosa has one more tune-up before the postseason, and that occurs tonight at home against a very good squad in Norwalk. Last week, Norwalk and Osky played to 11 innings before the Warriors got a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the 11^th by freshman Alyx Witt. The Indians would love a confidence-boosting win on Senior Night tonight, as they honor seniors Peyton Zickefoose and Bethany Rowley. That varsity game begins around 7:30 PM.

The Oskaloosa baseball team also had a field day in their game, which was on the road at Washington. The Indians scored seven times in the first inning, once again jumping all over an opponent before they even had a chance to bat. Eventually, the Indians would get the run-rule win in six innings, 14-3. Bennett Spry returned to the leadoff spot in the lineup and had a great game, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs.

Joe Sterner again had a solid start for Oskaloosa in a non-conference game, and he was relieved by Mitchell Schaffner, as they combined for the six-hitter.

Oskaloosa moves to 17-6 on the year, and will be at home against Centerville tonight in a single varsity game starting at 7:30 PM. This week is very busy for the Indians, as they will have a doubleheader at Grinnell on Thursday, a home game against Twin Cedars on Friday, and a rescheduled doubleheader against Pella on Saturday.

Photo Provided By Nicole Westercamp

Last night on the Mahaska Zone Network, you heard an exciting slugfest between two area teams in Twin Cedars and North Mahaska in the first round of the softball postseason.

While several games in the area were cancelled or postponed, the two teams played through steady rain in the early part of the game and were able to finish it out in just over two hours. When the dust settled, it was the hosts from North Mahaska picking up the win, 15-9, to move into the quarterfinals in the Class 1A Region 5 bracket. The offenses for both teams really clicked at different points of the game, but North Mahaska plated six runs in the seventh, which proved to be the difference in the game.

The Warhawks will look to continue their parade on Wednesday, where they’ll face either Moravia or Seymour, who are scheduled to make up their game tonight in Moravia. The quarterfinal contest will be on Wednesday from New Sharon starting at 7 PM, with our broadcast 104.9 KBOE and on kboeradio.com. The pregame will start right around 6:45 Wednesday night.

Also in the Region 5 bracket in Class 1A, Moulton-Udell held off Tri-County, 9-7, to advance to face Sigourney on the road on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

In Class 1A Region 6, Melcher-Dallas squeaked by Montezuma in an upset on the road, 1-0. Now, Melcher-Dallas has to get through Lynnville-Sully on the road to have a chance to continue their run to state. That game is Wednesday in Sully at 7 PM.

Other first round games that were postponed from last night were Keota and Harmony in Class 1A Region 5 and Danville vs. Pekin in Class 2A Region 6.

In softball tonight on the Mahaska Zone Network is the Oskaloosa Indians, as they look to roll into the postseason with a win against Grinnell on the road. The Indians are 24-6 on the year and are #2 in the state in Class 4A. They will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday at home against Norwalk, and will wait to see who wins between Washington and Fairfield on Thursday. The winner will face the Indians in Oskaloosa on Saturday at 7 PM in the regional semifinals. That game will be on the Mahaska Zone Network.

The University Of Iowa Athletic Department is hosting Oskaloosa Community Day on Saturday, September 5^th, when the Iowa football team entertains Illinois State.

Any member of the Oskaloosa community can purchase an unlimited number of $40 group rate adult tickets and $25 youth tickets. The single game ticket price is $55 per seat.

Rick Klatt, the UI’s director of external relations, said: “We recognize that there are a significant number of Hawkeye fans in Oskaloosa that may have never had the opportunity to visit Kinnick Stadium. We are offering discounts to make it more affordable to come for the first time or to make a repeat visit. We hop the city of Oskaloosa and its residents will have a significant presence in the stadium and that all enjoy a game day on the UI campus.”

Klatt also noted that the ticket program is available to any community in the state.

The record for ticket sales by one community was set several years ago by Grinnell when they sold 526 tickets. To order by phone, please call (319) 626-8286.

You can also visit this link: https://bravosportsmarketing.com/product/oskaloosa-community-day-with-iowa-hawkeye-football/