Dave Schemmel turned 60 in June and admits he doesn't have as much zip on his fastball in batting practice anymore, but he still loves putting on the uniform and going to the ballpark with the Xavier Saints.

His next stop will be Principal Park in Des Moines, where the Saints (25-15) will face Sioux City East (30-9) in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament Wednesday at 6 p.m.

Schemmel has compiled a 526-361 record in 26 years as the head coach at Xavier (15 years), Regis (10 years) and LaSalle (one year), making him a member of the exclusive 500 Win Club in state history.

He says "I'm not a young buck anymore," but has no plans to retire in the near future.

"I enjoy being around the guys," he said. "I have aches and pains, but overall I enjoy working with the kids and seeing their enthusiasm.

"I don't know how long I'll keep coaching, but as long as I enjoy it, I'll keep doing it, I suppose."

Xavier looked like a state tournament team when it captured the Metro Tournament in May, but the Saints stumbled a little during the Mississippi Valley Conference season when they had trouble producing key two-out hits.

Mitch Keller got the biggest two-out hit of the season for Xavier last Wednesday when he belted a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to defeat Prairie, 8-5, in the dramatic substate finals.

Schemmel and the Saints won the Class 3A state title in 2006 and now they'll try to add a handsome piece of hardware from Class 4A to their trophy case at school. The Saints are the smallest school (by enrollment) in the 4A field this year, but Schemmel said he's not worried about that.

"For us to be recognized as a good team, we have to beat good teams. I don't look at how many students we have," he said. "I don't think our kids all year long have either. They just want to compete with the best out there."

If the Saints defeat Sioux City East, they could face top-ranked Ankeny in the semifinals on Friday. Ankeny is the defending state baseball champion and beat Xavier in the championship game of the state football playoffs last fall, enjoying a 3-to-1 advantage in student enrollment.

Both teams can put only nine guys on the field and one guy on the pitching mound, however, and Schemmel plans to hand the ball to Keller on Wednesday. Keller (5-4, 1.77 ERA) has a modest won-loss record, but the North Carolina recruit has collected 85 strikeouts in 63.1 innings and can blow the ball by people.

Zach Brown (6-2, 1.64) has enjoyed a strong year for the Saints on the mound. So have Eric Schemmel (6-0, 3.17 ERA), Reggie Schulte (3-1, 2.53 ERA) and Corbin Woods (3-1, 2.96 ERA).

Jordan Ratz has given the batting order a boost in recent weeks, raising his average to .325 with 27 RBIs. Luke Hammerberg (.364, 26 RBIs), Keller (.345, 37 RBIs), Brown (.345, 31 RBIs), Ryan Meaney (.296), Woods (.290, 22 RBIs) and Bryce Grimm (.269) also help produce runs for the Saints.

Sioux City East has a formidable club that features Dom Thompson-Williams, the Gatorade Player of the Year, and Jake Westphal, who has committed to Tennessee. Thompson-Williams is hitting .465 and Westphal is batting .403. Tyler Franko is batting .411 and Brandon Carlson is hitting .408, putting four regulars over the .400 mark.

Davis Camarigg (8-0, 2.46 ERA) and Hayden Godfrey (7-2, 2.09 ERA) have been the top pitchers for Sioux City East.