Question: Who has the best high school baseball team in the Metro area this year?

Answer: It depends on the day.

It's been a topsy-turvy season in the Metro, with several different teams staking their claim to "No.1 in the Metro" during the course of the year.

The Xavier Saints looked great in the Metro Baseball Tournament, but they quickly tapered off and had a choppy season with some good days, some bad days.

The Prairie Hawks got hot and looked like they'd win a conference title and earn a No.1 seed for the substate tournament, but they got cold and it slipped away.

The Linn-Mar Lions made a run for a conference title, but got upset by Kennedy on the final day of the Mississippi Valley Conference season and had to settle for a second-place tie with Prairie.

Kennedy got wiped out by graduation after reaching the semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament last year, but the Cougars regrouped behind a young pitching staff and reached 20 wins for the 15th straight year.

Washington got off to a fast start, then struggled after A.J. Puk and Zac Gillis left early for college.

Jefferson had a tough season, but the J-Hawks collected nice wins against Xavier and Kennedy along the way.

The Marion Indians finished at exactly .500 for the regular season at 18-18, but the Indians can beat anyone with ace lefty Levin Lochner on the mound.

That brings us to the opening round of the playoffs Friday night.

Linn-Mar, Kennedy, Washington and Jefferson are all lumped in Class 4A Substate 6, but they face a big roadblock with second-ranked Iowa City West looming as the team to beat. Iowa City West was clearly the top team in the MVC this season and is the odds-on favorite to win the substate and reach the state tournament.

The opening round Friday night pits No.6 seed Jefferson (12-27) at No.1 seed Iowa City West (32-7), No.5 seed Washington (13-21) at No.2 seed Linn-Mar (24-15), and No.4 seed Iowa City High (17-21) at No.3 seed Kennedy (21-18).

If the seeds hold true, Kennedy will face Linn-Mar in the substate semifinals on Monday, with the winner facing Iowa City West in the finals on Wednesday.

Xavier and Prairie find themselves in Class 4A Substate 3 with Waterloo East, Waterloo West, Cedar Falls and Marshalltown. The Saints and Hawks are the cream of the crop and should meet in the substate finals, but Cedar Falls could get in the way.

The opening round Friday night pits No.6 seed Waterloo East (2-36) at No.1 seed Xavier (23-15), No.5 seed Waterloo West (6-31) at No.2 seed Prairie (25-12), and No.4 seed Marshalltown (16-24) at No.3 seed Cedar Falls (21-14).

The Marion Indians (18-18) will play Davenport Assumption (21-15) in the opening round of the Class 3A District 6 tournament Friday at Solon at 5 p.m.

All of the Class 4A games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.