WALFORD - The Walford Hogs and Norway Bandits finished the first weekend of the IABA state baseball tournament with perfect records, but Red Top is lurking in the wings.

Walford nipped Red Top, 2-1, in a pitcher's duel on Saturday and advanced to next weekend with a 2-0 record. Norway trimmed the Quad City 76ers, 4-1, on Sunday and advanced with a 3-0 mark.

Red Top, the 76ers, the Quad City Cardinals and Osage all advanced to the final weekend of the double-elimination tournament with 2-1 records. Fairfax, Watkins and Williamsburg from the Iowa Valley League were eliminated.

The tournament will resume Saturday in Norway with four games. Red Top plays Osage at noon, the 76ers face the Cardinals at 2 p.m., Norway will play the Red Top/Osage winner at 4 p.m. and Walford will play the 76ers/Cardinals winner at 6 p.m.

The tournament will continue next Sunday and possibly next Monday as well.

There were several well-played games during the first weekend of the state tournament. The best game may have been Walford's 2-1 victory over Red Top, which won the Iowa Valley League regular-season title and entered the tournament as the team to beat.

The game was tinged by a certain amount of controversy in the final two innings with disputed calls. Both calls went against Red Top - first allowing Walford to score, then preventing Red Top from crossing the plate - and they proved pivotal in the outcome.

Walford took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Brennan Hammer and a double-steal. Red Top claimed the Walford batter interfered with the Red Top catcher on the double-steal, but the call was not made and the run scored.

Red Top scored in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch and had the tying run on third base with two outs. Red Top claimed the Walford pitcher committed a balk, which would have allowed the tying run to score, but the call was not made and the game ended with a strikeout.

It was a tense finish, with Walford emerging on top. "It had my heart pumping, that's for sure," said Walford Coach Kevin Moser.

'I'm just glad that the guys came to play today," he said. "Red Top's got a great team. They really do and always have.

"I would say it's one of the best games we've had this year. We had good solid defense, we had great pitching. It's just a good overall win for us and it gives us some confidence going into the next game."

IABA STATE TOURNAMENT
SATURDAY'S RESULTS

At Muscatine
Fairfax Stars 5, Muscatine Flames 4 (8)
Quad City 76ers 3, Watkins Mudhens 1
Quad City 76ers 6, Fairfax Stars 0
Muscatine Flames 6, Watkins Mudhens 4

At Norway
Norway Bandits 5, Quad City Cardinals 2
Osage North Stars 4, Williamsburg Red Sox 2
Norway Bandits 10, Osage North Stars 0
Quad City Cardinals 9, Williamsburg Red Sox 1

At Walford
Walford Hogs 14, Allison Cats 0
Red Top 15, Calmar Cats 1
Walford Hogs 2, Red Top 1
Calmar Cats 3, Allison Cats 1

SUNDAY'S RESULTS

At Walford
Red Top 9, Muscatine Flames 2
Quad City Cardinals 3, Fairfax 1
Osage North Stars 2, Calmar Cats 1
Norway Bandits 4, Quad City 76ers 1

SATURDAY, AUG. 13

At Norway
Noon - Red Top (2-1) vs Osage North Stars (2-1)
2 p.m. - Quad City 76ers (2-1) vs Quad City Cardinals (2-1)
4 p.m. - Norway (3-0) vs Red Top/Osage winner
6 p.m. - Walford (2-0) vs 76ers/Cardinals winner