Iowa Valley League

McCaffery, Lohaus playing in IVL for Red Top

Connor McCaffery and Tanner Lohaus are best-known as basketball players, but both of them hope to bolster their college baseball careers by playing in the Iowa Valley League this summer.

McCaffery and Lohaus, who were high school teammates in both sports at Iowa City West, will be teammates again on Red Top in the Iowa Valley League.

Red Top will play most of its home games at Iowa City West this season, beginning Sunday with a doubleheader against Norway at 1 p.m.

McCaffery is pursuing both sports at the University of Iowa, but he got off to a slow start this past year as a true freshman. He played in only four games for the men's basketball team and was granted a medical redshirt waiver following a series of health problems, and he also took a redshirt year with the UI baseball team.

McCaffery, an outfielder, still has four years of eligibility with the Hawkeyes in basketball and baseball.

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IVL champs heading 'home' for 2018 season

The Fairfax Stars captured the Iowa Valley League title last season and also claimed the IABA state title to finish a terrific year.

Now the 2018 champions are headed home.

The Stars, who feature a strong nucleus of former Mount Mercy and Kennedy ballplayers, will be playing all their home games on friendly fields this time around.

The Stars have scheduled three doubleheaders on the new turf field at Mount Mercy University and they'll also have two home doubleheaders on Herkelman Field at Kennedy.

The Iowa Valley League, which began way back in 1935, begins its 83rd season this Sunday with three doubleheaders.

The Stars begin the season at Walford, Norway visits Red Top, and Williamsburg plays at Watkins. All of the action begins at 1 p.m.

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Bell, Czerwiec win top IVL honors

Cody Bell and Austin Czerwiec, who helped the Fairfax Stars win the Iowa Valley League title and the IABA state crown this summer, have been named the top players in the league.

Bell was the unanimous selection as the Most Valuable Player for his work as a hitter, pitcher and corner infielder. He tied for the Iowa Valley League lead in home runs this year.

Czerwiec was the unanimous choice as the Outstanding Pitcher in the League. He finished with a 7-2 record that included a one-hitter and a pair of two-hitters.

Bell and Czerwiec both played college baseball at Mount Mercy University. Bell was an all-state player at Kennedy and helped the Cougars win a Class 4A state title.

Fairfax claims IABA state title

NORWAY - Many of them have followed different paths since they played baseball at Kennedy High School, but one thing has remained the same for these former Cougars.

They are still winners.

The Fairfax Stars, boasting a lineup stuffed with Kennedy grads,  captured the Iowa Amateur Baseball Association state title Sunday with a 5-4 victory over Red Top in the championship game at Norway.

It's believed to be the first state title for Fairfax, according to tournament directors, and it came with nine Kennedy products on their postseason roster.

They cut their teeth as baseball players for Kennedy Coach Bret Hoyer, who has run one of the best programs in the state for 25 years.

"We learned how to play the game the right way," said Cody Bell, the tournament MVP. "Never get down on yourself.

"It's kind of just togetherness. We stuck together the entire season."

Fairfax ran away with the Iowa Valley League title this season, then compiled a perfect 6-0 record in the state tournament with a string of clutch victories along the way.

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IABA state tourney trimmed to 3 teams

NORWAY - The Iowa Amateur Baseball Association state tournament has been trimmed to three teams with Fairfax, Red Top and Norway still in  the hunt for top honors.

Fairfax has a 4-0 record in the tournament after clipping Walford, 3-2, Saturday on a three-run homer by Chico Lizarraga and a complete  game by Austin Czerwicz.

Red Top and Norway both have one loss in the double-elimination event heading into Sunday's games.

Fairfax and Norway will meet in the first game Sunday at 1 p.m. If Fairfax beats Norway, the Stars can claim the 2018 championship by defeating Red Top at 3 p.m.

If Fairfax loses to Norway, all three teams - Fairfax, Norway and Red Top - would have one loss and they'd battle it out from there in dramatic showdowns.

Red Top won the state title last year, Fairfax won the Iowa Valley League title this year and Norway has a rich tradition in the state  tournament over the years.

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Bell sparkles in IABA state tourney

WALFORD - Cody Bell has been pitching to Chico Lizarraga for about 15 years now.

First it was the Junior Cougars, then Kennedy High School, then Mount Mercy University, now the Fairfax Stars.

"Yup. A long, long time," Lizarraga said Sunday night.

It's been a winning combination every step of the way.

Bell tossed another strong game Sunday as Fairfax trimmed Red Top, 2-1, in a winners bracket game of the IABA state tournament at Walford.

Bell pitched a five-hitter with seven strikeouts for the Stars, who won the Iowa Valley League title this season and are 3-0 in the IABA tournament heading into the final round next weekend.

"Cody was brilliant tonight," said Lizarraga. "He had his stuff working. Fastball both sides of the plate, off-speed pitch, behind in the count. He had his 'A' game tonight."

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IVL teams advance in IABA tourney

It was a good day Saturday for the five Iowa Valley League teams entered in the Iowa Amateur Baseball Association state tournament.

IVL teams went 6-2 during the first-round of play and all advanced to the next round Sunday. The league's only two losses came in games against each other. Norway needed 10 innings to down Walford, 8-2, while Fairfax was a 10-5 winner over Watkins.

Norway received a bye and doesn't have to play Sunday. The Bandits allowed just two runs in their two victories, earning the day off due to allowing the fewest runs.

Action continues on Sunday with four games in Walford, beginning at noon.

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IABA state tourney set for 2-week run

The top five teams from the Iowa Valley League will play in the Iowa Amateur Baseball Association tournament that begins Saturday.

Fairfax, the regular-season champion, has drawn a No. 1 seed in the  tournament and will face the Allison Cats from the North Iowa League on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Watkins.

The other top seeds in the 12-team tournament are the Quad City 76ers from the Blackhawk Valley League and Osage from the North Iowa League.

Norway, Red Top, Walford and Watkins also will participate in the tournament from the Iowa Valley League. Red Top is the defending state  champions.

Saturday's games will be played at Watkins, Walford and Rock Island  with games at 12, 2, 4 and 6. The tournament will continue Sunday at Walford with games at 12, 2, 4 and 6 as well.

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Red Top scores 14 runs in one inning

WILLIAMSBURG - Red Top exploded for 14 runs in the fourth inning Sunday and drubbed Williamsburg, 15-0, in the first game of their Iowa Valley League doubleheader in Williamsburg.

Reid Bonner collected two hits and scored two runs during the 14-run frame. He finished with three hits and three runs in the contest.  Mitch Silberstein tossed a complete-game shutout.

Red Top scored eight runs in the top of the first inning of the nightcap, but Williamsburg rallied for an 11-10 victory and the split.  Vic Malloy pitched well in relief for the Red Sox and was credited with the victory.

Izaya Ono-Fullard and Tyler Rahmatulla had two hits for Red Top in Game 2.

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Massner's monster night lifts Norway

NORWAY - Kace Massner could have easily been down on Sunday night.

Massner, a redshirt freshman outfielder at the University of Iowa, wasn't one of the players selected to play for the Hawkeyes in the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kan., this week.

With his Hawkeye teammates playing in Wichita, Massner took his usual spot in center field for the Norway Bandits as they hosted Iowa Valley League champion Fairfax in a season-ending twinbill.

And did he have a night to remember.

Massner went 6-for-9 in the doubleheader, belting a pair of three-run homers, including a game-tying shot in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 2, leading the Bandits to a sweep over the Stars, 11-3 and 4-3 in 11 innings.

The sweep allowed Norway to overtake Red Top for second place in the league at 12-8, three games behind Fairfax. Red Top split with Williamsburg on Sunday to finish at  11-9.

Massner obviously would have rather been in Wichita with his Hawkeye teammates on Sunday. If he was disappointed, it certainly didn't show in his play.

"I just did what I was told," Massner said about not making the trip. "I just keep working every day to get better. I wasn't picked to go to  the tournament, but I just came up here with the goal of improving each time I play."

A 6-foot-5, 225-pound left-handed hitter out of Burlington High School, Massner spent last season as a redshirt, rehabbing after undergoing shoulder surgery during his senior year of high school.

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