MV finishes eighth at State; Winter is sixth

Girls golf

     Senior Kelly Winter finished sixth overall, and the Maquoketa Valley High School girls golf team finished eighth at the State Class 1A Girls Golf Tournament May 28-29 at the American Legion Golf Course in Marshalltown.

     Winter shot 88-81–169 to finish three shots behind fifth place and three shots ahead of seventh. The state champion was Annika Patton of Alta-Aurelia, with a 78-70–148.

     “It’s been a great career for Kelly, so it was great to see her finish it off with both a team trophy as well as an individual award,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said.

     Also for the Wildcats, Erika Supple shot 99-106–205, Chloe Roling shot 103-102–205, Mady Moenck scored 104-110–214, Faith Hunt had 106-109–215, and Kelsey Ries totaled 119-120–239.

     Bishop Garrigan won the team title with a total score of 727. Akron-Westfield was second with 742, and East Buchanan finished third with 750. MV totaled 792, four strokes from seventh place and 26 ahead of ninth.

     “It’s been an exciting season, and it’s going to be tough saying goodbye to the senior girls, who have built such a strong foundation for our program the last four years,” Andrews said.

     Those seniors include Winter, Roling, Hunt, Ries and Moenck. Returning to the team next year will be Erika Supple.

     “She continues to get better every year, and we look for big things to happen next year, with her leading the way,” the coach said.

Boys golf

     Isaac Zirtzman shot an 83 to finish in a tie for 16^th place at the State Class 1A Boys Golf Tournament May 23 in Newton. The tournament was shortened to one day because of torrential rains on the second day.

     “Isaac finished out an incredibly strong sophomore season with a 16^th place finish,” Maquoketa Valley coach Tim Andrews said. “Great things are definitely on the horizon, next season and beyond.”

Baseball

     Maquoketa Valley swept one baseball doubleheader and split another in recent games.

     The Wildcats (3-1) swept a home doubleheader against Starmont May 23, by scores of 20-0 in four innings and 9-7. In the first game, Jon Seibert pitched a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts and one walk in four innings. Norm Wilson batted 4-for-4 with three doubles. Andrew Holtz was 2-for-2 and Blake Becker was 2-for-3, each with two doubles three runs batted in. Tim Harmon was 2-for-3.

     In the second game, Parker Sternhagen was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Wilson went 2-for-3 was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Holtz was 2-for-4 with a double.

     On May 30, the Wildcats split a doubleheader at Midland, losing 4-2 and winning 5-3. MV had just three hits in the first game, including a double by Michael Schaul.

     Sternhagen went 2-for-4 in the second game, while Aspen Kraus hit a double. Sternhagen pitched for the win, allowing four hits and striking out six in 6 1/3 innings. Holtz pitched for the final two outs.

Softball

     Maquoketa Valley won three out of four games against Tri-Rivers Conference opponents in recent action.

     MV (3-1) split a home doubleheader with Starmont May 23, winning the first game 8-0 and losing the nightcap 9-6. The Wildcats collected 12 hits in the opener, led by Taya Tucker, who was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and two runs batted in. Olivia Hoeger went 1-for-2 with a double, and Allie Knipper was 2-for-2. Rylie Aldrich pitched a four-hit shutout for the win, striking out eight and walking two in seven innings.

     The Wildcats rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to make the score 5-4 in the second game, but Starmont went on to win. Hoeger batted 2-for-3 with a double, and Tucker was 2-for-4. Knipper pitched and took the loss.

     At Midland May 30, the Wildcats swept a doubleheader, winning 8-1 and 12-0, the latter in five innings. Payton Beaman pitched a five-hitter to win the first game. Carissa Sabers was 3-for-4 with three doubles, and Tucker was 3-for-4 with two doubles. Maddy Anderegg was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs, and Brooke Elgin went 2-for-4. Payton Beaman hit a two-run home run.

     Knipper fired a three-hitter in the second game. Tucker had another big game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs. Getting two hits each were Anderegg, Beaman and Hoeger. Anderegg had two RBIs.