Chris Umscheid

IOWA CITY– The West High Women of Troy improved to 19-5 overall and 15-1 in the Mississippi Valley Conference’s Valley Division following their softball doubleheader sweep Tuesday, June 21, over the Cedar Falls Tigers. West High took both games, 12-2, in five innings each.
Jessie Harder kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the third inning of game one with a two-run double, followed by Skylar Ryan with a two-run single and Darby Donovan knocking an RBI double.
The Tigers answered with a home run off Harder in the top of the fourth, which was good for two runs.

IOWA CITY– They call him “Spud.”
Monday, June 13, Spud, AKA Spencer Wiskus, a graduated West High senior, was the hero of the night as his two-run homer broke an 8-8 tie with Cedar Rapids Prairie and won the nine-inning nightcap of a varsity doubleheader.

NORTH LIBERTY– The North Liberty Fire Department shined up its trucks, opened the big bay doors and fired up a grill Saturday, June 18, as the firefighters welcomed the community to an open house and grill out.

TIFFIN– The Clippers found themselves in trouble early in a varsity doubleheader at home Friday, June 10, against the Sabers of Central DeWitt. The Sabers put up seven runs in the second inning of game one, three more in the third and shut-out the Clippers for a fifth-inning mercy rule ending.
It was a tough loss for sophomore pitcher Alex Goedkin as he gave up eight hits and 10 earned runs over three innings of work. Camden Smyka, a freshman, relieved Goedken for the final two innings with a pair of strikeouts. Jake Neubauer had the Clippers’ only hit of the game, a single.

DES MOINES– It’s the trophy nobody really wants, but it’s also the trophy awarded the most at the state soccer championships held at the Cownie Soccer Park in Des Moines. It’s the participant trophy, which goes to teams eliminated in the quarterfinal round the first day of the three-day tournament. Losers in the semifinal round play one more match on Saturday in the consolation brackets for a third or fourth-place award, but first-rounders only get the participant hardware.