For the 11th year in a row, the Remsen St. Mary’s baseball team will play in the state baseball tournament after defeating Logan-Magnolia 3-2 in Sioux City on Tuesday night.
After a slow start to the season going 9-4 through the first half of the season, there were questions as to whether the Hawks were going to be able to pull this off again. The Hawks then beat MMCRU which sparked a stretch in which they went 12-2 the rest of the way to make it to state. Head coach Dean Harpenau says this was a special group that grew as the year went along.
This team has been one of the younger teams the Hawks have trotted out on a nightly basis having returned just one starter from last season. Coach Harpenau says this group that filled those roles were hungry to prove that they belonged on the diamond and in a Hawk uniform.
The Hawks fell behind right away giving up a run to Logan-Magnolia in the top of the first inning, but they responded in the bottom half. Dalton Klein’s sacrifice fly was able to answer back in the bottom of the inning. Coach Harpenau says it was very important for his guys to score right away and tie the game up.
Remsen St. Mary’s still had a tough time getting runs to come across and score. All three runs had to come off of sacrifice flies. Coach Harpenau says Logan-Magnolia’s stingy defense made things challenging for his guys.
Since 2016, the Hawks have made a state tournament trip every single summer. Their streak of 11-consecutive state tournament appearances is second most in the history of Iowa High School baseball. Coach Harpenau says this run is an incredible accomplishment.
The Hawks enter as the #4 seed and will face off with North Linn in the quarterfinal round. Last year, Remsen St. Mary’s was the top seed and was knocked off by Hillcrest Academy in the opening round. Coach Harpenau says he will remind his guys that nothing is guaranteed once you make it to Carroll.
Remsen St. Mary’s matchup with North Linn is set for a 4:30 start on Monday, July 20 at Merchants Park in Carroll.
