A quick look back at the 2015 State Baseball Tournament

by the Iowa High School Athletic Association

When it rains, it pours. It rained much of two days during the 2015 state tournament. And then Newman Catholic, Clear Lake and Waverly-Shell Rock poured it on to win state championships. And Southeast Polk soaked up a second straight state title as well.

A five-hour rain delay interrupted the Class 2A opener between Cascade and Mediapolis on Monday. Rain later that day pushed the game between Davis County and Roland-Story to the next morning. And Tuesday’s rain wiped out three games, and two Class 3A games were moved to Southeast Polk.

But the skies cleared, the sun came out, and the stars shined bright — in the sky and on the field.

The first three championship games were decided by 10 runs — three of eight games during the tournament decided by 10 runs or more.

Newman won its fifth state title, outscoring its three foes at state by a 35-5 margin to win the 1A championship. Joey Verstegen fired the fifth no-hitter in state championship game history. The Knights made their 19th state tournament appearance — tying Kee for the most ever in history — and are the only team to make it to the semifinals eight straight years.

Clear Lake outscored its three opponents 36-2 to win the 2A state title. The Lions posted a 20-1 win in the semifinals, setting all-time state tournament records for most runs scored and widest margin of victory. Clear Lake won the 3A title two years ago.

Waverly-Shell Rock outscored its foes 29-3 to win the 3A state title. It was the Go-Hawks’ first title game appearance.

Southeast Polk won the 4A state title as a fifth seed and outscored its three opponents 32-12. (The Rams were a sixth seed when they won the title a year ago.) Southeast Polk pounded out 42 hits in the tournament, tying the mark set by Fort Dodge St. Edmond in 2009. (The 24 combined runs in the SEP-Waukee semifinal were the most in a single game at state since 2004, when Martensdale-St. Marys and Lisbon totaled 27.)

There were five one-run games, two extra-innings games (both in the 1A quarterfinals Saturday night) and three traditional walk-off wins. There were seven shutouts. And twice teams scored 10 runs in one inning.

There was one home run — by Zeb Adreon of Pleasantville — bringing the total to 37 in 11 years at Principal Park. Tanner Foster of Martensdale-St. Marys struck out 16 batters in a 1A first-round win. There were plenty of great defensive plays. And lots of young talent on most every team.

In the end, rain would share the headlines with the four teams who reigned supreme. The attendance for four sessions topped 2,700, but the total unofficial attendance of 26,311 bested only 2007 in the 11 seasons the state tournament has been held at Principal Park. The 3A-4A championship session drew a tournament-high 3,412 fans.

ATTENDANCE TOTALS AT

PRINCIPAL PARK

2005 — 33,699

2006 — 28,035

2007 — 26,177

2008 — 33,155

2009 — 33,601

2010 — 30,488

2011 — 31,614

2012 — 29,555

2013 — 35,095

2014 — 34,428

2015 — 26,311 (unofficial)

TOURNAMENT SEEDS = STATE CHAMPS

#1 seed = 23 titles

#2 seed = 6 titles

#3 seed = 4 titles

#4 seed = 4 titles

#5 seed = 4 titles

#6 seed = 3 titles

#7 seed = 0 titles

#8 seed = 0 titles

2005-2015 At Principal Park