Cyclones finish fourth straight year in 3A title game

 HARLAN -- The tradition continued for the Harlan Community baseball team this summer as yet another season ended on the final Saturday of July.
 Playing in their fourth consecutive Class 3A state championship game - and the sixth in 11 years - the Cyclones capped a 33-4 season by facing state power Davenport Assumption in the title game.
 The top-seeded Knights got the best of HCHS for the second straight year, defending their crown with an 11-1 win and clinching their 11th championship in 16 trips to state, but it was another incredible ride for the Cyclones.
 After starting out 2-2 on the heels of back-to-back losses at Sioux City North and Bishop Heelan, Harlan rattled off 19 straight wins during the next five-plus weeks and earned its second consecutive Hawkeye Ten Conference title (and fourth in seven years) with a 19-1 record.
 Then it was on to postseason play where the Cyclones overcame tough challenges from Denison-Schleswig and Winterset to punch an eighth straight ticket to the state tournament. Plenty of thrilling moments followed in Des Moines as HCHS rallied back multiple times to notch one-run wins over Boone and Waverly-Shell Rock and get back to the state finals.
 The season ended with disappointment, but there was plenty to be proud of as the Cyclones improved their program marks to 18 state tournament appearances (tied for third all-time in Iowa) and 23 state tourney wins (fifth all-time).
 HCHS is now 69-7 in the last two years and 127-20 during its four-year stretch of title game runs, an impressive résumé for seniors Jared Moser, Ryan Doran, Nick Foss, Logan Klaassen and Jacob Bartley. Moser played in five state tournaments during his career, during which time the Cyclones have gone 152-29.