Cyclones host Atlantic in district baseball opener
HARLAN (July 19) -- Three wins removed from a potential ninth straight trip to state, the Harlan Community baseball team opens district tournament play Friday night against an opponent that will have its full attention.
Atlantic (7-17) takes on the fifth-ranked Cyclones (24-7) in the second of two Class 3A District 15 semifinals at Jim Goeser Field. Winterset (21-7) will face Carroll (13-15) at 5:00 p.m. Friday, followed by HCHS and the Trojans. The winners play in Harlan Monday night.
Despite the glaring win-total difference between the teams, Harlan and Atlantic split their season series this summer by a total margin of three runs. The Cyclones led 6-0 in Atlantic before holding off a late rally to win 7-5. In the rematch, the Trojans got a strong pitching performance from Chase McLaren to knock off HCHS 3-2.
McLaren (4-5, 3.40 ERA) will likely start on the mound again Friday, opposed by Cyclone senior Brett Sears (7-1, 1.23 ERA). Atlantic has not faced Sears yet this season.
Coach Steve Daeges believes that HCHS will be competing in one of the tougher 3A Substate brackets in the state, which includes three Division I college recruits in Sears, Winterset junior Casey Young and Dallas Center-Grimes junior Logan Smith.
Sears has signed a letter of intent to join his older brother Dillon at Western Illinois in the fall. Smith (7-2, 1.18) has verbally committed to South Dakota State and Young (5-1, 0.78) is being recruited by DI schools as well.
Sears outdueled Young 6-0 in a substate final game in Harlan last year, but Young allowed just two of those Cyclone runs and struck out 12 in five and one-third innings.
Class 3A, Substate 8 Baseball Tourney
District 15 Semifinal Pairings: Friday, July 19 (at Harlan)
#5 Harlan Community (24-7) vs. Atlantic (7-17), 7:00 p.m.
Winterset (21-7) vs. Carroll (13-15), 5:00 p.m.
District 15 Final: Monday, July 22 (at Harlan), 7:00 p.m.
District 16 Semifinal Pairings: Friday, July 19 (at Dallas Center)
Dallas Center-Grimes (22-14) vs. Creston (10-22), 7:00 p.m.
Glenwood (20-10) vs. ADM (11-16), 5:00 p.m.
District 16 Final: Monday, July 22 (at Dallas Center), 7:00 p.m.
Substate 8 Final: Wednesday, July 24 (Site TBD), 7:00 p.m.