The state high school baseball tournament opens today in Carroll in Marshalltown. In the class 1A quarterfinals in Carroll Lynnville-Sully takes on top ranked Mason City Newman. It is the Hawks fourth-appearance since 1988 and they have yet to lose a first round game. Coach Mike Anderson says solid defense has spurred their tournament run.Anderson says at 27-3 he was a little disappointed with their sixth seed. He says there’s not much he can do about it,In Marshalltown it is the opening round in class 2A. Sixth-ranked Emmetsburg plays Jesup in the opener. It marks the E-Hawks first appearance since 1978 and coach Mike Brennan says he felt it was reachable coming into the season.Emmetsburg is 27-2 while Jesup enters 15-18 but Brennan says records, especially in baseball can be deceiving. He says teams that make it to the tournament usually have two good pitchers and picked up their loses with their third and fourth pitcher.In the class 1A opening round in Carroll, 8th ranked and defending champ Granville Spalding takes on Central Decatur. Spalding coach Bill Wuebker says solid pitching has gotten them to this point and he hopes it will continue.Wuebker is hoping tournament experience is a plus for his team. He says his players now know that losing means the season is over. He says they’ve been able to have a tough game and turnaround and play well the next day.
