Championship pairings are set in 1A and 2A at the state baseball tournament.

In class 2A, North Polk’s Taylor Pickard tossed a no-hitter and struck out 11 as the sixth-ranked Comets beat number two Center Point-Urbana 11-0.

Pickard got all the runs he would need in the top of the first when the Comets scored four runs. North Polk will play top ranked Davenport Assumption in the 2A title game.

The Kniights scored a run in the first and six more in the second as they cruised to an 8-2 victory over Mid-Prairie. Ryan Hintze pitched four innings for Assumption and yielded only one hit. He says throwing his curve for strikes in the opening inning was the key. Mid-Prairie managed only three hits and finishes the season 31-15.

In Class 1A, third-ranked Sentral of Fenton scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to edge LeMars Gehlen 9-8 and earn a spot in Saturday’s 1A championship game. Jake Samo tossed a four-hitter and struck out 10 as seventh-rated Lenox blanked Wall Lake View Auburn 10-0 to earn a spot in the class 1A championship. After falling in the eight-man football state championship game, Samo and the Tigers hope to close the sports year with a state title.

Wall Lake View Auburn had only four batters reach base and closes the season with a record of 29-8.

This afternoon it is the semifinals in 3A, ninth-ranked Cedar Rapids Xavier plays Charles City and Carroll takes on Western Dubuque. Tonight it is the Class 4A semifinals. Cedar Rapids Kennedy plays Davenport Central and fourth-ranked West Des Moines Valley goes up against number five Mason City.