Newman Catholic Strikes Late, Wins 9th State Baseball Championship

On Friday afternoon from historic Merchants Park in Carroll, the Newman Catholic Knights won the Iowa High School Athletic Association 1A State Baseball Championship with an 11-1, 6-inning victory over Moravia. For the Knights, it’s their 9th state baseball title, and the first since 2019. The game also marked Newman’s first title game appearance since 2020, when they finished as runner-up to Don Bosco, 3-2.

The Knights clinched their record-extending 27th state tournament berth on July 14 with a 4-2 win over Gehlen Catholic in the Class 1A Substate 2. That win earned Newman Catholic the #3 seed in the eight-team field in the Class 1A tournament being held at Merchants Park in Carroll. The Knights opened the tournament on Monday with a comeback win over #6 Ankeny Christian 9-4. Then, on Wednesday in the semifinal, they once again came from behind to defeat #2 South Winneshiek 10-6, setting the stage for the championship game with #8 Moravia.

#8 Moravia Mohawks came into the tournament riding a wave of momentum. The Mohawks came into Carroll winners of 22 consecutive games, including a 2-1 win in their substate game over the #2-ranked team in 1A, Martensdale-St Marys. Despite the win streak and the Mohawks’ stellar 27-4 record, they were unranked in 1A and received the #8 seed in the state tournament. That meant their opening matchup would be with the #1 seed Coon Rapids-Bayard, the #1 ranked team in 1A and the team closest in proximity to Carroll. Despite the challenge, the Mohawks didn’t flinch and earned a come-from-behind 4-2 win. Then in Wednesday’s semifinal, the Mohawks never trailed as they downed #5 North Linn 5-2 to clinch their first title game appearance in school history. In fact, the two wins on the week for Moravia were the first two state baseball tournament wins in school history for the Mohawks, as they had only been to the tournament once before back in 1988.

In Friday’s title game, the Knights knew runs would be tough to come by as the Mohawks’ top two pitchers were both fully available. Juniors Kale Moore and Blake Ewing came into the game having thrown a combined 104 innings on the year, with just 15 earned runs allowed and 175 strikeouts. On the flip side for Newman Catholic, Kam Kropp earned the start. However, because of pitch count rules, the freshman could only throw about 70 pitches before Head Coach Alex Bohl would have to call on another arm. Kropp had to be good from the start to give his offense a chance, and that’s exactly what he was. Over 5.2 innings, Kropp allowed just one run on 6 hits and 1 walk. He also struck out a pair of Mohawk batters. More importantly, he stranded 7 Mohawk runners on base, 6 of which were left in scoring position.

For a large part of the contest, the pitcher’s duel that was expected is what was delivered. Kale Moore got the start for Moravia and pitched very well for 4.2 innings. He allowed only one baserunner in each of the first 4 innings, including stranding the go-ahead run at 3rd base in each of the 3rd and 4th innings. The 5th inning started well for Moore, leading off the inning with a strikeout of Newman Catholic’s Daniel Olsen. The 9th batter in the Knights lineup, Jaxon Dutcher, worked a walk, then advanced to second base on a balk by the pitcher, Moore. A groundout to shortstop for Newman Catholic’s leadoff hitter Thomas McGuire advanced Dutcher to third base, but also recorded out number two. The Knights, for the third consecutive inning, had a runner on 3rd base and two outs, looking to finally break the scoreless tie.

The pitcher, Kam Kropp, stepped into the batter’s box and grounded the pitch from Kale Moore just past the outstretched glove of Moravia’s third baseman, scoring Dutcher and giving the Knights a 1-0 lead. Newman Catholic used that small moment of momentum and continued to pile on the pressure. Ryan Wolf, running at first for Kropp, advanced to second on a wild pitch. West Cole then reached safely on an error by the Mohawks shortstop to put runners at the corners. Senior Teagen Eisenlohr then walked to load the bases before Hudson Hensley was hit by the first pitch of his plate appearance to score the Knights’ second run of the inning.

After Hensley’s hit by pitch, Moravia opted to change pitchers, bringing in their shortstop Blake Ewing. Asked to come into the game with no margin for error, Ewing struggled to throw strikes and walked Koen Jaspersen to bring the score to 3-0. With the bases still loaded and Logan Vaske coming to the plate to hit, Moravia’s catcher went out to the mound to try and settle down his pitcher. Knowing the pitcher Ewing would be determined to throw a strike, Vaske was ready, as he drove the first pitch fastball on a line to left field, just over the wall for a grand slam. The Knights had broken the game wide open with a 7-run 5th inning. Here’s how Logan Vaske’s grand slam sounded on KLKK 103.7 The Fox:

In the top of the 6th inning, Moravia loaded the bases against Knights relief pitcher Logan Vaske. A wild pitch from Vaske scored the Mohawks’ lone run of the contest, as they left two more runners in scoring position. In the bottom of the inning, Newman Catholic continued their offensive momentum as Thomas McGuire laced a one-out triple to center field. A close play at home on a squeeze bunt by Kropp resulted in McGuire being called out at the plate, but Kropp was safe at first. On the very next pitch, West Cole smacked an RBI double to right-center field, pushing the lead back to seven runs. Following Cole’s double, Moravia opted to intentionally walk Teagen Eisenlohr. Then, a high pop-up to right field off the bat of Hudson Hensley was dropped, scoring Cole from second and placing runners at second and third for the Knights. The next batter, Koen Jaspersen, walked, and the bases once again were loaded for Logan Vaske.

With the grand slam from the prior inning still fresh in everyone’s minds, Ewing’s first pitch was wide and outside, skipping to the backstop. A favorable ricochet for the Mohawks allowed the catcher Carson Seals to make a throw to Ewing, who was covering the plate. Ryan Wolf, running for Teagen Eisenlohr, was able to beat the throw home and score for Newman Catholic. The throw from Seals to Ewing was also off target, allowing Hensley to come all the way from second base and score the winning run for the Knights, leading to a celebratory dogpile at home plate. Here’s how that final play sounded on KLKK 103.7 The Fox:

The win for Newman Catholic marks their 9th state baseball championship in school history. The Knights are now tied for the second most state baseball championships in state history with Kee, Lansing. Only Assumption Davenport has more with 12, as they won the 3A title Friday night 5-3 over Wahlert Catholic. For head coach Alex Bohl, this title is his 5th as coach. He now sports an impressive 5-1 record in state title games, with a runner-up finish in 2020 and titles in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2026. His five wins also pass the four titles won by his predecessor, legendary head coach Tony Adams, who earned 4 titles and 3 runner-up finishes in 14 state appearances.

Since 2020, Newman Catholic has made the state tournament every other season. From 2008-2020, 13 seasons, the Knights made the state tournament every year, a state record. And with just two seniors moving on from this year’s squad, Newman Catholic will be primed to return to Carroll next year to defend their title.

Postgame Interviews:

Alex Bohl – Head Coach

Logan Vaske – Junior

Teagen Eisenlohr – Senior

Kole Franklin – Senior