Sports

The Waukon baseball team was able to get its full slate of games in this past week, playing a schedule of six Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) games but having all six of those end up on the wrong side of the win-loss column. The Tribe opened the week with a road doubleheader at Charles City and fell by a 9-0 result before having a 5-4 loss dealt to them in the final inning of game two Tuesday, June 23. The Indians then fell to Waverly-Shell Rock at home, 16-0 in six innings and 8-0, Thursday, June 25 in a double-dip rescheduled from Friday, June 19 before also suffering that same fate in a home NEIC twinbill with Crestwood, falling by scores of 12-2 in six innings and 9-5.

The Kee baseball team once again had a busy week shortened up just a bit near its tail end when the Hawks had their Friday, June 26 Upper Iowa Conference doubleheader at MFL/MarMac postponed by stormy weather until July 8. Prior to that rain-out, the Hawks played three additional nights, having one of those nights also be shortened by rain after having been postponed already from Monday, June 22.

The Kee diamond dwellers were able to open their week of competition Tuesday, June 23 at home with a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over Wapsie Valley before making up that Monday, June 22 rain-out at Clayton Ridge Wednesday, June 24 but having the second game of that doubleheader rained out after the Hawks posted an 11-2 win in game one. The Hawks ended up wrapping up their week early with a 6-0 home loss to undefeated and Class 1A fourth-rated South Winneshiek Thursday, June 25.

For the second consecutive week the Kee softball team was able to get its entire week of competition in, but not without a bit of a schedule adjustment due to weather. The Hawks had a Monday, June 22 home doubleheader with West Central pushed to Thursday, June 25 by rainy weather, ultimately earning a split of that home pair with an 8-6 loss in game one followed by a 15-11 victory in game two. Prior to that split, the Kee girls fell in a non-conference road game at Sumner-Fredericksburg by a 5-2 final result.

The Lady Hawks were next scheduled to host South Winneshiek Monday, June 29 before playing at North Fayette Valley Wednesday, July 1 and then at Postville Thursday, July 2. The Kee girls will then host MFL/MarMac Monday, July 6 before playing at Clayton Ridge Wednesday, July 8 and then hosting Riceville Thursday, July 9 prior to beginning postseason tournament play possibly as early as Monday, July 13 at a finalized assignment to be announced in the near future.

The Waukon baseball team got its 2020 season underway this past week, and that start to a season already limited by the COVID-19 pandemic was even further limited by Mother Nature. The Indians were scheduled to book-end that initial week of competition with home dates but had a nearly all-day rain postpone a Friday, June 19 home doubleheader with Waverly-Shell Rock until Thursday, June 25.

The only game the baseball Tribe did get to play was its Monday, June 15 season opener against a surprising MFL/MarMac squad that even further limited the Indians to just two hits while scoring its own runs in bunches to deal the Tribe an 8-6 loss. The Indians battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the game and eventually take a late lead, only to give up the game’s two final, yet decisive, runs in the last inning.

The already limited 2020 Waukon softball season was limited even further in its first week of competition this past week, as rain postponed a Friday, June 19 home game vs. Decorah to June 23. The two games the Indians were able to play both fell in the loss column, but to different degrees, as the softball Tribe fell at home to Oelwein Monday, June 15 by a 16-14 result before suffering a 10-0 loss in five innings at New Hampton Wednesday, June 17.

The Kee softball team was able to get its entire first week of competition in for the abbreviated 2020 season, landing a pair of doubleheaders on each side of the win-loss column. The Lady Hawks opened the season with a sweep of Central Elkader at home Monday, June 15 by scores of 9-5 and 12-11 in comeback fashion before suffering that same fate themselves at Turkey Valley Wednesday, June 17 by final results of 17-13 and 11-6.

The Lady Hawks were next scheduled to host West Central Monday, June 22 before traveling to Sumner-Fredericksburg Wednesday, June 24, but had that West Central date postponed to Thursday, June 25. The Kee girls will then host South Winneshiek Monday, June 29 before playing at North Fayette Valley Wednesday, July 1 and then at Postville Thursday, July 2.

The Kee baseball team got its 2020 season off to a busy start but could have been even busier if Mother Nature hadn’t forced cancellation of a pair of Saturday, June 20 games at Gladbrook-Reinbeck. The Hawks’ other five games this past week began with a home doubleheader sweep of Turkey Valley, 22-6 in four innings and 14-0 in five innings, before Kee got tripped up by MFL/MarMac at home, 9-1, Thursday, June 18 and was then swept by Class 1A fourth-rated South Winneshiek in this season’s first road date Friday, June 19 by narrow results of 3-2 and 2-0.

The 2020 Kee baseball team will be among all others across the state of Iowa dealing with the bittersweet reality of getting to take to the field for any type of season at all this summer. The COVID-19 pandemic that ultimately ended the school year in Iowa and continues to impact many life aspects, including the high school baseball season, has gradually loosened its grip and is allowing for Iowa high school teams to return to action, although under some guided restrictions for the health and safety of all involved.

“We are extremely grateful to be playing in 2020 and we put together a full schedule for the three-and-a-half weeks,” Kee baseball coach Jim Mauss said. “That being said, we initially had a 39-game schedule including weekend tournaments every Saturday during the season and we had two overnight trips that we are not able to do for the guys.”

The 2020 Waukon softball season will be like many others across the state of Iowa in dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. That virus that first brought an end to the school year and spring high school sports seasons earlier this year is at least allowing for an abbreviated high school softball season that has now gotten itself underway as the month of June has rolled around, although with some modifications in place that each team must follow in order to keep the virus under wraps and all participants as safe as possible.

The 2020 Waukon baseball team will join all other Iowa high school summer sports teams in the bittersweet aspect of being able to take to the field this season. After the entire high school spring sports season was called off due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the summer high school sports seasons has been delayed about a month as well and, thus, will leave just over a month of competition able to be played now that the green light has been given to resume such activities.

Second-year Waukon baseball head coach Shane Schellsmidt knows very well that the decisions made regarding the high school sports seasons and even the early end to the academic year were in necessary response to the COVID-19 virus. He also knows that the return to the sports scene this summer will have much more meaning to those participating than just playing a game.