The Lynnville-Sully baseball team will attempt to take another step towards defending their Class 1A State Championship today. The Hawks are the #2 seed at the state tournament and plays #7 seed East Buchanan (Winthrop) in the quarterfinals at 4:30 this afternoon at Merchants Park in Carroll. Lynnville-Sully is 24-2 this summer, while the Buccaneers are 17-9. On the season, the Hawks averaged ten runs per game, while East Buchanan averaged seven. The Buccaneers have given up almost four runs per game, while the Hawks’ opponents have averaged two and a half runs. Lynnville-Sully also has a better team batting average and on base percentage at .356 and .485 respectively, compared to East Buchanan’s .271 and .411. Opponents are batting .127 against the Hawks and .156 against East Buchanan’s pitchers. Lynnville-Sully head coach Scott Alberts likes the way the team’s deep pitching is set up going into the tournament, and believes the team can add to their 91 stolen bases. He’s also been impressed by what he calls the “grit” of this team.

“This team is “gritty”. They have definitely been put on the ropes and had tough spots in games. But they continue to fight. It’s kind of the signature of this team. I feel like they are never out of a game.” 

The Hawks won the Class 1A State Baseball title last year with a 29-3 record and a 7-1 win over Remsen St. Mary’s in the championship game.