(Anita) A spot in the Class 1A state baseball tournament semifinals is on the line Monday when CAM plays New London at Merchant’s Park in Carroll. KSOM will broadcast the game with coverage starting at around 4:15 p.m.
CAM coach Dan Daugherty believes he has a confident group. Much of that stems from going all the way in football. “I think it just gave them the confidence that they can go out and beat anybody. It doesn’t matter the sport. Once you win a state championship you think you can beat anybody and that’s kind of where we are at.”
It was evident following their 11-1 substate final win over Ogden that they had more to prove. “You saw them after the game. They weren’t jumping up and down. They just looked like they took care of business Finally they ran out and did a dog pile, but it was like they had to be coaxed to do it. I don’t think they are happy with where they are at yet. They want to play some more ball.”
CAM is ranked 8th with a record of 25-2. They’ve defeated Bedford 14-1, Lenox 7-4, Lamoni 7-3, and Ogden 11-1 in the postseason. #3 New London is 28-1 with tourney wins against Pekin 6-2, Burlington Notre Dame 5-0, and Moravia 11-0.
The Cougar’s 23 home runs are most in the state among Class 1A teams. They rank 12th in team batting average at .351 and 8th in runs scored with an average of 10.9 per game.
The pitching staff has the lowest opponent batting average at .135, 5th most strikeouts with 276, and they rank 7th in team ERA at 2.06.
Individually, Lane Spieker’s 13 home runs lead the state. His .539 batting average ranks 6th. Joe Kauffman is 8th in doubles with 13 and 14th in RBI with 42. Rich and Spieker are each in the top 20 in that category with 40 RBI apiece.
On the mound, Spieker has the 6th best opponent batting average at .086 and ranks 13th in strikeouts with 85.
CAM’s only prior state appearance came in 2017. C&M was the state runner-up in 1993. New London has two prior appearances including last year when they lost 4-3 in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Kee. The winner of Monday’s game between #8 CAM and #3 New London will face either Lisbon or #2 Newman Catholic (Mason City) in the semifinals at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday.
CAM coach Dan Daugherty:
