(Underwood, IA) — It was quite a run for the Underwood Eagle baseball team in 2024. After a runner up finish last year, Underwood went all the way this summer beating New Hampton 5-1 in the 2A championship game to claim the school’s first ever state baseball title.
Underwood had been a fast starter throughout the season but they had to come from behind to beat Chariton 8-7 in the semifinals and against the Chickasaws of New Hampton, the Eagles scored all 5 runs in the later innings to get the win. Underwood Head Coach Andy Vanfossan believes that playing last year at state helped this year
The strength of the Underwood team is pitching. The Eagles featured three guys with sub 1 ERAs. Sophomore Garrett Luett was perfect with a 10-0 record and 0.66 ERA — he had an incredible 92 strikeouts in 58 innings pitched. Then there were Seniors Mason Boothby (8-0 and 0.74 ERA) and Jack Vanfossan (9-0, 0.66 ERA) that also had perfect records. Vanfossan says the team had a lot of confidence no matter who took the mound
Vanfossan says that the community responded to the team’s run at state and he has heard from many since last Friday’s victory
Underwood finished the season 30-2 and lose 4 Senior starters, 6 Seniors overall but should be contenders to repeat in 2025.
