The Iowa high school softball home run record has a new name at the top, and Julia Roth wasted no time making it official.
The University of Iowa commit went deep twice Wednesday night for Dubuque Wahlert Catholic against Cedar Rapids Xavier, launching career homers Nos. 72 and 73 in a pair of Golden Eagles wins, 10-6 and 9-3. Roth has now hit 16 home runs this season and is batting over .500 with 54 RBI.
With four regular season games left before Class 3A postseason play begins, Wahlert still has a chance to add more games to the calendar. The Golden Eagles could also make another run to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Softball Tournament, which would give Roth even more opportunities to pad a record that has already been reset.
She’ll have company in the chase. Ankeny Centennial star Jordyn Kennedy is also closing in.
The Minnesota commit has 17 home runs and 56 RBI this season, and she sits at 66 career home runs. The Jaguars have a busy stretch ahead, starting with a doubleheader against West Des Moines Valley on Thursday, July 2, then the Coach Schlafke Classic this weekend against Norwalk and Winterset, before finishing the regular season with two games against Urbandale.
Like Wahlert, they’re headed for the Class 5A regional postseason tournament and are still in the mix for a state tournament berth.
The old Iowa career home run mark belonged to Kendyl Lindaman, who finished with 71 and also played at Ankeny and Ankeny Centennial.
On the baseball side, Bill Huisman reached a milestone that carries a different kind of weight. The longtime Iowa coach picked up his 1,000th career win when Moravia walked off Lynnville-Sully, 4-3.
“I thought I was going to be finished after last summer at Centerville,” Huisman told KMA Sports. “Phil Helmick and Moravia reached out to me to see if I could come back up there and coach some baseball with Phil. I was very happy to do that because, in myself, I just didn’t feel like I was done as a coach.
“I love being around the kids, the game, the coaches and the people.”
Huisman and Helmick share the head coaching duties at Moravia, which has surged to a 23-4 record and 17 straight wins with the Iowa High School Athletic Association postseason looming. Huisman has spent more than four decades coaching at Moravia and Centerville.
Moravia later gave him win No. 1,001 with a 14-4 victory over Lamoni, and the Mohawks will host Moulton-Udell in the Class 1A, Substate 7 opener on Friday night.
West Branch also had a night to remember, but in a much stranger way. Nolan Staker hit three inside-the-park home runs in a win over Lisbon, including two in the first inning. He drove in six runs as West Branch rolled to a 20-2 victory.
For the season, Staker has four home runs, a .372 average, 27 RBI and 23 runs scored. He has also stolen 15 bases and earned two pitching wins.
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