Trever Baumler ignites Dowling Catholic in Iowa state baseball tournament win over DC-G

CEDAR RAPIDS — Once the skies cleared and the baseball resumed, No. 7 seed Dowling Catholic delivered a quality effort to kick off what the Maroons hope is a lengthy Cedar Rapids stay.

Trever Baumler tossed 5 2/3 sparkling innings and helped Dowling finally break through with a key sixth-inning single, propelling the Maroons to a 3-1 win over No. 2 seed Dallas Center-Grimes in Tuesday's Class 4A state quarterfinal at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

A weather delay that lasted two-plus hours earlier in the day turned this 5 p.m. affair into an 8:15 p.m. nightcap, while also postponing the last 4A quarterfinal — Iowa City High vs. Waukee — to Wednesday afternoon. Dowling will get the winner in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal.

Baumler yielded just three baserunners — two hits and a walk — while punching out six with little stress. The TCU signee breezed through the DCG lineup so quickly that only 61 pitches were needed, keeping him eligible to pitch in Friday's championship game should the Maroons advance.

"The plan of attack every time is to go out there and throw strikes, get some weak contact and keep the pitch limit low," Baumler said. "I've got a lot of trust in my guys to field everything and get outs for me."

It took awhile before Dowling cashed in offensively to match the pitching prowess. The Maroons left 10 on base overall and finished just 2-for-11 with men on, scraping across nothing but a bases-loaded walk in the third for a 1-0 lead.

A two-run sixth finally provided the cushion Dowling was hunting. Baumler smacked an RBI single to left after four DC-G walks loaded the bases and forced in another run. With a 3-0 lead to work with, Dowling closed things out without a ton of drama.

The Mustangs did get one massive blow from Notre Dame commit Taitn Gray, who launched a solo homer in the seventh for DC-G's only run. But Maroons reliever Jack Barrett prevented any further damage. DC-G right-hander Keaton Fenn was the tough-luck loser despite allowing just one run over 4 1/3 frames.

The show, though, belonged to Baumler, who's currently shuffling back and forth from Iowa and Fort Worth while taking a three-week course at TCU. He's gone down to Texas and back twice, returning for Dowling's substate wins over Ames and Ankeny Centennial.

A state championship at the end would make it all worth it.

"We win this next ballgame, we've got a shot at winning this thing," Baumler said. "It's huge for us, and it's definitely a momentum game. I love it, baby. Let's go."

No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy 6, No. 8 Pleasant Valley 3

Class 4A's top seed was tested right out of the gates, but the Cougars rallied with a four-run sixth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and advance. Kennedy will face No. 4 seed Johnston in Thursday's semifinal at 1 p.m.

Grant Mather delivered the monumental blow with a two-run double in the sixth to aid his own mound effort. Mather gutted through six innings with seven hits and three runs surrendered, while striking out six and walking two.

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Trever Baumler ignites Dowling Catholic in Iowa state baseball tournament win over DC-G