Regional baseball and softball for 2013 is in the books for all the area teams and three area teams earned the right to play in their respective Class at the state tournament.

In baseball action, Delaware Valley League team the Valley Falls Dragons was the only area team to claim a spot in the state tournament this year after having a first round bye then taking down Immaculata in the semifinals and dispatching Oskaloosa in the 2-1A Oskaloosa Regional championship.

Softball saw two area teams earn state bids with Marysville lady Bulldogs claim stake to the Class 3A Regional title at Wathena and Oskaloosa continuing to remain unbeaten on the season by winning the 2-1A Regional at Valley Falls.

The three teams now turn their minds to the state tournament coming up on Thursday, May 23rd and Friday, May 24th.

Valley Falls Dragons Make State for the Second Straight Year

Dragons for the second straight year punched their tickets to the Class 2-1A state tournament, looking to improve upon their fourth place finish last year. Valley Falls goes into the state tournament touting a 15-5 record after dispatching Immaculata in the Regional semifinals, 6-2 and then opening the offense up more in the Regional championship with a 12-4 win over Oskaloosa, after splitting the regular season series with the Bears.

This year its been a multitude of upper classmen leading the way for the Dragons with a solid all-around junior class. Juniors, Ben Gantz, Luke Burns, Tyler Weishaar, Gates Glassel and Elijah Clark have all consistently provided for the Dragons all season. While senior, Kyle Glissman has packed some punch with the bat, too and provided great leadership, with freshman Zac Allen providing solid play, too.

State tournament as been a staple for the Dragons as they now have made the state Class 2-1A tournament four of the last five years, including this year. Valley Falls looks to continue their success this season and make a run at State.

Marysville Lady Bulldogs Capture Regional Title Earning a State Bid in 3A

Lead by roster full of upperclassmen the Lady Bulldogs of Marysville punched their ticket to the Class 3A state softball tournament for the second time in three years.

Bulldogs had a first round bye as the number two seed then took home Hiawatha in the second round and blasted past the Redhawks with a 17-0 win, setting by a one versus two seed matchup in the Regional championship. Marysville took on Pleasant Ridge in the final of the Regional and captured the 15-3 win.

Marysville will roll into state winning their last five games and riding their great offense play with three players batting over .400 and one north of .500. Seniors, Dani Schwarz and Liz Vogelsburg and junior, Lacy Uhlik all touted a batting average north of .400, while junior, Dani Fincham leads the team with an impressive .566 batting average. Fincham also gets it done in the circle pitching in every game for the Bulldogs this year and putting up an ERA of 1.71 and registering 101 strikeouts.

Looking to build upon the success of the season the Bulldogs will take their 14-6 record to the Class 3A state tournament on May 23rd and 24th.

Oskaloosa Softball Remains Unbeaten on the Season, Claiming a Regional Title

It's been a dominate year for the Oskaloosa Lady Bears on the softball field to the tune of an unbeaten season at a perfect 18-0 record headed into the Class 2-1A state tournament.

The Bears went into Regional play as the number one seed and moved to the semifinals with a first round bye. In the semifinals Oskaloosa meet up with fellow DVL school Troy and took out the Trojans, 9-2 to take on McLouth in the championship. Bears continued to win by beating McLouth 7-1 in the Regional title game, earning a spot in the state tournament.

Bears on the season won 13 of their 18 games by five or more runs and a major reason for that was an offense that featured four players all batting over .500. Sophomore's, Bree Brooks and Olivia Leonard and freshman, Haidyn Bassett and Madison Miller all tout a north of .500 batting average for the Bears on the year. While, Bassett serves as the Bears pitcher, also shutting down opponents all season to the tune of registering 209 strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA.

Oskaloosa has had all this success with a young team and looks to improve upon last year's fourth place finish at state as they take their unblemished record to the state tournament next week.