Baseball is the fourth most-popular sport in terms of participation numbers in Iowa high schools, according to information gathered by the National Federation of State Associations.... The Iowa High School Athletic Association surveyed its members about a number of issues, among them items about baseball.... And a quick look at the 2009 Iowa high school baseball state tournament schedule. Read more for the details.

The 2008 Iowa high school state baseball tournament posed several questions:
• Could Johnston become the only undefeated Class 4A state champion in history?
• Could anyone stop defending state champion and top-ranked West Delaware in Class 3A?
• Would Cherokee and Davenport Assumption meet for the second straight year in the Class 2A state championship game?
• Could North Sentral Kossuth win the 1A state title in just its second season after a school merger?
The answers:
Yes. Yes. Yes. And: Yes.

The 2008 Iowa high school state tournament is over. 32 teams. 28 games. 8 days. 4 champions. Total attendance was 33,155, and for the first time ever, two sessions topped 5,000 fans. [The Class 4A semifinals on Friday night drew 5,119, and the 3A-4A championship games on Saturday night drew 5,279.] A good time was had by all. Almost 5 million hits — During the week of the state tournament, this web site drew 57,500 visits and 4,758,200 hits. Single-day page views peaked at 106,559 on July 25. Looking ahead — The state tournament is scheduled for Principal Park through the 2013 season. Future tentative dates are:
2009 — July 24-25, 27 to August 1
2010 — July 23-24, 26-31
2011 — July 22-23, 25-30
2012 — July 20-21, 23-28
2013 — July 19-20, 22-27

A look back at the numbers of the 2008 Iowa high school state baseball tournament. All the scores and all the stats. Read more for scores, stats and stories from all 28 games of the tournament.

Catch a foul ball at the state tournament? Keep it. For the third straight year, fans could keep foul balls hit into the stands during games. Iowa Network Services is the official foul ball sponsor of the tournament. Their support of high school baseball makes it possible for fans to keep a great souvenir of the state tournament. Update — Some 47.5 dozen balls were used during the 2008 tournament [that's 570 balls] and most of those balls went home with fans. At $45 a dozen, that's $2,137 in baseballs.

You can capture all the fun and excitement of state tournament week in great photos. Visit www.vipis.com for action and award photos from the 2008 state baseball tournament. Visual Image Photography is the official photographer of the Iowa High School Athletic Association. And: To order DVDs of the championship games, visit the Iowa High School Sports Network.

The Iowa high school state baseball tournament — which has experienced record crowds the past two years at Principal Park in Des Moines — will stay in the capital city through 2013. Rick Wulkow, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and Sam Bernabe, president and general manager of the Iowa Cubs, made the joint announcement.

When was the first Iowa high school baseball game broadcast on the radio? What two Iowa baseball coaches lead the nation in victories? What broadcaster delivered the reports of Des Moines North’s 8-7 win over Central City for the 1934 spring state championship? Read more for the answers to these questions and others!