The Norwalk baseball team turns the page to postseason play tonight with a Class 4A, Substate 6 first round game at Ottumwa. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m. at Legion Memorial Field.

The Warriors, who finished the regular season with a 13-18 record, are the number 4 seed in the bracket and have lost four straight games. The third-seeded Bulldogs are 29-10. Ottumwa was swept in a doubleheader by Southeast Polk on Monday, but won 10 of their previous 11 games.

The Bulldogs average 8.4 runs per contest and have stolen 129 bases on the season. They also boast a hard-throwing ace pitcher in sophomore Tucker Long, who has already committed to play collegiately at the University of Iowa. Long is 5-1 on the mound with a 0.90 earned run average. He has struck out 90 batters in 54 ⅔ innings.

The Warriors will likely counter with senior C.J. Davis or junior Cole Wardlow. Davis is 4-3 with one save and a 2.28 ERA. Wardlow is 3-3 with two saves and an ERA of 2.27. Norwalk will need to play a clean defensive game and limit free passes while finding a way to scratch across some runs against Long. The Warriors have scored just four runs in their last four games.

Tonight’s game can be heard live on the KNIA3 stream via kniakrls.com. Pregame coverage begins at approximately 6:50. The winner advances to Monday’s semifinal round, facing Waukee Northwest or Des Moines Lincoln.