Southeast All-District baseball teams released

For all three classes, 3A, 2A and 1A, it was a fantastic year on the baseball field.

With the release of this year’s Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association’s All-District Team’s Union area players are getting the recognition for their outstanding play throughout the season.

Representing Class 3A in the Southeast District is Fairfield, Washington and Mt. Pleasant.

Out of the three schools, just one player was selected to All-District 1st team.

Fairfield senior Nate Smithburg was a 1st team selection filling in one of the three pitcher slots. Smithburg lead the Trojans one the mound and was one of the best from the hill in the Southeast Conference.

Smithburg ended the season tied for the most wins in the SEC with six and lead the conference with 83 total strikeouts. He also held the top opponent batting average, holding hitters to an average of just .127.

Senior Connor Lyons also represents the Trojans with a 2nd team selection in the outfield.

Lyons led Fairfield in the box this season with an average of .346. With 27 singles he ranked third in the SEC. He was also fourth in the league with 14 stolen bases. On the mound he finished fifth in total strikeout with 44 total. His five sacrifice bunts were an SEC best too.

For Washington, Ethan Zieglowsky, Kole Williams and Ethan Patterson are all 2nd team picks.

Zieglowsky was a vocal leader behind the plate at catcher. He led the conference with 11 total thrown out runners.

Washington 1st baseman, Williams had the second best batting average for the Demons. Swinging the bat with an average of .373, good enough for fifth in the SEC. He was also first in doubles with 12 and second in total RBIs with 30. With 51 total bases he was third in the conference.

Junior Patterson makes the list as a second baseman. He led Washington with an average .378 at the plate. His 18 stolen bases were a conference best. He finished tied for second with 10 doubles and fourth in total bases with 48.

The lone Mt. Pleasant Panther on the list is catcher Carter Amos.

Amos was fantastic behind the plate for the Panthers. He finished the season with a batting average of .310. He tied for fifth with 21 RBIs and finished fourth in triples with two.

In 2A, Cardinal, Van Buren and Mid-Prairie all represent the Union coverage area.

Cardinal senior Landon Becker is the sole Comet on 1st team. Becker was selected as a pitcher. On the mound, he finished with six total wins, which was good enough for third most in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South (SEISC). He was one of four pitcher to tally a sub 1.00 ERA, finishing second with a 0.47 ERA. His 54 strikeouts were sixth most. He also finished the season with three home runs and an average of .349.

Junior Van Buren County Warrior Jackson Manning is on as a catcher. His batting average of .411 was seventh best in SEISC South. He also led the Warriors in total runs, 33, fourth best in the league and hits, 39, tied for second. His 14 doubles were the most. With 61 total bases he was third in the conference.

Representing Mid-Prairie is Karson Grout, who was selected as utility. Grout was stellar on both the mound and the plate.

His .372 average at the plate was sixth best in the River Valley South (RVS). He finished third in home runs with two and second in total RBIs with 28. His seven doubles were tied for second most and two triples tied for third. He ended tied for third in total bases as well with 46.

On the hill, Grout held batters to an average of .151, fourth best in the RVS South. He finished with four total wins, tied for third most.

On 2nd team, Mid-Prairie’s Alex Bean and Cain Brown.

Brown finished fifth in the RVS South in batting average with .382. He was also first in both runs, 33, and stolen bases, 20. His 34 hits, 26 singles and two triples were third best in the conference. He tied with Grout in total bases with 46. On the mound. Brown tied for first in saves with three.

Bean finished the season with the third best average on the Golden Hawks, .351. He ended with 26 hits, 24 singles to go along with 18 RBIs for Mid-Prairie. His 23 total runs were fifth best in the RVS South.

The 1A teams that made the list include New London, Highland and Keota.

Representing the Tigers as a pitcher is Seth Bailey. Bailey was huge for New London on the hill. He ended second in wins with seven, only behind teammate Dereck Santiago. His 0.84 ERA was third best in the league.

Tiger Tucker Gibbar is picked as a catcher. Behind the plate, Gibbar led the SEISC South in thrown out runners with seven. He wasn’t too shabby at the plate either. He average .420 in the box and is fifth in RBIs with 31. His 34 hits ranked fifth in the conference. He also tied for third with teammates Josh Catala and Kooper Schulte for singles, 24. Gibbar also had two triples.

Kooper Schulte takes the 1st team shortstop spot on the list. Schulte finished third in batting average with .444. He was first in both runs and RBIs, 44 each, first in runs, 50, second in home runs, 6. He also was second in doubles with 13.

From mound, Schulte was fantastic. He held a zero ERA until the state championship and held batters to an average of .067. His three saves were third in the league.

Dereck Santiago is the regions 1st team third baseman. Santiago hit .429 throughout the season. His 39 RBIs trailed only Schulte. He ended second in both runs, 42, and hits, 39. He also had 11 doubles for third in the SEISC and his four triples were a conference best.

Santiago wasn’t too bad at pitching either. He led the conference with 10 total wins. His 74 strikeouts were a SEISC South best. His ERA was fourth best with an average of 0.86. Opponents batting average were .141 against Santiago.

The last Tiger on 1st team is Josh Catala in the outfield. Catala finished with an average of .403. His 32 runs was fifth best in the conference. He ended with 31 hits, along with 24 singles. He also drew the third most walks with 24. Catala also ended with 20 RBIs on the season.

On 2nd team, Brenden Richey takes a pitching spot. Richey faced a total of 114 batters on the season. He gave up 12 runs (seven earned) on 23 hits, 14 walks and three hit batters to go along with 26 strikeouts. His ERA ended at 1.86.

Carter Allen is the Tigers 2nd teams first baseman. Allen finished the year with a .323 average. He ended with 30 total hits, 16 singles, 11 doubles, one triple and a pair of home runs, along with 24 RBIs.

In the outfield is Camden Kasel. Kasel batted .343 on the year. In 67 at-bats he tallied 27 runs, 23 hits, 19 singles, one double, two triples and 15 RBIs. Kasel led the SEISC South with 27 total walks.

Ryan Richey is the final representative for New London. Richey was selected as utility. He finished with an average of .338. Along with 31 runs and 27 hits, he had 17 singles, seven doubles, two triples and one home run. Richey also carded 34 RBIs.

For Highland, senior Chase Schultz is a pitching selection.

Schultz led the SEISC North with 10 total wins on the season. His 1.78 ERA was fourth best in the conference. He finished the year with 89 total strikeouts, best in the North Division. His .210 opponent batting average was 10th best. Schulte was also great with the bat, finishing with an ERA of .405. His five home runs were a conference best. He also had 25 RBIs, ranking him fourth.

In the outfield, Connor Grinstead was as good as they came. Grinstead finished with a batting average of .427. He finished with 22 total stolen bases, second to only teammate Brenton Bonebrake. With 34 runs and 35 hits he finished second. He led in singles, 27 and fourth in doubles with seven.

Trevor McFarland was one of the heaviest hitters in the league. He batted .475 on the year, good enough for second. He ended first in hits with 38, second in RBIs with 29. His 10 doubles were the best and his two triples were second. He also hit three home runs on the year. Behind the plate, McFarland threw out four runners.

On 2nd team for the Huskies is pitcher Ethan Paisley. Paisley ended the year with a 2.32 ERA. He finished with five total wins. Out of the 181 batters he faced, he gave up just 24 runs (15 earned) on 33 hits, 13 walks, three hit batters and 55 strikeouts.

Luke Miller rounds out Highland on 2nd team with a utility selection. Miller’s batting average on the year was .347. He ended with 31 runs on 26 hits with 17 singles, seven doubles, a pair of home runs and 18 RBIs.

For Keota, Colten Clarahan was the sole 1st team pick as a utility.

Clarahan was fantastic on both ends of the ball. He ended the year with a .507 batting average, tallying team best in hits, 37, and runs, 25. He also finished with 32 singles, five doubles and 16 RBIs. On the hill, Clarahan faced 251 batters, allowing 43 runs (23 earned), on just 30 hits, 50 walks, seven hit by pitches and 100 strikeouts.

Junior Aidan Anderson was a 2nd team pitching pick. Anderson finished with eight wins on the season. With a 0.53 ERA, he faced 220 opponents, giving up just 15 runs (four earned) on 30 hits, 21 walks and two hit by pitches to go along with 65 strikeouts.

Freshman Caden Clarahan was selected as a 2nd team catcher. He carded a .389 average. With 72 at-bats, he finished with 28 hits, 19 singles, eight doubles and one home run to go along with 18 RBIs. Behind the plate, Clarahan threw out five runners trying to steal.

There’s no doubting that Union area teams showed out this past season. With a plethora of great seniors completing their high school careers, the returning players will now take the reins.