Tigers pace small school baseball team

For Southeast Iowa, the 2022 baseball season was just about as good as it could get and the Union area showed they were some of the most talented in the state with a pair making the journey to the state tournament and one even bringing home a state championship.

New London and Mid-Prairie were among the upper echelon in their perspective classes as both made deep runs in the postseason, which included state tournament trips. Mid-Prairie fell one game short of the state title game, while New London was crowned state champions.

The two are just the tip of the ice burg when it comes to this year’s 2022 All-Union list. New London leads with five names on the list, Highland, who also had an outstanding year with 22 wins, followed with three. Mid-Prairie and Cardinal each carded two. Van Buren County and Keota landed one each on the list.

COACH: Brad Helmerson, New London

Everything came to fruition for New London head coach Brad Helmerson this season. Not only did Helmerson help the Tigers win their first baseball state championship in school history with an 8-7 victory over Remsen St. Mary’s, but he did it in his last ride as a head coach.

After amassing a 31-1 record this past season, a school best, and a 210-128 career record, Helmerson’s 14 year stint with the Tigers comes to an end. He was also named this year’s All-Iowa baseball coach of the year by Des Moines Register.

This year’s team was propelled by nine seniors, who go out along with their head coach.

CAPTAIN: Kooper Schulte, New London

When looking at the 2022 baseball season, it’s hard to not think of Schulte. He was about as good as they came from the shortstop position.

Schulte finished the season with an average of .444. In the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Divison, he led in both runs and RBIs with 50 and 44 respectively. He also hit 13 doubles. His six home runs were second in the league and sixth in Class 1A.

From the hill, Schulte was fantastic as well. He held a zero ERA until the state championship game and held batters to an average of .067. Schulte closed out the state championship win for the Tigers.

PITCHER: Dereck Santiago, New London

Santiago had one of the best arms in the state from the mound. He led the conference and was third in the state with 10 total wins. His 74 strikeouts were a SEISC South best. His ERA was fourth best with an average of 0.86. Opponents struggled greatly against Santiago, swinging with just a .141 average.

He started both the Tigers quarterfinal win over CAM, Anita and the state championship victory over Remsen, St. Mary’s.

He hit .429 throughout the season. His 39 RBIs trailed only Schulte in the SEISC South. 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.

PITCHER: Colten Clarahan, Keota

Like many on this list, 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.

CATCHER: Tucker Gibbar, New London

Behind the plate, Gibbar was one of the best, hardly ever letting a ball get by. He led the SEISC South in thrown out runners with seven.

He wasn’t too shabby at the plate either. He averaged .420 in the box and was fifth in RBIs with 31. His 34 hits ranked fifth in the conference. He also tied for third with teammates Josh Catala and Schulte for singles at 24. Gibbar also had two triples on the season.

He was a spark plug for New London and always showed out when they needed a jolt.

INFIELD: Jackson Manning, Van Buren County

Jackson Manning was one of the top players for Van Buren in 2022. He held the Warriors down behind the plate, in the box and on the mound.

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.

Manning held a 2.39 ERA, allowing 38 hits, 26 runs, 14 earned, 12 walks and 52 strikeouts on 181 batters faced.

INFIELD: Karson Grout, Mid-Prairie

Grout was a big part of the Golden Hawks postseason run this last season. Over the course of the season, he was stellar on both the mound and the plate.

He’s also the youngest player on the list, the sole sophomore.

His .372 average in the box 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.

From the mound, Grout finished with a 2.39 ERA. He allowed just 14 hits, 10 runs, nine earned, 16 walks and 42 strikeouts on 93 batters faced.

An elbow injury in the Golden Hawks substate final victory, prevented him from pitching in the state tournament.

INFIELD: Cain Brown, Mid-Prairie

Brown finished fifth in the RVS 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. Brown came up with some big hits for the Golden Hawks in the state tournaments and also closed out their state tournament quarterfinal win over Cascade.

INFIELD: Carson Kenney, Cardinal

Kenney led Cardinal from the plate with a .383 batting average. He finished with 22 runs, 23 hits, 16 singles, six doubles, one home run and nine RBIs.

From the mound, Kenney was one of the best for Cardinal. He faced 98 opponents in 2022, allowing just 19 hits, nine runs, six earned, five walks and 20 strikeouts. He finished the year with a 1.94 ERA.

OUTFIELD: Joshua Catala, New London

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.

An injury hindered Catala at the beginning of the season, but late he was huge for New London, even closing out the Tigers state quarterfinal victory over CAM, Anita.

Over the course of the season, Catala held a 2.06 ERA, allowing just 14 hits, eight runs, five earned, two walks and 12 strikeouts.

OUTFIELD: Landon Becker, Cardinal

Becker was an integral piece of a senior led Comet squad this past season. He not only had a great season in the outfield, but also on the mound.

He batted .349 on the season and led Cardinal in runs and hits with 23 and 30. He also had 21 RBIs, second best on the team.

He was also one of the top pitchers in the area. He finished with a 6-1 record and tallied a .47 ERA along the way. Against the 189 batters Becker faced, he only allowed 16 runs (three earned) on 32 hits, 16 walks and 54 strikeouts. Opponents had a .169 average against Becker. He also led the Comets in stolen bases with 26.

OUTFIELD: Connor Grinstead, Highland

Grinstead was one of the top outfielders in the area this past season and was big in helping Highland have one of its best season on the ball diamond in the last five years.

He finished with a batting average of .427. His 22 total stolen bases were second to only teammate Brenton Bonebrake. With 34 runs and 35 hits were also second best in the league. He led in singles with 27 and was fourth in doubles with seven.

UTILITY: Trevor McFarland, Highland

Trevor McFarland was one of the heaviest hitters in the league and was another piece to a standout Highland senior class.

He batted .475 on the year, good enough for second in the SEISC North. 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.

UTILITY: Chase Schultz, Highland

Schultz was one of the top pitchers in the Union area this past season.

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.