Tornow captains All-Union baseball

The 2020 All-Union small school baseball team could have just been the Mid-Prairie High School team as eight Golden Hawks were honored by their conference, the River Valley.

There were a lot of standout talent in the area, however, and just the three Golden Hawks selected to the RVC Elite Team made the All-Union squad as well as the RVC South Division Coach of the Year from Mid-Prairie.

Cardinal advanced to within a game of the state tournament and lost to the Class 2A state champions in Van Meter. There are two Comets on the team as well as two New London Tigers and two Pekin Panthers. A pitcher from Keota, an infielder apiece from Van Buren County and Hillcrest Academy and Highland's superb outfielder round out the squad.

Coach: Andy Greiner, Mid-Prairie

The best know how to go out on top. After leading the Golden Hawks to their first state tournament appearance since 2007, Greiner stepped down as the head coach.

He still was an easy selection to head the All-Union team as he took the Golden Hawks from an 18-12 record last season to 15-4 this season and one of the eight best teams in Class 2A. The Golden Hawks were co-champions of the River Valley Conference and outright titleholders of the South Division crown.

Captain: Brad Tornow, senior, Mid-Prairie

There was a little debate between Tornow and teammate Aidan Rath for captain but that debate didn't last long. Tornow provided so many intangibles to the Golden Hawks that he made a perfect pick for captain of the All-Union team.

A far-ranging center fielder when he wasn't atop the mound, he could track and get to most every ball and his accurate arm could throw a runner out.

At the plate, Tornow was 12th in 2A with seven doubles. He had a .400 batting average, which was seventh in the River Valley Conference and an OBP of .547 that was third. His total bases were second in the RVC. Tornow was second in drawing walks (18). He was fourth in the league in hits and third in runs batted in with 17.

Tornow's pitching stats were an earned run average of 0.91 with 43 strikeouts (third in the RVC) to 11 walks in 23 innings pitched. Just three earned runs were scored on him. He did not hit a batter, something the top 20 other pitchers in the RVC did at least once. His walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP) was 1.13, which was fourth in the RVC.

Pitcher: Colten Clarahan, sophomore, Keota

Although he was just a sophomore this season, Clarahan was a steady influence for the Eagles, playing catcher or shortstop when he wasn't pitching.

When he was pitching he was dominant. His earned run average was just 1.46 which was fourth in the South Iowa Cedar League, and his strikeout total was first with 64, 12 more than second place who had more innings pitched. He allowed only 14 walks in 38 innings pitched. Opponents batted .169 against him.

His batting ability saw him finish sixth in the SICL at .439 and his on-base percentage was fourth at .566. He had five doubles and 14 runs batted in, both among the top 10 in the league.

On defense, he was eighth in the league in fielding percentage at .976 with just two errors all season.

Pitcher: Landon Becker, sophomore, Cardinal

It was a tough year for Southeast Iowa Super Conference batters when they had to face Cardinal's sophomore slinger.

Becker led the Comets with a 1.79 ERA, while striking out 20 batters en route to a 3-1 overall record in 2020. He was a huge part of a Cardinal pitching group that led the team to a substate final berth.

Becker also had a nice year at the plate, hitting .298 with 10 RBIs, one of three Comets to knock in double-digit runs.

Catcher: Mason Juhl, junior, Pekin

Juhl helped the Panthers win the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division with a 7-1 record and they were 8-3 overall.

Juhl was second in the North in batting average at .485 and fourth in OBP at .571. He only struck out three times.

Juhl was 11th in the North in fielding percentage at .952 with only one error.

Infield: Aidan Rath, junior, Mid-Prairie

Rath became a dominant force at the plate batting left-handed. Coaches learned to pitch around him and he still finished second in Class 2A in home runs.

Rath, who played first base, had a batting average of .562 was third in 2A. His on-base percentage was second in the class at .676. His home run total of five was second as was his runs batted in total of 29.

Infield: Kennan Winn, senior, Pekin

Winn was a force in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference and was named North Division Player of the Year.

He had the fourth best ERA in the North at 0.88 with 23 strikeouts and six walks with an opponents batting average of 0.074.

At the plate, Winn's .469 batting average was third in the North as was his RBI total of 17 and his OBP of .591 was second. His four home runs were first. He struck out only two times this season. He led the league in total bases.

Infield: Eli Ours, junior, Hillcrest

Ours did it all for the Ravens between pitching, playing shortstop and hitting and he only made three errors all season.

When he was at bat, he reached base half of the time (OBP of .500 ranked ninth in the North) and had a .382 batting average.

Ours prowess on the mound resulted in a 0.76 ERA and a WHIP of 0.82. His strikeout to walk ratio of 8 to 1 was incredible and the wish of every coach. He had 24 Ks and three walks.

Infield: Ryan Wolf, junior, Van Buren County

Wolf was nearly impossible to get out in 2020. Wolf led the Warriors with a .439 batting average, a .558 OBP, two homers and 16 RBIs, and also slugged two doubles.

The junior was also a reliable arm on the mound, finishing the year with a 4.94 ERA and 10 strikeouts.

Outfield: Bill Laughlin, senior, Highland

Laughlin was the first choice as an outfielder for the Union team as he provided leadership and talent to the Huskies this season.

Laughlin's batting prowess put him fifth in the North with four doubles. He also had a triple and a home run. He hit at a .404 rate and was on base at the rate of .474. Laughlin was second in the league in total bases. Laughlin finished eighth in stolen bases.

Outfield: Josh Catala, sophomore, New London

Nobody got on base more for New London than sophomore Josh Catala, who was an All-State selection in Class 1A.

Catala hit .362 on the year (15th in the SEISC South Division) and led the Tigers with a .556 on base percentage (seventh in the South), drawing 25 walks, which was also tops on the Tiger squad.

Catala finished the year with four extra-base hits, two doubles and two triples. He finished second on the team with 19 RBIs. On the mound, he ended the year with a 0.86 ERA and 24 strikeouts, a killer all-around year for the Puerto Rico native.

Outfield: Monte Slabaugh, senior, Mid-Prairie

Slabaugh was one of the leaders on the state qualifiers and a choice for the River Valley Conference Elite Team.

When he was pitching, opponents batted just .154 against him, which was fifth in the RVC of those with more than 10 innings pitched. He had a 2.57 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP.

In a league with some tough pitchers, he batted .327 and had an OBP of .382.

Utility: Jentry Arbogast, senior, Cardinal

It wasn't easy to hit Cardinal pitching this season and senior hurler Jentry Arbogast was a big reason why.

Arbograst finished the year with a 2.04 ERA and 41 strikeouts. He went 4-2 on the year and picked up two big wins in the postseason.

Arbogast had a nice season at the plate too, hitting .320 from the batter's box. Arbogast finished the season with a double and five RBIs, and also drew 11 walks.

Utility: Tucker Gibbar, sophomore, New London

The Tigers were a deadly team at the plate this year and catcher Tucker Gibbar was the hardest out on the team, batting a scorching .414 in only his sophomore season.

Gibbar co-led New London with four doubles on the year and paced the team with 21 RBIs, a big reason the Tigers found themselves in the Substate semifinals.