July 24, 2018 By Chris Varney
Today, we continue our look at this past baseball and softball seasons for the Bears, the Tigers, and the Bears.
BGM
Baseball (9-16, 8-8, T 6th in SICL): The Bears struggled for consistency in 2018, particularly on the defensive side. BGM committed 105 errors, which is third most among all Class 1A teams. That is an average of 4 errors a game, which translates to at least 4 extra bases per game and 4 bases equates to 1 run. Essentially, that means that BGM went into every game this season 1 run down. It is not easy to win baseball games like that. Still, BGM got a couple a great years from Sophomore Noah Beck (.479, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 30 runs; 3-2, 1.89 ERA) and Senior Kyle Doty (1-4, 3.10 ERA; .380, 0, 23). Beck emerged as a scrappy, tough out leadoff hitter, who looked like he would get a hit every time he wen to the plate. Doty was the team leader and a big time run producer. The Bears had to play the first part of the season without Senior Keegan James (.353) who was recovering from a track injury. Junior Scott Tibbetts (4-3, 2.17) emerged as a consistent pitcher and 8th grader Jake Moel (.365) emerged as a consistent hitter. Sophomore Mitchell White (.356) was also a solid performer. There was one defensive highlight this season and that was at catcher — Junior Hunter Ruud led the conference with 21 runners caught stealing and Moel was 2nd with 14. BGM loses just two senior starters and four overall so if Head Coach Jordan Ely can get this team to flash the leather a little more, the Bears could re-emerge as contenders in the conference.
Softball (17-9, 9-7, 6th place in SICL): The Bears had a very good season overall and were incredibly competitive in the conference and made a nice run in the regional playoffs before falling to Clarksville in the semifinals. The Lint twins, both juniors, led the way with Pitcher Kelsey (16-8, 1.15 ERA; .443, 6, 19) and Catcher Kaylee (.398, 3, 26) both selected to the All-District team. Senior Lyla Kriegel (.444, 0, 16) was the leading hitter and Sophomore Marian Coover (.386, 22 SB) was a threat at the top of the order. Kriegel and Maddie Jansen are the only two seniors on this team. Head Coach Jill Hulsing says there were a few little things that hurt BGM at the start of the season that will need corrected before next season but do not be surprised if the Bears enter into the 20 win territory next year.
Iowa Valley
Baseball (11-10, T 4th in SICL): The Tigers had a solid season but a disappointing finish. In the first round of the playoffs, Iowa Valley had a 6-1 lead over Lone Tree and there was 2 outs in the 7th inning. The Lions rallied and scored 6 runs to come all the way back to win by one. It spoiled a solid pitching performance from Junior Ryan Becker (5-3, 2.83) who teamed with Senior Gabe Ritter (5-3, 3.77) to give IV a 1-2 punch in the rotation. With Ritter graduated, Head Coach John Bowlin will have to find another reliable starter to team with Becker. Offensively, Iowa Valley did not have much power but they generated runs with a team batting average of .305. Sophomore Derek Leonard (.415, 0, 7) lead the way with 27 hits and only one of them for extra bases. Senior Blaine Jordan (.373, 1, 22) had the only homer for the Tigers all season and will be a huge loss. Junior Noah Mumby (.339) was reliable behind the plate, with 11 runners caught stealing. Iowa Valley loses 4 seniors and 3 starters from this year’s team — finding depth in the pitching rotation will have to be a priority.
Softball (4-17, 6-9 8th place in SICL): A rough year for the Tigers. Iowa Valley had a team ERA of 9.21 with Sophomore Samantha Randall (4-14, 7.50) getting much of the work. Plus, the team only hit .195 this season. When you do not hit or pitch, that is not a good combination. Senior Cherisse Ward (.346) was the exception and ends an excellent athletic career at Iowa Valley. Ward was the only senior so this was a young team that will look to improve in 2019.
English Valleys
Baseball (6-14, 11th in SICL): On June 27, the Bears were 1-13 but something clicked and E-V won 5 games in a row before succumbing to #2 ranked Lisbon in the playoffs. In their first 14 games, English Valleys averaged 3 runs a game — in their final 6 games, they averaged 8.5 runs a game. Sophomore Tanner Mihal (.356, 0, 6) was the leading hitter this season. 8th grader Beau Flander only hit .228 but stole 16 bases. Sophomore Cael Hester (.283, 0, 14) improved as an offensive threat. Hester (3-6, 5.77) and Junior Cooper Andressan (1-6, 4.92) were the leading pitchers for the Bears so those numbers must improve. Freshman Cole Stephenson (2-2, 4.04) will be one to watch on the mound. There is not a senior on this roster and only three juniors so this was a very young team with everybody coming back. Head Coach Jeremy Thomas has high hopes for next year.
Softball (6-14, 4-12, 10th place in SICL): Aubrey Grove (.535, 8, 27) ends a great athletic career at English Valleys but her great numbers did not translate into very many victories this season for the Bears. Sophomore Karyssa Westfall (.459, 0, 9) and Junior Maleah Ackerman (.341, 0, 10) had fine seasons but E-V did not have much depth in the lineup. Pitching is still a problem with a team ERA of 5.09. Freshman Hannah Marsh (3-6, 3.18) did show some promise for the future however. Besides Grove, the Bears lose 3 other seniors, 2 starters.
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