Class 1A State Baseball Tournament tidbits

July 22, 2010

Class 1A State Baseball Tournament Snapshots

Rated and Remaining: Three of the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association’s Top 10 teams still remain unscathed. Top-rated Martensdale-St. Marys brings a 40-0 mark to “The Dance.” Second-rated Newman Catholic, Mason City is 34-2 with an 18 game winning streak, and No.3 Don Bosco, Gilbertville is 33-1 with a 17-game win streak. Newman Catholic enters as the top seed in the tournament with Martensdale-St. Marys and Don Bosco being seeded second and third respectively.

Past Champions Present: Four former champions who have racked up eight state titles have qualified including the defending 1A kings, Newman Catholic, Mason City who also won in 1998 and 2002. Joining the Knights is another three-time champion St, Mary’s, Remsen (1983, 1984, and 1985) plus Martensdale-St. Marys (2004) and Don Bosco, Gilbertville (1978).

Back from 2009: Newman Catholic is the lone team in this year’s last round-up that appeared in the 2009 tournament.

Cinderfellas: Several teams can lay claim to the “Cinderella” role. Nishnabotna raised a few eyebrows with a 1-0 upset of No. 8 St. Albert, Council Bluffs, 1-0. The Blue Devils proved to be much more than one of Western Iowa’s infamous rivers. They represent a merger of Farragut, who reached the 1957 substate championship game, and Hamburg to enter the tournament with a 19-5 slate. They ousted three opponents with solid records to qualify for the first tournament appearance for either school. Ar-We-Va, Westside can also claim some thunder, starting the tourney series 9-13 and winning four straight with three consecutive 3-2 wins over teams with winning marks to advance to the elite eight for the first time. Southeast Warren rallied after dropping seven of nine games in mid-late June to earn their fifth tournament ticket. Preston likewise dropped six of 10 during the same period but has won their last six for their first tourney trip ever.

New Kids on the Block: The tournament also welcomes first time qualifiers – Ar-We-Va, Westside; Preston; and Nishnabotna. A total of five coaches are making their first tournament appearance. They are: Justin Dehmer, Martensdale-St. Marys; Jim Klein, St. Mary’s, Remsen; Luke Stockstell, Nishnabotna; Mark Bormann, Preston; and Phil Snyder, Ar-We-Va.

Tourney Longevity: Newman’s 14th tournament appearance is best in the tourney field. The Knights are 14-10 in elite play. Martensdale-St. Marys and St. Mary’s Remsen have nearly enough trips to qualify for voting privileges. Martensdale-St. Marys returns for the eighth time with a 4-6 state tourney slate, while St. Mary’s, Remsen appears for the seventh having won 8 of 11 state contests.

80 Percent Wins: The 1A field collectively boasts a healthy cumulative record of 202-49 for a winning percentage of .805. Martensdale-St. Marys is unbeaten in 40 games, primarily fostered against 2A and 1A teams. Newman Catholic has not lost to a 1A, 2A or 3A team this summer. The Knights two setbacks were to a couple of 4A powers – Cedar Falls, 4-0 and cross-town rival Mason City. Don Bosco’s sole loss was to Newman Catholic.

Top Win Coach: Newman Catholic’s Tony Adams has logged a 403-71 mark and brings his eighth club to the elite meet including the champions of 2002 and 2009. That is the top mark in the 1A’s, which has six coaches with six years of experience or less.

Enrollments: The IHSAA uses the official state certified BEDS enrollment figures for grades 9 thru 11 for the 2009-10 school year for placement of a school in one of the four classes. Martensdale-St. Marys is the largest school of the eight 1As with 142, while St. Mary’s, Remsen is the smallest with 56.

K-Oed: Ethan Westphal of Martensdale-St. Marys pitched Lenox to second a year ago and the junior has shown no signs of letting up. He leads the tournament with 163 strike outs averaging two per inning pitched. That brings his three season total to 348.

Any Roy Hobbs? Bolstered by Martensdale-St. Marys 51 “jacks” this year’s 1A field has swatted 143 round trippers. Dillon Coates of M-SM leads his team and the tourney with 13. Martensdale-St. Marys and Don Bosco share another strong team statistic – slugging percentage. The Blue Devils, who have smashed 106 doubles and 13 triples, have a team slugging percentage of .692, while the Dons have hammered out a .606 team slugging mark.

Thanks Chuck O: Our thanks to good friend Chuck Offenburger for this nugget on Nishnabotna’s Carroll Heitshusen who, thanks to sharing programs, has played three sports for three different teams this year. He starred in football for his hometown Farragut Admirals, then wrestled at Shenandoah and now is a starting infielder with the Blue Devils.

Names the Same: For many years Don Bosco has had a formidable wrestling program and no fewer than five of the Dons’ baseball players have contributed to the success of both teams. It has been led by three-time mat champion Cole Welter, who leads the team and the tournament with a .544 batting average. The Dons have racked up 9 traditional state mat championships and have one state baseball title (1978).

Did You Know? Martensdale-St. Marys volunteer assistant coach Steve Westphal is 23rd on the all-time win list of Iowa high school coaches with a 638-215 mark logged in a 30-year career at Lenox. The Tigers made eight state tournament trips under Westphal, including the 2006 championship and last year’s runner-up. He was named National High School Baseball Coach of the Year this summer by the National High School Coaches Association. He left Lenox after budget cuts this spring.

Individual Stat Leaders
(Statistics are those available on Quikstats as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 21)

Batting Average (min 55 ABs)
.544 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville (56/103)
.512 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys (65/127)
.505 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville (46/91)
.500 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen (56/112)
.485 Nate Springer, Don Bosco, Gilbertville (48/99)
.475 Isaac Gribben, Newman Catholic, Mason City (56-118)
.468 Neil Liechti, Ar-We-Va (37/79)
.467 Austin Hughes, Preston (49/105)
.462 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna (36/78)
.456 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys (47/103)
.455 Carroll Heitshusen, Nishnabotna (30/64)
.452 Austin Schmit, St. Mary’s, Remsen (33/73)
.447 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys (55/123)
.447 Grant Seuferer, Southeast Warren (38/85)

Total Hits
65 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
56 Isaac Gribben, Newman Catholic, Mason City
56 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
56 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
55 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
50 Dillon Coates, Martensdale-St. Marys
49 Austin Hughes, Preston
49 Hayden Van Hoose, Martensdale-St. Marys
48 Nate Springer, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
47 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
46 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
44 Colton Bormann, Preston
44 Hunter King, Newman Catholic, Mason City
43 Jason Feddersen, Preston
43 Beau Pick, St. Mary’s, Remsen
40 Michael Wesselmann, St. Mary’s, Remsen

Runs Scored
61 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
61 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
60 Dillon Coates, Martensdale-St. Marys
56 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
54 David Walker, Martensdale-St. Marys
51 Jason Feddersen, Preston
47 Austin Demuth, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
47 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
45 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
46 Hunter King, Newman Catholic, Mason City
41 Austin Hughes, Preston
41 Hayden Van Hoose, Martensdale-St. Marys
40 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
38 Jeremy Ehlers, Ar-We-Va
36 Jacob Adams, Newman Catholic, Mason City
36 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
36 Colton Bormann, Preston
36 Isaac Gribben, Newman Catholic, Mason City

RBIs
68 Dillon Coates, Martensdale-St. Marys
62 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
53 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
46 Jason Feddersen, Preston
46 Hayden Van Hoose, Martensdale-St. Marys
46 Austin Hughes, Preston
45 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
44 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
42 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
42 Brandon Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
41 Hunter King, Newman Catholic, Mason City
40 Nate Springer, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
40 Beau Pick, St. Mary’s, Remsen

Doubles
16 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
16 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
16 Dillon Coates, Martensdale-St. Marys
15 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
15 Hayden Van Hoose, Martensdale-St. Marys
14 Grant Seuferer, Southeast Warren
14 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
12 Hunter King, Newman Catholic, Mason City
11 Isaac Gribben, Newman Catholic, Mason City
11 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
10 Austin Demuth, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
10 Nate Springer, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
10 Joshua Luecht, Newman Catholic, Mason City
10 Austin Hughes, Preston
10 Jeremy Ehlers, Ar-We-Va
10 Jason Feddersen, Preston
10 Ryan Schurke, Ar-We-Va

Triples
4 Carter Horton, Southeast Warren
4 Beau Pick, St. Mary’s, Remsen
3 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
3 Samuel Nutting, Southeast Warren
3 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
8 others with 2

Home Runs
13 Dillon Coates, Martensdale-St. Marys
12 Austin Hughes, Preston
12 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
10 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
10 Jake Defenbaugh, Martensdale-St. Marys
7 Hunter King, Newman Catholic, Mason City
7 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
6 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City

Stolen Bases
39 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
35 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
27 Jacob Blevins, Nishnabotna
25 Clay Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
25 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
22 Nick Ferin, Martensdale-St. Marys
21 Kaleb Kahue, Nishnabotna
21 David Walker, Martensdale-St.Marys
20 Billy Steichen, St. Mary’s, Remsen
20 Joel Delong, Nishnabotna

Most Pitching Wins
13-0 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
12-3 Austin Hughes, Preston
11-0 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
9-3 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
7-0 Blake Louscher, Newman Catholic, Mason City
7-0 Brandon Delagardelle, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
7-1 Seth Nutting, Southeast Warren
7-1 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City
9 others with 6 wins

Most Innings Pitched
99 Austin Hughes, Preston
81 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
75 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
58.3 Colton Bormann, Preston
54.6 Andrew Portz, St. Mary’s, Remsen
53 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
52 Seth Nutting, Southeast Warren
48 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
47.6 Ryan Schurke, Ar-We-Va
45.6 Neil Liechti, Ar-We-Va
44.6 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City
42 Blake Louscher, Newman Catholic, Mason City
41.3 Tony Becker, Don Bosco, Gilbertville

Lowest ERA (min. 35 IP)
0.09 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
0.50 Blake Louscher, Newman Catholic, Mason City
0.94 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City
1.45 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
1.75 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
1.88 Kaleb Kahue, Nishnabotna
1.91 Austin Hughes, Preston
1.96 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen

Most Strike Outs
163 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys
125 Tanner Kockler, St. Mary’s, Remsen
87 Austin Hughes, Preston
73 Cole Welter, Don Bosco, Gilbertville
69 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys
67 Russell Hemeter, Nishnabotna
67 Kaleb Kahue, Nishnabotna
66 Blake Louscher, Newman Catholic, Mason City
61 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City
60 Colton Bormann, Preston
60 Ryan Schurke, Ar-We-Va

Fewest Hits Allowed (min. 35 IP)
19 Blake Louscher, Newman Catholic, Mason City (42 IP)
21 Drew Verstegen, Newman Catholic, Mason City (44.6 IP)
24 Kaleb Kahue, Nishnabotna (37.3 IP)
26 Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Marys (81 IP)
27 Zeb Noel, Martensdale-St. Marys (53 IP)

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