The Iowa High School Athletic Association State Baseball Championship begins Monday, July 20, in Carroll and Cedar Rapids, and the 32-team field is packed with players who can tilt a bracket fast.
A few of the names jump off the page immediately. One Western Kentucky commit comes in hitting .508 with 64 hits, 78 runs, 44 RBI, 15 doubles, seven triples, six home runs and 38 stolen bases. The Lightning bring a speed threat in Schmierer, who has 40 steals to go with a .496 average, 65 hits, 45 runs, 30 RBI, 10 doubles and six triples.
On the mound, Dalton has been one of the toughest arms in the field, going 7-1 across 10 starts with 91 strikeouts and a 0.66 ERA. He’s done damage with the bat, too, posting 27 hits, 20 RBI, 15 runs, nine doubles, two homers and 22 walks. Williams is another arm to watch, entering state with six wins, 85 strikeouts and an ERA under two in 54-plus innings pitched.
Several teams have true two-way engines. Blake is one of them, batting .423 with 54 runs, 41 RBI, 15 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 25 steals, while also picking up nine pitching wins with 63 strikeouts and a 1.43 ERA in 49 innings. The future Iowa Hawkeye has 96 strikeouts and seven wins in 49-plus innings with a 0.71 ERA, and he’s hit .344 with 27 runs, 42 RBI, 12 doubles, three triples and eight home runs.
The impact bats are everywhere. De Jesus has piled up 48 hits, 45 runs, 33 RBI, 13 doubles, a triple, six home runs and 24 steals.
Norris, a standout basketball player, is hitting .495 with 49 runs, 36 RBI, eight home runs, 12 doubles, three triples and 14 steals, and he’s also thrown 33 innings with 48 strikeouts and a 0.64 ERA. Elbert is batting .392 with 41 runs, 41 RBI, eight doubles, three homers, a triple and 13 steals, and he has also gone 2-0 with a save and 28 strikeouts in 17 innings.
The tournament is loaded with hitters who can change games in a hurry. Rissman, just a 10th-grader, is hitting .446 with 57 RBI, 29 runs, 14 doubles and a home run, and he also owns a 2.91 ERA with six wins.
Burke has 40 hits, 40 runs, 33 RBI, five doubles, four homers, two triples and 15 steals. Dittmer sits at .500 with 47 runs, 42 RBI, 14 doubles, eight home runs and a triple.
Johnson has 60 strikeouts and six wins in just under 41 innings with a 1.38 ERA, and he’s added six homers, 24 RBI and 20 runs at the plate.
There’s plenty of pitching depth, too. McCarty is batting .387 with 53 runs, 33 RBI, 12 doubles, three home runs, two triples and 23 steals, while also going 7-0 with 74 strikeouts and an ERA under three.
Murray threw a no-hitter in the postseason and has 42 strikeouts in 33-plus innings with five wins and a 2.73 ERA. Green is 8-0 with an ERA under one and 76 strikeouts in just under 49 innings, walking only 14.
Moore has 89 strikeouts and a 0.89 ERA, while also hitting .465 with 43 runs, 28 RBI, 15 doubles, three triples, two homers and 15 steals.
At the plate, Gast enters state hitting .521 with 46 runs, 35 RBI, 11 doubles, seven triples, six home runs and 44 stolen bases. Willis is batting .413 with 44 runs, 41 RBI, eight doubles and 35 steals.
Hall has hit .438 with 35 RBI, 23 runs, 10 doubles and seven steals. Schoening is hitting .508 with 30 RBI, 27 runs, four doubles, a triple and a home run, while also striking out 56 batters in just under 40 innings.
Heydon might be the loudest all-around stat line in the group: a .609 average, 64 RBI, 48 runs, 15 doubles, eight home runs, five triples and 26 steals, plus 83 strikeouts in 46-plus innings with a 1.35 ERA. Thompson, a sophomore, has 88 strikeouts and a 0.73 ERA with eight wins in 47-plus innings, and he’s hitting .398 with 10 doubles, four home runs, 35 RBI and 36 runs. Klein, another 10th-grader, has 10 wins, a 0.77 ERA and 93 strikeouts in under 64 innings, and he’s batting .437 with 12 doubles, two home runs, 24 RBI and 24 runs.
Oleson brings a .565 average, 40 runs, 33 RBI, 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 28 steals. Todd is hitting .420 with 40 runs, 23 RBI, 10 doubles, two home runs and 10 steals, and he’s also won seven games on the mound with 81 strikeouts in 46-plus innings and an ERA just over two.
Davis, a sophomore, leads the Eagles with a .510 average, 50 runs, 44 RBI, 14 doubles, two triples and 32 steals, and he’s 7-0 with three saves and 42 strikeouts in 15 appearances and five starts. Eisenlohr gives the Knights a big bat of his own, hitting .461 with 46 RBI, 41 runs, 12 doubles and nine home runs.
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