Three Hawks tabbed for all-state, 11 area baseball players grab all-district recognition

After a historic run to its first state tournament in more than 20 years, six Lynnville-Sully baseball players were recognized for their efforts this past summer.

Those six Hawks and five other area athletes were named to an all-district squad by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Lynnville-Sully seniors Conner Maston and Caleb Rea and junior Corder Noun Harder also recently picked up IHSBCA all-state honors.

Newton senior Kacey Sommars was named to the Class 3A Central District first team, Colfax-Mingo junior Cael Bracewell earned second-team honors in the 2A Central District and Baxter seniors Cody Damman and Cael Shepley both were first-team selections and senior Jake Travis was a second-teamer in the 1A Central District.

Four Lynnville-Sully Hawks — Maston, Rea, Noun Harder and senior Bryce Richards — were first-team selections in the 1A Southeast District, while junior Lucas Sieck and sophomore Lannon Montgomery were second-team picks.

Damman and Shepley also were academic all-state selections.

Maston, who played in the IHSBCA All-Star Series in late July in Carroll, made the all-district and all-state first team as a pitcher.

Maston was 9-1 with an earned run average of .69, which ranked 11th in 1A among pitchers with at least 20 innings. His 119 strikeouts ranked second and his 60 2/3 innings were third.

The nine wins ranked tied for second in 1A and opponents hit only .097 against him. That also ranked in the top 10 in 1A among pitchers with at least 20 innings. Maston was not charged with an error.

Sieck was a second-team all-district pitcher after going 6-1 with an ERA of 1.80. He struck out 48 batters in 35 innings and opponents hit .155 against him.

Noun Harder was a first-team all-district catcher and a first-team all-state utility player after batting .469 and posting an on-base percentage of .543.

Noun Harder, who had a fielding percentage of .980, tied for second in 1A with 16 doubles, ranked tied for third with five triples and tied for fifth with 81 total bases. He also registered three homers, 25 RBIs, 42 runs, 13 walks and ranked eighth in 1A with 38 steals. He was hit by four pitches.

Rea was a first-team all-district selection and a third-team all-state choice as an outfielder after batting .349 and posting an OBP of .417. He finished with 25 runs, 28 RBIs, four doubles, 11 walks, 34 total bases and 20 steals. He was hit by two pitches and his fielding percentage was .960.

Richards earned his first-team all-district honor as a second baseman. He batted .377 and posted an OBP of .515. He led the Hawks and ranked 14th in 1A with 39 RBIs and added 35 runs, seven doubles, two triples, two homers, 16 walks, 46 total bases and 19 steals.

Richards was hit by eight pitches and his fielding percentage was .933.

Montgomery was a second-team pick at third base. He batted .400, posted an OBP of .508 and led the Hawks with 21 walks. He added 27 runs, 32 RBIs, nine doubles, one triple, one homer, four steals and 52 total bases and he was hit by two pitches.

Sommars was Newton’s best player this past season. He earned first-team all-district recognition as a second baseman. He led the Cardinals with a batting average of .344 and posted a team-best .435 OBP.

Sommars finished with a team-best 26 runs, seven doubles and 42 total bases and added 13 walks, eight RBIs and 14 steals. He was hit by four pitches and had a fielding percentage of .919.

Bracewell was a second-team all-district pitcher. He finished 4-3 with an ERA of 1.99 in 49 1/3 innings. His 101 strikeouts ranked fourth in 2A and opponents hit .148 against him.

Damman was a first-team all-district catcher after throwing out 10 players trying to steal a base. That ranked 12th in 1A.

Damman also batted .405 and posted an OBP of .511. He finished with a team-best 29 runs, 37 total bases and 24 steals and added 15 RBIs, 13 walks, five doubles and one triple. He was hit by five pitches and his fielding percentage was .962.

Shepley’s first-team all-district selection came as a utility player. He batted .364 and had an OBP of .494. He led the Bolts with 24 RBIs and 20 walks and added 29 total bases, 24 runs, five doubles and 19 steals.

As a pitcher, Shepley was 4-5 with an ERA of 3.52. He struck out 58 batters in 49 2/3 innings.

Travis earned second-team all-district honors at third base. He batted .362 and posted an OBP of .569 after being hit by 14 pitches, which ranked tied for 11th in 1A.

Travis had a team-best six doubles and finished with 16 RBIs, 10 walks, 17 runs, one homer, 26 total bases and 18 steals.