Milheiser leads Cardinals on all-conference baseball team

The three Newton baseball players with the most varsity experience coming into this past season were recognized by the Little Hawkeye Conference recently.

Headlining the all-conference squad from the Cardinals was junior Skyler Milheiser, who was named to the second team. Senior Eli Stewart and sophomore Finn Martin both were honorable mention selections.

All-conference honors are based on statistics inside conference play only. Newton finished 3-15 in LHC play.

Milheiser made the second team as a utility player. He led the Cardinals with a .300 batting average and had a team-best .435 on-base percentage.

Milheiser committed zero errors, which ranked tied for first in the conference. His 10 stolen bases ranked third in the LHC and he threw out 13 potential base stealers, which led the league and was seven more than the second-best catcher.

His 15 hits, 19 total bases and five hit by pitches led the squad, while his two doubles and one triple tied for the team lead. Milheiser added five runs, five RBIs and seven walks. His five hit by pitches tied for eighth in the LHC.

Martin made his biggest impact as the Cardinals’ No. 1 pitcher. He finished 3-2 in conference games and led Newton and ranked ninth in the LHC with an earned run average of 1.48.

Martin’s 33 innings ranked second in the conference and his four walks tied for sixth. He also struck out 19 and batters hit .248 against him.

As a batter, Martin hit .240 and had an OBP of .387. His 13 steals led the conference and he led the Cardinals and ranked tied for fifth in the league with nine walks. His eight runs led Newton and his one triple tied Milheiser for the team lead. Martin also had 12 hits, two RBIs, 15 total bases and three hit by pitches and his fielding percentage was .963.

Stewart batted .218 and had an OBP of .338. He also finished with 12 hits, six runs, six walks, four hit by pitches, 14 total bases and two steals. His two doubles tied Milheiser for the team lead.

Stewart had a fielding percentage of .820 and his ERA as a pitcher was 3.14. He struck out 13 and walked 20 in 29 innings and opponents only hit .138 against him.

Little Hawkeye Conference

Baseball

Final Standings

Team Conference Overall

DCG 17-1 35-4

Pella 14-4 27-10

Indianola 12-6 26-13

Norwalk 10-8 13-19

Oskaloosa 4-14 9-25

Newton 3-15 10-22

Pella Christian 3-15 14-201

All-Conference

First Team

Pitchers — Keaton Fenn, sr., DCG; Teagan Hoekstra, so., Pella.

Catcher — *Taitn Gray, jr., DCG.

Infielders — Ty Mikkelsen, sr., DCG; Aidan Harder, sr., Norwalk; Jack Strong, sr., Indianola; Andrew DeWall, jr., Indianola.

Outfielders — Luke Rockhold, sr., Indianola; Tate Perrin, jr., DCG; Isaiah Kettler, jr., Pella.

Utility — Dayne Mauk, sr., DCG; CJ Davis, sr., Norwalk; Nathan Carey, jr., Pella; George Blake, fr., Indianola.

*denotes unanimous selection

Second Team

Pitchers — Kaden Ritchie, sr., Indianola; Nathan VandeLune, jr., Pella.

Catcher — Anderson Schism, jr., Pella.

Infielders — Luke Fynaardt, sr., Pella Christian; Cole Wardlow, jr., Norwalk; Cross Bandy, so., DCG; Asher Bruce, so., Indianola.

Outfielders — Logan Young, sr., DCG; Tysen DeVries, sr., Pella Christian; Ryker Burgin, so., Indianola.

Utility — Skyler Milheiser, jr., Newton; Eli Rupp, sr., DCG.

Honorable Mention

Eli Stewart, sr., Newton; Finn Martin, so., Newton; Brady Smith, fr., DCG; Ryley Palm, sr., DCG; Samuel Carlson, so., Pella; Lake Cowman, jr., Pella; Ethan Grimsrud, sr., Indianola; Gage Sinn, sr., Indianola; Caleb Ochanpaugh, sr., Norwalk; Payton Nichols, sr., Norwalk; Trey Parks, so., Oskaloosa; Linus Morrison, so., Oskaloosa; Eliot Menninga, jr., Pella Christian; Caleb Van Arendonk, sr., Pella Christian.