INA All-State baseball teams announced – Ottumwacourier

DES MOINES — The Iowa Newspaper Association announced its 2017 All-State Baseball selections Tuesday, selecting first, second, third teams and team captains for classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A.

In Class 4A, Ottumwa Bulldog senior Austin Shotts was named a third-team all-state selection joining Pleasant Valley senior Nick Acri and Johnston junior Drew Beazley as the three third-team infielders chosen. Besides being one of Ottumwa’s top pitchers this season, Shotts was also a first-team all-district third baseman this year batting .480 with a team-leading 50 hits, including 10 doubles, four triples and a home run. Shotts also drove in 25 runs and scored 29 more for the 24-16 Bulldogs.

Shotts has at least four more days to compete with some of the best high school baseball players in the state coming up this week. The Ottumwa native will be part of the Large School East squad competing Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star series with games being played at Waukee on Thursday and Friday, at Johnston on Saturday and the final two games taking place at Ankeny on Sunday.

In Class 3A, Fairfield Trojan senior Cameron Baumann was selected as one of three pitchers to the INA all-state second team after going 4-2 on the mound this season. Baumann, a future Iowa Hawkeye, was impressive enough in limited starts to join Harlan sophomore Brett Sears and Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley junior Zach Noble on the second team despite nine-win season posted by both Noble and Sears. The 3A first-team all-state pitching staff consists of unbeaten hurlers Trenton Wallace (11-0) and Ben Beutel (8-0) of the state champion Davenport Assumption Knights along with 7-0 Webster City junior Max Hackbarth.

The state tournament-bound Oskaloosa Indians placed freshman outfielder Tyler Miller on the 3A INA All-State first team alongside seniors Matt Nelson (Bishop Heelan) and Ryley McGregor (Sergeant Bluff-Luton). Miller drove in 22 runs while hitting .443 during the season, leading Oskaloosa with 27 stolen bases and 29 runs scored.

Speaking of area state tournament teams, senior catcher Trey Rinehart earned the honors representing the Centerville Big Reds as the INA All-State 2A second team catcher. Rinehart maintained a .408 batting average while providing a solid defensive presence behind the plate, saving two of biggest hits this season for a 2A state quarterfinal win over Estherville-Lincoln Central in which Rinehart forced extra innings with an RBI single in the sixth before providing the go-ahead hit in the eighth, giving Centerville’s its first lead of the day in a 3-1 win at Principal Park in Des Moines.

In Class 1A, senior pitcher Tracy Embray represented Twin Cedars as a first-team all-state infielder. Sigourney senior Avery Moore, meanwhile, earned second-team all-state honors as an outfielder capping a year in which Moore was an all-state football standout for the Sigourney-Keota Cobras and state track and field champion as a senior.

The four seniors selected as team captains are 4A – Jack Dreyer, Johnston; 3A – Trenton Wallace, Davenport, Assumption; 2A – Riley LeGrand, Beckman, Dyersville and 1A – Ben Fitzgerald, Newman Catholic, Mason City.

Johnston pitcher Jack Dreyer was selected as the Class 4A captain. The University of Iowa baseball signee recorded a 10-0 mark, a class-best 0.34 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 62 innings to power Johnston to a 41-3 record and the program’s fourth state championship. In the state final against Dowling Catholic, West Des Moines, the southpaw pitched a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts. Dreyer, on an all-state team for the second time, compiled a 23-2 career mark for the Dragons. His father, Steve, pitched in the big leagues and relieved Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in a game in 1993.

Davenport, Assumption pitcher and outfielder Trenton Wallace is the Class 3A captain. A University of Iowa baseball signee, Wallace paced the Knights to a state record 10th summer baseball crown with a three-hitter and 13 strikeouts in the championship game against Harlan. Wallace was 11-0 with a class-best 0.29 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 72 innings. The three-year starter also batted .420 with 16 extra-base hits and 33 RBIs as the Knights finished with a 41-5 record. A three-time all-stater, the left-hander finished his career with a 24-4 record, a 0.57 ERA and 265 strikeouts in 185 innings.

Beckman, Dyersville senior Riley LeGrand was named the Class 2A captain. He is a two-time INA all-state honoree earning first-team recognition this year in the infield after claiming a spot on the second-team in 2016. This year, he led the state champion Blazers with a .500 batting average. He tallied 50 hits (five doubles, seven triples and two home runs), 43 runs and 20 RBIs. LeGrand was a hard out, walking 16 times, and striking out just four.

Newman Catholic, Mason City senior shortstop Ben Fitzgerald was named captain of Class 1A. Fitzgerald was the big bat all season for the Knights, who won their sixth state title. He batted .524 on the year with a state-leading (regardless of class) 29 doubles and 71 RBIs. The 29 doubles also shattered a school record. Fitzgerald added an on-base percentage of over .600 and his slugging percentage was .958. Fitzgerald is signed to play baseball at North Iowa Area Community College.

Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.