Baxter’s Jessen, Wesselink lead four Bolts on all-Iowa Star Conference softball teams

The Baxter softball team had just two returning starters from the final CMB squad and several other players were playing the sport for the first time. But the Bolts held their own in a league that sent two teams to the state tournament and had the state’s 1A champion.

Baxter was 13-13 in its first season and finished 9-7 in the Iowa Star Conference.

For their efforts, four Bolts were voted to the all-conference teams from the South Division

Leading the way were senior Jordynn Wesselink and sophomore Holly Jessen, who were both first-team selections.

Senior Kaitlynn Kelly was a second-team pick and junior Sydney Schmidt was an honorable mention choice.

Jessen was a unanimous first-team selection as a utility player after leading the Bolts with a batting average of .490 in conference play. She also had an on base percentage of .559 and finished with 21 runs, three doubles, three triples, one home run, 13 RBIs, seven walks, seven steals and two hit by pitches.

Overall, Jessen batted .455 and had an OBP of .522. She scored a team-high 28 runs, had five doubles, four triples, one home run, 15 RBIs, nine walks, nine steals and three hit by pitches. Defensively, Jessen did not commit an error the entire season and threw out five runners trying to steal.

Wesselink was a unanimous first-team infielder after batting .400 in conference games. She had an OBP of .466 and finished with 16 runs, a team-best 11 doubles and 18 RBIs, one triple, one home run, seven walks and seven steals. She committed seven errors and had a fielding percentage of .883.

Overall, Wesselink batted .402 with an OBP of .451. She finished with a team-best 15 doubles and 28 RBIs, scored 27 runs and tallied one triple, two homers, eight walks and a team-high 14 steals. She committed 12 errors and had a fielding percentage of .882.

Kelly was a unanimous second-team infielder. In conference play, the senior batted .241 with an OBP of .317. She finished with seven runs, three doubles, 10 RBIs, four walks and seven steals. She only committed two errors and had a fielding percentage of .955.

Overall, Kelly batted .274 with an OBP of .351. She scored 14 runs and finished with four doubles, 13 RBIs, six walks, eight steals and four hit by pitches. She committed three errors and had a fielding percentage of .955.

Schmidt was the Bolts’ primary pitcher. In conference play, she was 9-6 with an earned run average of 3.33 in 15 starts and 82 innings pitched. Schmidt struck out 54, walked 16 and committed zero errors. At the plate, she batted .278, had an OBP of .371 and finished with 10 runs, three doubles, three RBIs, eight walks and four steals.

Overall, Schmidt batted .279 with an OBP of .361. She finished with 12 runs, five doubles, 11 walks and six steals. In the circle, she was 13-11 with an ERA of 4.47 in 23 starts and 131 2/3 innings pitched. She struck out 64, walked 31 and committed one error for a fielding percentage of .974.

Iowa Star Conference

Final Standings

Collins-Maxwell 15-0

Clarksville 15-1

Janesville 13-3

Don Bosco 10-6

Baxter 9-7

Colo-NESCO 9-7

Riceville 8-8

North Tama 7-7

Dunkerton 5-11

GMG 2-12

Tripoli 1-15

CAL 0-15

South Division

First Team

Pitcher — *Mikayla Houge, so., Collins-Maxwell

Catcher — Chelsea Henze, sr., Colo-NESCO

Infielders — *Jordynn Wesselink, sr., Baxter; *Alexis Houge, 8th, Collins-Maxwell; *Rylee Purvis, so., Colo-NESCO; Reagan Franzen, fr., Collins-Maxwell.

Outfielders — *Katie Camp, sr., Collins-Maxwell; Ella Kahler, so., Collins-Maxwell; Faith Vincent, jr., Colo-NESCO.

Utility — *Holly Jessen, so., Baxter; Hannah Caple, jr., Collins-Maxwell.

Second Team

Pitcher — Mackenna Ruffcorn, sr., Colo-NESCO.

Catcher — *Tori Ciaramitaro, jr., CAL.

Infielders — *Kaitlynn Kelly, sr., Baxter; *Carissa Calderwood, jr., North Tama; *Madi Krull, jr., GMG; Brailyn Tankersley, so., Collins-Maxwell.

Outfielders — Emma Kahler, so., Collins-Maxwell; Rylee McLean, fr., North Tama; Kelsey Vaverka, jr., GMG.

Honorable Mention

Sydney Schmidt, jr., Baxter; Erin Heldenbrand, so., CAL; Olivia Pasquarello, so., Collins-Maxwell; McKenzie Niemeyer, fr., Colo-NESCO; Sydney Catherwood, sr., GMG; Tessa Dvorak, sr., North Tama.