Baxter trio headlines six Bolts on all-conference baseball squad

Junior Cael Wishman led the Iowa Star Conference South Division in homers and on-base percentage, junior Colton Moffit registered the most pitching wins in the league and freshman Liam Trent ranked in the top 10 in the conference in six different statistical categories.

All three Baxter Bolts earned first-team all-conference honors for their efforts recently.

Freshman Colten Damman and senior James Esqueda were second-team selections and freshman Hayden Burdess grabbed honorable mention recognition.

All-conference honors are based on statistics inside conference play only. The Bolts finished in a tie for second in the South Division with a 10-6 record.

Wishman earned a first-team selection at catcher after leading the ISC South with a .526 OBP. His .426 batting average led the Bolts and ranked third in the league and he finished with a division-most two home runs.

Wishman also ranked tied for second with 31 total bases, tied for fourth with five doubles, fifth with 15 RBIs, sixth with 20 hits and tied for sixth with 15 runs and 11 steals. His four hit by pitches ranked tied for ninth and he added six walks.

He finished with a fielding percentage of .951, his 100 putouts ranked third in the league and he threw out three runners trying to steal a base, which ranked tied for fourth.

Moffit’s six pitching wins in nine conference starts led the league. He was a first-team pitcher after ranking second in the conference in both strikeouts (86) and innings pitched (49), finishing with the third-best earned run average at .86 and ranking fourth in opponents’ batting average at .134. His .982 fielding percentage also ranked fourth in the conference.

Trent tied Wishman and ranked tied for fourth and tied for sixth, respectively, in doubles (5) and steals (11). His .333 batting average ranked 10th and his OBP was .393.

Trent ranked eighth in the conference with 21 total bases, tied for eighth with 14 runs, tied for 10th with 16 hits and finished with 11 RBIs and six walks. He had zero errors in 10 chances.

Damman earned second team all-conference as an infielder. He ranked second on the team with a .351 batting average and finished with eight runs, 13 hits, five RBIs, seven walks and 14 total bases.

He tied for ninth in the league with eight steals and had an OBP of .455.

Esqueda’s second team all-conference honor came as an outfielder. He batted .259 and had an OBP of .355. He totaled seven hits, seven runs, six RBIs, two walks, eight total bases and four steals.

Burdess was the Bolts’ honorable mention selection despite ranking in the top 10 in the conference in five different categories.

He batted .308 and had an OBP of .383. His 16 hits tied for 10th in the league, he ranked tied for ninth with 19 total bases and finished with nine runs, 10 RBIs, five walks and seven steals and he was hit by two pitches.

Burdess threw out four runners trying to steal a base, which ranked third in the conference. His 73 putouts ranked seventh and his .965 fielding percentage was eighth.

Iowa Star Conference

South Division

Final Standings

Team Conference Overall

BCLUW 11-5 11-7

Baxter 10-6 17-7

North Tama 10-6 14-10

Collins-Maxwell 8-8 10-14

GMG 6-11 7-16

Colo-NESCO 4-12 7-14

Coach of the Year

Matt Zoske, BCLUW

Pitcher of the Year

Cooper Wierson, jr., Collins-Maxwell

All-Conference

1st Team

Pitchers: Colton Moffit, jr., Baxter; Cooper Wierson, jr., Collins-Maxwell.

Catcher: Cael Wishman, jr., Baxter.

Infielders: Daniel Zoske, jr., BCLUW; Gavin Rausch, sr., North Tama; Josef Dvorak, sr., Collins Maxwell; Colin Teske, sr., GMG.

Outfielders: Liam Trent, fr., Baxter; Will Feldpausch, so., BCLUW; Kayler Morris, jr., North Tama; Austin Boege, jr., Collins Maxwell.

Utility: Ryan Busch, sr., BCLUW; Josh Dostal, sr., North Tama.

Second Team

Pitcher: Owen Myers, sr., BCLUW.

Catcher: Kolt Knaack, sr., North Tama.

Infielders: Colten Damman, fr., Baxter; Eathan Petermeier, so., BCLUW; Kayvin Morris, so., North Tama; Landon Gjerde, jr., Colo-NESCO.

Outfielders: James Esqueda, sr., Baxter; Clayton Williams, jr., North Tama; Landon Vaughn, jr., Collins Maxwell; Grady Dieleman, sr., GMG; Brady Handsaker, jr., Colo-NESCO.

Honorable Mention

Hayden Burdess, fr., Baxter; Maverick Grafke, jr., BCLUW; Cade Veren, fr., Collins Maxwell; Jonas Porter, so., Colo-NESCO; Joaquin Williams, sr., GMG; Chaz Hall, sr., North Tama.