Coach: Bears showed strong growth in 2017
by Norv and Mary Coblentz · Sports · July 27, 2017
The 2017 West Branch baseball team held an awards ceremony at the high school July 17.
All-conference and all-district awards were announced.
The team had a 7-18 record. A lot of talented underclassmen continue to get stronger and contributed more as the season went on.
“We had a very young team in the best 2A conference in the state,” West Branch Head Coach Rich Stout said. “Three (River Valley Conference) teams were ranked in the state’s top 10 all season. But when you look at where we started to where we ended, we made a lot of progress as a team.
“From the Camanche game until the end of the season, I thought we played good baseball.”
Freshman Tanner Lukavsky was named to the South Division River Valley Conference team as an infielder. Freshman Trey Eagle received Honorable Mention RVC South. Lukavsky was also named to the Class 2A second team Southeast All-District as an infielder.
Stout and his assistant coaches thanked the seniors on the team: Cole Tisinger, Cale Donovan, Nick Schreiber, Colton Dieta, Dalton Depoorter, and Jake Evans.
“The seniors set the tone for the team every year, and our seniors this season were very good leaders who had a big influence on the younger players. They came to practice every day ready to work,” Stout said.
“The whole group was a great group to coach. They worked very hard, and they were playing their best baseball at the end of the season.
“The potential is there for the returning players to be very good in the future,” Stout said. “It is how much they work and improve from this point.
“The biggest two areas that need to improve (are) cutting our walks as a pitching staff and to offensively score more runs by hitting better all the way, 1-9, in the lineup.
“Defensively, we played pretty well all season,’ Stout said. “They are a good group, and it will be fun to watch them in the next few seasons.”
As a team the Bears hit .255 for the season. Four freshmen were team leaders hitting. Lukavasky hit .392, had 10 RBIs and a home run; Pete Espensen hit .364 with 12 RBIs. Trey Eagle hit .319 and had 12 RBIs. Matt Paulsen hit .315 and had 10 RBIs.
Lukavsky pitched for two wins, had a 2.66 ERA, and got 36 strikeouts. Eagle pitched for two wins with a 5.03 ERA and 24 strikeouts. Jaden Hierseman pitched for two wins with a 4.98 ERA and 17 strikeouts. Ted Bridges had a 3.82 ERA.
Stout thanked his assistant coaches, Brian Espensen, Sam Aspelmeier, and Brad Arp for their time and dedication this season. He thanked the Athletic Director/Superintendent Kevin Hatfield and the high school secretary Ruth Farmer.
He thanked Mike Quinlan, D.J. Quinlan, Chad Whaley, Chuck Dietz, and Chuck Paulsen for announcing games and working in the press box. He thanked Dave Aspelmeier for doing varsity stats; Tony Schreiber and Julianne Jensen for pitch counting, and John Hiersman and Dave Bridges for their work on the field after games. He thanked the baseball players’ parents for all their time in concessions and for their support.
West Branch season stats: Tanner Lukavsky (25 games) 29-74, 16 runs, 4 doubles; 1 triple, 1 home run; 10 RBIs; 1 sacrifice, 9 walks, 3 stolen bases, 1 hit by pitch; Pete Espensen (23 games) 24-66, 12 runs, 5 doubles, 12 RBIs, 7 walks, 4 stolen bases; 2 hit by pitch; Trey Eagle (24 games) 23-72, 13 runs, 4 doubles, 12 RBIs, 1 sacrifice, 3 walks, 2 hit by pitch; Matt Paulsen (23 games) 17-54, 9 runs, 1 double, 10 RBIs, 7 walks, 2 hit by pitch; Ted Bridges (24 games) 14-49, 8 runs, 7 walks, 3 stolen bases; Nick Schreiber (22 games), 13-47, 1 run, 1 double, 11 RBIs, 2 sacrifices, 5 walks, 2 stolen bases, 1 hit by pitch, 7 walks, 3 stolen bases; Brady Lukavsky (25 games) 17-63, 9 runs, 3 doubles, 1 home run, 10 RBIs, 3 sacrifices, 4 walks, 3 stolen bases; Cale Donovan (24 games 8-39, 7 runs, 3 doubles, 3 RBIs, 7 walks, 1 hit by pitch; Cole Tisinger (20 games) 7-45, 7 runs, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 sacrifice, 4 walks; Brett Schiele (24 games) 6-49, 5 runs, 1 double, 4 RBIs; 3 sacrifices, 4 walks, 1 stolen base, 1 hit by pitch: Cade Aspelmeier (25 games) 3-39, 3 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, 1 stolen base, 1 hit by pitch; Jaden Hierseman (17 games) 1-14, 1 walk, 1 RBI; Trebor Thein (18 games) 1-15, 5 runs, 1 walk, 2 stolen bases; Dom Giannini (5 games) 1 run, 1 walk; John Hatfield (13 games) 8 runs; Colton Dietz (4 games) 1 run, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch; Jake Evans (5 games) 1 run, 1 walk, 1 stolen base; Dalton Depoorter (2 games)
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