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Iowa Western won their first Region XI title last weekend for the first time since 2019. The Reivers were the ICCAC regular season conference champions for the 18th year in a row.
This season, Iowa Western was led by five First Team All-Region selections, including the ICCAC Division I Baseball Player of the Year. Reiver ace Brant Hogue was tagged with the top honor this season. The lefty was a perfect 6-0 in 12 starts this season. In 52.2 innings, he racked up 86 strikeouts -- a rate of 14.8 per nine innings.
His ERA was 1.54. He only gave up two or more earned runs three times, and once allowed more than three runs in a start. Hogue had a season high 11 strikeouts in a five inning win over Marshalltown on April 9.
He is the third Reiver pitcher to win the ICCAC Player of the Year award, which began in 2018. The other two were Sean Chandler and Evan O'Toole.
Joining Hogue on First Team All-Region was fellow pitcher Cooper Crompton. Crompton, who started the Region XI Championship if necessary game, appeared 13 times, with four starts. To date, he is 4-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 31.2 innings.
Dylan Robertson was the Reivers' infield selection on the 2022 First Team list. One of the leading hitters in the ICCAC, Robertson had a .394 average in conference and an OPS of 1.174. Overall, he hit .384 with 15 doubles, five triples, seven home runs and 50 RBI. This is Robertson's second season as a First Team All-Region performer.
In the outfield was Tye Wood. The freshman right fielder was the leadoff hitter for Iowa Western. He hit. 368 overall with one homer, 19 RBI. He scored 39 runs and stole 19 bases in 2022 through the Region XI Tournament.
Behind the plate, Carter Wright was recognized as First Team catcher. Wright hit .380 in 35 games, with 38 RBI and 27 runs scored.
After Iowa Western's regular season championship -- head coach of 20 years, Marc Rardin was named the 2022 ICCAC Division I Baseball Coach of the Year. He led the Reivers to a 15th regional title under his leadership. Iowa Western looks to return to the National Tournament for the first time since 2019 -- and is on a quest for their first national championship since 2014.
Indian Hills forced Iowa Western to go the distance in the Region XI Tournament -- and ended with a runner-up finish. The Warriors placed four players on First Team All-Region in 2022.
Pitcher Douglas Rojas was Indian Hills go-to arm this season. He had a record of 5-2 and 1.99 ERA. In 58.2 innings in 14 appearances, he had 93 strikeouts. Three times he struck out 10 or more batters in an outing. Rojas also picked up two saves on the year.
Ricardo Van Grieken was back on the First Team list for the second year in a row. At shortstop, Van Grieken was first among Division I ICCAC players in doubles with 19 this season. He was top five in runs (51), hits (62) and total bases (91). He was great at getting on base with a .525 on-base percentage, fueled by a .365 average and the most walks (39) and hit by pitches (23).
Daniel Figueroa was one of the three First Team outfielders. Figueroa hit .353 with 33 RBI and 58 runs scored. Aggressive on the base paths -- he stole 43 bases this year, the most in the league.
Rounding out Indian Hills' First Team recognition was Tucker Ebest at the designated hitter spot. Ebest was the league's premiere power hitter - leading the Division I players in home runs (11) and RBI (58). He was pitched around and garnered 39 walks. His slugging percentage only trailed Robertson (.665) at .647.
Marshalltown posted two names to the First Team list. Clayton Slack and Luke Pell were the selections for the Tigers in 2022. Slack was one of the best hitters in the conference -- he led the league in average with a .415 rate. He was first in hits (49) and runs (44) in conference play -- as well as total bases (74).
Pell hit .328 with 30 RBI and 31 runs scored. He walked 37 times this year and had an on-base in conference play over .500.
The final member of the First Team All-Region in 2022 was Eric Bello of Southwestern. The Spartan's third baseman hit .323 with four home runs, 34 RBI and 28 runs scored.
|
2022 Division I Baseball - First Team All-Region |
||||
|
# |
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
|
6 |
Carter Wright |
Iowa Western |
So. |
C |
|
14 |
Douglas Rojas |
Indian Hills |
COFr. |
P |
|
21 |
Brant Hogue |
Iowa Western |
So. |
P |
|
11 |
Cooper Crompton |
Iowa Western |
Fr. |
P |
|
9 |
Ricardo Van Grieken |
Indian Hills |
COFr. |
INF |
|
13 |
Dylan Robertson |
Iowa Western |
So. |
INF |
|
9 |
Clayton Slack |
Marshalltown |
Fr. |
INF |
|
6 |
Southwestern |
Fr. |
INF |
|
|
6 |
Daniel Figueroa |
Indian Hills |
Fr. |
OF |
|
3 |
Tye Wood |
Iowa Western |
Fr. |
OF |
|
40 |
Luke Pell |
Marshalltown |
So. |
OF |
|
32 |
Tucker Ebest |
Indian Hills |
COFr. |
DH |
|
2022 Division I Baseball - Second Team All-Region |
||||
|
# |
Name |
School |
Year |
Pos. |
|
26 |
Daniel Contreras |
Iowa Western |
Fr. |
C |
|
30 |
Jack Payne |
Indian Hills |
COFr. |
P |
|
15 |
Thomas Egan |
Iowa Western |
Fr. |
P |
|
20 |
Sam Tyrpa |
Marshalltown |
RSo. |
P |
|
17 |
Jackson Romero |
Indian Hills |
COFr. |
INF |
|
8 |
Alec Patino |
Iowa Western |
So. |
INF |
|
25 |
Jacob Gish |
Iowa Western |
COSo. |
INF |
|
5 |
Ernsto Moreno Jr. |
Marshalltown |
So. |
INF |
|
31 |
James Dutton |
Indian Hills |
Fr. |
OF |
|
20 |
Brady Christensen |
Iowa Western |
Fr. |
OF |
|
30 |
Southwestern |
So. |
OF |
|
|
12 |
Southwestern |
Fr. |
DH |
|
Player of the Year: Brant Hogue, Iowa Western
Defensive Player of the Year: Diego Aragon, Indian Hills
Coach of the Year: Marc Rardin, Iowa Western