Indians Receive Postseason Laurels

Oskaloosa Indians

by Wade Steinlage

A solid 2018 season that finished one win shy of another state tournament berth netted quite a few postseason awards for the Oskaloosa Indian baseball team.

OHS, which was 23-13 overall and 12-6 in the Little Hawkeye Conference, concluded the year with a 5-0 loss to Bondurant Farrar in the Class 3A Substate 6 matchup.

Tyler Miller guided his squad by being named second-team all-Central District by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

Miller was also a second-team all-LHC pick, joining Tucker Nunnikhoven and Wyatt Krier on that squad. Nick Harrington and Rian Yates picked up first-team all-league recognition, while honorable mentions were awarded to Alex Dejong and Keaton DeKock.

Miller topped the Indians with a .350 batting average (35-for-100), connecting on three doubles, two triples, and two home runs. He finished with eight RBIs and a team-best 36 runs scored. The sophomore was also best in walks (24) and stolen bases (20), in addition to owning a .484 on-base percentage and a .480 slugging clip–also both team highs.

Miller toed the pitching rubber for seven starts as well. He was 3-3 with a save and had a 2.60 Earned Run Average in 29 2/3 innings of work. The sophomore posted 32 strikeouts against 20 walks and opponents hit .265 against him.

All but one of Oskaloosa’s seven all-conference honorees (Keaton DeKock) did double duty as both a position player and a pitcher.

Harrington recorded a .320 hitting clip (31-for-97) with eight doubles, two home runs, 22 RBIs, and 16 runs scored. His on-base percentage was .385, while his slugging mark was .464. On the mound, the senior posted a 5-3 record (one save) with a 3.68 ERA in 40 innings. He tallied 31 strikeouts and 23 walks and opponents were limited to a .234 average.

Yates served as the ace of the pitching staff, producing a 9-3 record with a 2.57 ERA in 49 innings of work. The junior struck out 48 batters, walked just 14, and gave up a .262 hitting clip. Not a stranger to the dish either, he hit .125 (5-for-40) with one double, eight RBIs, and three runs scored.

Nunnikhoven closed out his prep career with a .306 hitting mark (33-for-108), including 11 doubles (team high), two home runs, a team-best 32 RBIs, and 17 runs scored. He tied DeKock and Noah Van Veldhuizen with five sacrifice hits, while also managing a .364 on-base clip and a .463 slugging mark. Nunnikhoven appeared in one game as a pitcher and tossed 2/3 of an inning (two strikeouts).

Krier’s sophomore season saw him hit .300 (24-for-80) with six doubles, seven RBIs, and 17 runs scored. He pitching in 18 1/3 innings, mostly out of the bullpen (two saves), and had 18 strikeouts against 20 walks with a 1.91 ERA; the opposition hit .191 versus Krier.

Dejong hit .311 (32-for-103) in his senior campaign, recording nine doubles, one home run, 19 RBIs, and 33 runs scored. He was perfect on the basepaths (17 steals in 17 attempts) and had a .385 on-base percentage and a .427 slugging mark. Dejong also worked 9 2/3 innings on the bump, going 0-2 (3.62 ERA) with 14 strikeouts against three walks. Opponents hit .275 against him.

DeKock hit .291 (30-for-103) with five doubles, 16 RBIs, and one run scored (almost always received a courtesy runner). The senior’s on-base percentage was .395, while his slugging clip was .340. DeKock also steadied the defense from behind the plate, throwing out 10 potential base-stealers in 2018.

The district champion Indians hit .290 as a team, had a 2.77 collective team ERA, and fielded at a .956 clip (just 42 errors in 946 chances).

Posted by on Aug 12 2018. Filed under School Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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