12 RTC area players named first-team All-Hoosier North

List includes Caston’s Mollenkopf brothers, Culver’s McCuen brothers, 3 from regional champ N. Miami

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Logan Mollenkopf Parker Zimpleman Gavin Mollenkopf

Baseball

Twelve RTC area baseball players were named first-team All-Hoosier North in voting done by the conference’s coaches and released to the media Monday.

In addition, another seven players were named honorable mention All-Hoosier North.

Of the 19 players recognized, five were from Caston, five from North Miami, three from Pioneer, three from Winamac, two from Culver and one from Argos.

They included two area sets of brothers making the first team – Caston’s Gavin and Logan Mollenkopf and Culver twins Caleb and Jonas McCuen.

Gavin Mollenkopf, a senior catcher, hit .432 with a homer and 21 RBIs. He walked 18 times and was hit by 14 pitches for a .604 on-base percentage and a 1.185 OPS.

Logan Mollenkopf, a sophomore center fielder-pitcher, hit .416 with 21 RBIs out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. He led the team with 19 walks, 15 extra-base hits and 23 stolen bases, and that led to a .523 on-base percentage and an 1.152 OPS.

The third Caston player to make the first team was sophomore third baseman Parker Zimpleman, who hit .398 with an 1.137 OPS and had four of the team’s six homers and had a team-leading 45 RBIs. 

In addition, London Herd and Eli Holloway earned honorable mention recognition. Herd, a sophomore first baseman, hit .434 with a .554 on-base percentage and 28 RBIs. Holloway, a senior shortstop, hit .378 with an .896 OPS and 22 RBIs. He struck out just four times in 90 at-bats.

As for Culver, Caleb McCuen hit .383 with seven RBIs and a .921 OPS. He also went 1-3 with a 6.87 ERA on the mound and 29 strikeouts in 18 ⅓ innings.

Jonas McCuen hit .446 with 24 RBIs. Only one teammate had even half as many RBIs. Jonas McCuen also hit two of the team’s three homers and had a 1.215 OPS. On the mound, he went 2-6 with a 3.67 ERA. He struck out 81 while allowing only one homer in 47 ⅔ innings.

North Miami, whose season ended with a 9-5 loss to Fort Wayne Blackhawk in a Class 1A semistate semifinal at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette Saturday, put three players on the first team and two others on honorable mention.

The first-teamers include senior center fielder Ryan Meredith, who hit .404 with 23 RBIs out of the leadoff spot. He also had 22 walks, which boosted his on-base percentage to .533 and his OPS to 1.001.

Senior left fielder-pitcher Lake Musall also made the first team after hitting .375 with a 1.065 OPS and 28 RBIs. He also went 2-0 with a 3.36 ERA on the mound with 23 strikeouts in 25 innings.

Braylon McIntire also made the first team after going 8-3 with a 5.07 ERA. McIntire walked only 20 in 67 ⅔ innings. At the plate, McIntire hit .262 with 17 RBIs, and he also had a team-high 23 walks for a .439 on-base percentage.

Hutch Martin Xavier Adriano

Junior Quinn Hostetler and freshman Jension Carr both made honorable mention. Hostetler, a shortstop-pitcher, hit .378 with a 1.030 OPS while producing 25 RBIs. He also went 1-2 with a 5.00 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 35 innings on the mound. Carr, a freshman catcher, had a team-high 29 RBIs while hitting .376 with a .977 OPS.

Winamac’s Hutch Martin, Xavier Adriano and Cody Wheeler also made the first team. 

Martin, a sophomore infielder-pitcher, hit .482 with a 1.247 OPS. He had a homer and team-leading 22 RBIs. He also went 3-4 with a 2.60 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 37 ⅔ innings on the mound.

Adriano, a sophomore catcher-outfielder, hit .367 and tied Wheeler for the team lead in homers with two while driving in 18 runs. He also had a team-high 18 walks that led to a 1.236 OPS.

Wheeler, a junior third baseman-pitcher, hit .279 with an .875 OPS and drove in 19 runs to go along with his two homers. He also went 3-3 with a 3.84 ERA on the mound, striking out a team-high 44 in 34 ⅔ innings.

Lane Weldy was the only Pioneer player to make the first team while Hunter Stover and Gabe Scott both made honorable mention.

Weldy hit .304 with nine RBIs and a .770 OPS while also posting a 3.43 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34 ⅔ innings. 

Stover, a junior, hit .352 with 15 RBIs and a team-best 1.064 OPS; he also hit the team’s only homer. Scott, a sophomore, first baseman, led the team with 20 RBIs to go along with his .314 batting average and .793 OPS.

As for Argos, the only player recognized was Willie Barenie, a senior catcher-shortstop-pitcher who earned honorable mention status. Barenie had 22 strikeouts in 14 ⅓ innings on the mound.

Triton won the conference title with a 15-1 record. Caston and North Miami tied for second at 13-3.

Both Caston and North Miami won sectional titles, and North Miami went on to win their first regional.

Triton’s Drew Bingamon was named Hoosier North MVP.

All-Hoosier North

Drew Bingamon (Triton), Braxton Kaufman (Triton), Maddox Dennie (Triton), Max Johnson (Triton), Levi McFarland (Triton), GAVIN MOLLENKOPF (CASTON), PARKER ZIMPLEMAN (CASTON), LOGAN MOLLENKOPF (CASTON), RYAN MEREDITH (NORTH MIAMI), LAKE MUSALL (NORTH MIAMI), BRAYLON MCINTIRE (NORTH MIAMI), HUTCH MARTIN (WINAMAC), XAVIER ADRIANO (WINAMAC), CODY WHEELER (WINAMAC), LANE WELDY (PIONEER), Ayson Harper (North Judson), JONAS MCCUEN (CULVER), CALEB MCCUEN (CULVER), Brady Danford (Oregon-Davis)

Honorable mention

LONDON HERD (CASTON), ELI HOLLOWAY (CASTON), QUINN HOSTETLER (NORTH MIAMI), JENSION CARR (NORTH MIAMI), Doug Reed (North Judson), Brody Bridegroom (North Judson), HUNTER STOVER (PIONEER), GABE SCOTT (PIONEER), WILLIE BARENIE (ARGOS)

Hoosier North MVP

Drew Bingamon (Triton)

Final standings

Triton 15-1, CASTON 13-3, NORTH MIAMI 13-3, WINAMAC 9-7, PIONEER 7-9, North Judson 7-9, CULVER 4-12, Oregon-Davis 4-12, ARGOS 0-16