Three Spring Grove baseball players were named by conference coaches to the 2022 All-Southeast Conference Team – junior Caleb Griffin plus sophomores Jaxon Strinmoen and Elijah Solum. Receiving Honorable Mention was freshman Ezra Griffin.
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Strinmoen was one of the primary three-man pitching rotation while otherwise starting for the second season at first base, where he played error-free defense and also made several spectacular catches. In SEC play, he batted .457, the fourth-best batting average in the league, where he ranked third in doubles (5) and sixth in stolen bases (14.)
Caleb Griffin was a first team selection in 2022 after receiving Honorable Mention a year ago. The junior pitcher led the league with 70 strikeouts, significantly more than the runner-up’s 56. He pitched more than a third of the time – with a 3-0 won-lost record during conference games. When not on the mound, his versatility allowed him to play in either the infield or the outfield. During SEC games, Griffin ranked fourth in the league with 16 stolen bases.
Solum, although only a sophomore, was a fixture in center field for the second season. He ranked third the SEC with 17 stolen bases along with a hefty. 409 batting average. In 14 conference games, he scored 14 runs, drove in another 13 and belted two of the Lions’ four triples.
Ezra Griffin defended with a team-best .981 fielding percentage as the full-time starting catcher as a freshman after starting behind the plate the last half of his eighth-grade year. He batted .347 versus SEC pitchers, had 13 runs batted in and with five doubles, shared third place with Strinmoen.
Most of the outstanding high school players are in the pitching rotation. This year 14 of the 18 first team honorees spent some significant time on the mound. Thirteen were infielders while only five outfielders and three catchers earned first team acclaim.
There were five repeat honorees, most notably SEC Player of the Year Harrison Hanna of Southland and three-time All-SEC Dustin Copley of GMLOK. Yet, the honor team was quite young with four seniors and four juniors being outnumbered by six sophomores and four freshmen. Two-thirds (12) of the first team honorees played for one of the top three teams, and Hanna is the only senior among that dozen. Champion Lyle/Pacelli will return all five of its All-SEC performers plus an Honorable Mention. Second-place Southland and third-place Spring Grove each have three All-SEC players plus an Honorable Mention retaining eligibility for 2023.
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2022 All-Southeast Conference Baseball
PLAYER of the YEAR – Harrison Hanna, Southland
LYLE/PACELLI
Hunter VaDeer, freshman OF/P
Mac Nelson, junior P/IF
Landon Meyer, freshman 1B
Jack Klingfus , sophomore P/IF
Jake Truckenmiller, junior IF
SOUTHLAND
Harrison Hanna, senior P/3B/OF (2nd year)
Riley Jax, sophomore P/OF
Travis Kirtz, sophomore 1B/P
Tyson Stevens, freshman 2B/C
SPRING GROVE
Jaxon Strinmoen, sophomore 1B/P
Caleb Griffin, junior P/OF (Hon. Mention 2021)
Elijah Solum, sophomore OF
ALDEN-CONGER/GLENVILLE-EMMONS
Brady Lair, senior P/SS (2nd year)
Kole Nelsen, junior P/3B
GMLOK
Dustin Copley, senior P/SS, 3rd year
MABEL–CANTON
Cayden Tollefsrud sophomore P/C (2nd year)
HOUSTON
Maddox Rodriguez, freshman C/OF/P
SCHAEFFER ACADEMY
Cole Morgan, senior P/SS (2nd year)
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HONORABLE MENTION
Dana Schara (L/P), sophomore IF
Jonas Wiste (Southland), sophomore C/OF
Ezra Griffin (SG), freshman C
Landon Mattson (AC/GE), freshman C
Nick Fetterly (GMLOK), senior P/2B
Isaac Underbakke (M-C(, eighth grade SS/P
Zach Olson (Hou), freshman OF/P
Matthew Gingerich (SA), senior P/1B/2B
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SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE 2022
FINAL conf. season
BASEBALL W L W L
Lyle/Pacelli * 12 – 2 17 – 6
Southland 11 – 3 16 – 8
Spring Grove 10 – 4 11 – 8
A-C/G-E 9 – 5 10 – 9
GMLOK 6 – 8 6 -12
Mabel-Canton 4 -10 5 -14
Houston 4 -10 4 -16
Schaeffer Academy 0 -14 0 -21
*champion
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