Strinmoen repeats as Spring Grove MVP, Griffin as best pitcher

Jaxon Strinmoen repeated to win the Todd Oakes Most Valuable Player honor for Spring Grove baseball in 2023 and also repeated as the Ted Williams Batting Champion. Caleb Griffin was the repeat choice for the Cy Young Best Pitcher Award. And the state coaches named him Academic All-State, one of the state’s highest honors, reflecting achievement on the diamond and in the classroom.

Ty Cleven was voted two honors, the Lou Gehrig Most Improved Award and also the Ernie Banks Teammate Award. Braedon Solie was voted Cal Ripken, Jr. Rookie of the Year. Sharing the Willie Mays Gold Glove Award for defense were catcher Ezra Griffin and outfielder Zach Brumm. A third recognition for both Cleven and Caleb Griffin was the Captains Award, which also went to Nathan Solberg and Logan Brumm.

Strinmoen (MVP, Batting Champ) was the batting champion with a hefty .429 batting average. He started slowly, batting only .125 in April, before batting an incredible .532 in May. The junior first baseman remained solid on defense and was also in the pitching rotation. He led the Lions in stolen bases with 14 and with eligibility remaining, he is only 11 stolen bases away from tying the all-time record. Strinmoen had a team-high 27 base hits and is 24 hits away from second place on that career list. He shared the team lead with 20 runs scored. Strinmoen was previously named All-Southeast Conference for a second time, was All-Section and received Honorable Mention All-Area.

Caleb Griffin (Pitching Award), a senior pitcher/infielder/outfielder, for the second straight season, drew the toughest pitching assignments, including three times against state runner-up Lyle/Pacelli. He struck out 66 batters while walking only 20 during 40 innings. He graduates seventh in career strikeouts with 186. This season, opposing hitters batted only .181 with Griffin on the mound. On offense, he batted .306 and stole 13 bases, leaving him one steal shy (52) of the Lion career record (53). With 20 runs scored, he shared the team lead with Strinmoen. As a hitter, he had the best walk-to-strikeout ratio, drawing twice as many walks (2) as strikeouts (6). Griffin was previously named All-Southeast Conference for a second time and received Honorable Mention All-Area.

Cleven (Most Improved, Teammate), a senior infielder/pitcher, made huge strides in 2023 with about three times as many innings on the mound as in 2022. His earned run average (ERA) improved greatly from last season’s 10.50 to this year’s 1.91. Opponents batted only .149 when Cleven pitched, a Lion-best pitching statistic. He was credited with four pitching wins and no losses. He moved into the batting order this season with a .273 batting average with seven runs batted in. Coach Strinmoen said, “I’ll never forget that night in Mabel when our backs were against the wall in the pitching department and how he stepped up for us there and at the plate. It will forever go down as the Ty Cleven game.”

Solie (Rookie), a junior outfielder, filled a defensive vacancy in right field. Possibly the year’s greatest thrill was his game-winning double in the Lions’ walk-off playoff rally against Wabasha-Kellogg.

Ezra Griffin (co-Gold Glove), a sophomore catcher won this statistical award for his defense behind the plate with a .990 fielding percentage and a threat to throw out base runners. On offense, he batted a strong .317 and ranked second in both hits (20) and runs batted in (17). He drew a team-high 15 walks. Previously, he was All-Section and received Honorable Mention All-SEC for a second season and received Honorable mention All-Area.

Zach Brumm (co-Gold Glove), a sophomore outfielder, had a .952 fielding percentage while patrolling left field and center field with tremendous arm strength.

Impressively, 11 of the 12 letter winners were also Academic All-Conference. With a 3.4 GPA or higher during the third academic quarter were seniors Cleven, Caleb Griffin, Solberg and Logan Brumm plus juniors Elijah Solum, Solie and Strinmoen as well as sophomores Ben Udstuen, Zach Brumm, Ezra Griffin and Brandon Jahnke.

Three sophomores – Zach Brumm, Jahnke and Ezra Griffin – earned their third varsity letter letters, which means they first lettered as eighth graders in 2021. Also earning a third letter was

Strinmoen (a junior) and all four seniors: Solberg, Cleven, Caleb Griffin and Logan Brumm.

Two-year letter winners were junior Elijah Solum and sophomore Ben Udstuen. Solie (a junior) and sophomore Bryce Berns were first-year letter winners.

The Lions won a dozen games (12-9), the third-most in Spring Grove baseball history.