Republic-Times 2013 All-Local Baseball and Softball teams
The Republic-Times is proud to announce the premiere of the Republic-Times All-Local team. The team is chosen through voting by the local coaches of that sport as well as the Republic-Times staff.
2013 Republic-Times All-Local Baseball Team
The Republic-Times has named Columbia’s Taryn Pena (top) and Gibault’s Zach Neff (bottom) this year’s All-Local Softball/Baseball MVPs. Pena led the area at the plate and was the backbone of the solid Columbia pitching staff as the Eagles’ catcher. Neff led the Hawks to the baseball pro- gram’s first state title, pitching four of the team’s seven post-game victories, including the Class 1A state champi- onship game. (Teryn Schaefer photos)Catcher:
Ryley Wallin (Gibault, junior, catcher) helped lead the Hawks to the program’s first ever state title with a home run in the championship game. Wallin hit .306 on the year, had a slugging percentage of .529 and hit 26 RBIs in 2013. He was among the St. Louis area leaders in doubles with 13.
Infield:
Brendan DePoy (Columbia, senior, first baseman) had the best batting average in the entire Metro Area, hitting .577 on the year, and was No. 1 in the doubles category with 24 and in slugging percentage at .990. He was also among the top in hitting categories with five home runs, 38 RBIs and a .630 on base percentage.
Reed Greatting (Columbia, senior, shortstop) was one of Columbia’s defensive leaders but also went on to hit .333, with 12 doubles and 15 RBIs.
Wes Degener (Gibault, junior, shortstop) came out strong after missing the first part of the season due to a broken finger. He ended the season with numbers among the area’s top leaders: .487 batting average, four triples, 34 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, .623 on base percentage and 25 walks.
Dakota Maus (Valmeyer, junior, shortstop) led the Pirates at the plate with a .333 batting average and 31 hits on the season.
Outfield:
Ethan Ruff (Waterloo, senior, center fielder) was one of the Bulldogs’ clear leaders this season, topping the WHS leader board. He hit .420, had an on base percentage of .457, with 50 hits and 19 RBIs.
Evan Dake (Columbia, senior, center fielder) had one of the Eagles’ top slugging percentages behind DePoy at .657. Dake also had 28 RBIs and was among the area leaders in triples with five.
Mitch Meyer (Gibault, junior, center fielder) was an effective lead-off man for the Hawks in 2013, leading locally with 47 runs scored. He also charted 21 stolen bases, 22 walks and had an on base percentage of .470.
Pitching:
Zach Neff (Gibault, junior, left hander) ended the season fifth in the area in strikeouts with 90, was No. 2 in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 18.01 and walked just five batters all season. Neff also had a top win-to-loss ratio with a record of 8-2 and finished the year with an ERA of 1.91.
Jeremy Rettig (Waterloo, junior, right hander) had an ERA of 1.91 in 2013 and ended the season with a record of 6-3 as Waterloo’s top starter, notching 47 Ks.
Hunter Brewer (Valmeyer, sophomore, right hander) was a true utility player for Valmeyer. While his pitching helped keep them in games, his offense and play in the field were true assets. On the mound this year, Brewer had an 1.48 ERA, 44 strikeouts and a re- cord of 3-5.
Designated Hitter:
Matt Schreder (Gibault, senior, right fielder) led the Hawks with 28 RBIs on his 32 hits this season. He ended his career at Gibault with a .323 batting average in 2013.
2013 Republic-Times All-Local Softball Team
Catcher:
Taryn Pena (Columbia, sophomore, catcher) capped off a stellar second season with the Eagles, No. 1 in the St. Louis area with nine home runs, 57 RBIs and a slugging percentage of 1.068; No. 2 overall with a batting average of .593; finished second behind teammate Alexis Royer with 19 doubles; and was also among the top area leaders with 42 runs scored, an on base percentage of .622 in 133 plate appearances.
Infield:
Kelly Kapp (Gibault, senior, shortstop) for the second year in a row was No. 2 in the area in stolen bases with 65. She also finished third with a batting average of .569 and an on base percentage of .624.
Annie Crouch (Waterloo, senior, third baseman) ended the season among the top in the St. Louis area with a .533 batting average and fifth in the area with seven home runs and 15 doubles. She also had 43 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .924.
Kaylee Bastien (Columbia, sophomore, shortstop) came into 2013 with just one year of varsity ball under her belt. Bastien was among St. Louis area leaders with 12 doubles, 34 RBIs, and 45 runs scored on 140 plate appearances.
Bryce Latchem (Waterloo senior shortstop) rounds out the infield of the All-Local Team, showing that 2013 was the year of the shortstop in Monroe County and surrounding areas. Along with her .319 batting average, Latchem proved that defense wins ball games. She led the Bulldogs with 44 assists and had 72 put-outs on the season.
Outfield:
Alexis Royer (Columbia, senior, center fielder) was neck-and-neck with teammate Taryn Pena for the local batting title. Royer finished the season with a batting average of .504, seven home runs, 47 RBIs, 54 runs scored, a .545 on base percentage and was No. 1 in the area with 22 doubles.
Laura Roessler (Columbia, senior, right fielder) helped lead her CHS senior softball class to more than 100 career wins. She led the area with 153 plate appearances and ended 2013 with 13 doubles, 48 runs scored and a batting average of .434.
Haley Schlecht (Waterloo, senior, center fielder) ended the sea- son batting .348 and had a .506 slugging percentage. She was second on her team with 18 RBIs.
Pitching:
Brianna Weilbacher (Columbia, junior, right hander) finished 2013 as one of the winningest pitchers in the area with a record of 17-4 and a winning percentage of .810. She had an ERA of 1.47 on 133.7 innings pitched, giving up just 28 earned runs all year. Weilbacher was fourth in the St. Louis area, averaging 12.25 strikeouts per game, for a total of 234 in 2013, and was third overall with eight shutouts.
Noelle Davis (Gibault, junior, right hander) also ended 2013 among the area’s top pitchers with a record of 6-2, and a win percentage of .750. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio was 3.23, and she walked just 18 batters all year with 58 Ks.
Tiffany Harbison (Waterloo, senior, right hander) had the most wins for the Bulldogs all year with a record of 9-6. She had an ERA of 1.72 this season with 23 earned runs on 93.7 innings pitched, averaging 10.39 strikeouts per game and totaling 139 on the year.
Designated Hitter:
Lauren Prader (Gibault, junior, catcher) ended the year on a hot streak. In the final four games she was on base in 12 of 14 plate appearances, going 9-for-11 with three walks, two singles, two doubles, two triples, three home runs and 10 RBIs. Prader batted .460 on the season with a .526 on base percentage and an .840 slugging percentage. She ends the season among the area leaders in home runs (7), doubles (13), RBIs (40) and runs scored (36).
Honorable mention:
Rachel Donald (Dupo, freshman, pitch- er) burst onto the local softball scene as a freshman, leading the Tigers with a 7-10 record on the mound. She also led her team from the plate, with a batting average of .536 with 25 RBIs.
