Baseball: Stalder, Roberts named to All-HOIC first team

Staff report

A slew of Greene County baseball players were honored with postseason recognition recently.

Senior shortstop Bryce Stalder and catcher Brayden Roberts were named to the Heart of Iowa Conference first time for their efforts this past summer while the duo of outfielder Justin Stream and Joe Carey were honored with second team distinction. Carey earned a spot on the postseason list as a utility player, spending much of his time as a pitcher and shortstop.

Stalder led the Heart of Iowa Conference with an impressive .476 batting average, hovering above .500 for much of the season. The mark ranked him 14th-best in the state thanks to 30 hits (13th-most in the conference). His .560 on base percentage was also the top mark in the league while he struck out just 15 times in 63 at-bats. Stalder collected 10 extra base hits – six doubles and four triples (the second-most in the HOIC).

Stalder was also a steady workhorse on the mound this summer, striking out 57 batters in 43 innings. He maintained a 3.55 ERA to go with a 1.52 WHIP, aided by an opponent’s batting average of .261.
Roberts, a three-year starter as Greene County’s primary backstop, maintained a sparkling .991 fielding percentage behind the dish, the top mark among all catchers in the Heart of Iowa Conference. The junior was nearly impossible to run on, throwing out 12 base runners in 22 attempts, tied for the second-most in the league, a sparkling 54.5 percent rate. Robert started 20 games behind the dish. Roberts also was strong on the offensive side, tallying the second-best average on the team (.344) to go with 21 hits and 11 RBI. He struck out just nine times in 61 at-bats.
Stream batted .339 this summer, the third-best mark among active Rams, aided by a team-best 13 RBI as well as a team-high seven doubles. Stream scored 14 runs and boasted a .443 on-base percentage.
Carey tallied a team-low 2.71 ERA in 31 innings of work this summer, striking out 46 batters. Carey held opponent’s to a remarkable, .169 batting average (7th), which contributed to a WHIP of 1.39. Carey batted .250 to go with eight RBI.
Saydel’s Mason Hicks led the conference with 102 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched while Roland-Story’s Alex Berends maintained the lowest ERA at 0.77.

Greene County finished the year 8-15 overall to go with a 5-8 mark in the Heart of Iowa Conference. The Rams shutout Panorama, 7-0 in their Class 2A district-opener before losing to eventual state champion, Van Meter, 7-0.
Roland-Story won the out-right HOIC crown, tallying a 13-1 record, edging out runner-up West Marshall (12-2). Greene County finished alone in sixth place.