baseball: Teeples earns second team, All-HOIC honors

By BRANDON HURLEY

Sports Editor
sports@beeherald.com

One of Greene County baseball’s most versatile athletes was rewarded with a distinct honor last week.
Senior Tyler Teeples was named to the Heart of Iowa Conference second team following a Coronavirus altered schedule.
The Rams played just 14 regular season games, which began several weeks later than normal on June 15 after a state-wide high school sports suspension due to the spread of COVID-19.
Teeples was Greene County’s workhorse on the mound, trotting out for five starts in the Rams 15 games while he was also quite the consistent hitter. The righty tied for the team lead in hits with 17 (ranked 26th in the HOIC) in addition to scoring a team-best 10 runs (which ranked him 35th in the league). Teeples also maintained a .354 average, which was the second-best average among GCHS teammates with  at least 40 at-bats, placing him 17th in the conference. Honorable mention Bryce Stalder led the Rams with a .362, which was 12th-best in the league. Teeples picked up one win in six appearances on the bump, maintaining a 5.30 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. He struck out 13 batters in 23.1 innings of work.
Senior Brent Riley, also an honorable mention, led the team in total strikeouts with 25 (in 26.2 innings) while Stalder tallied a team-low 2.80 ERA in 20 innings of work.
North Polk’s Ryan Fausch led the league in batting with a .463 average Gilbert’s Tucker Hanson secured a conference-best 34 hits. Gilbert’s Easton Johnson pounded a league-leading four home runs helping springboard teammate Nick Chasey, who drove in a conference-best 25 RBI to go with 15 doubles.
Roland-Story’s Nolan Faber was nearly untouchable on the mound, securing a 0.54 ERA in 38.2 innings of work while Gilbert’s Sam Vanderpool maintained a dazzling WHIP of 0.73. . North Polk’s Joe Husak struck out 51 batters for the top mark in the HOIC while Gilbert’s Easton Johnson and Saydel’s Austin Pyles each secured a league-best five wins.
Greene County finished the shortened season with a 3-12 record overall, going 3-11 in league play, tying for seventh along with Nevada. State-qualifier Gilbert won the conference title going away with a 12-2 record. The Tigers picked up a state quarterfinal win Tuesday night in Des Moines with a 4-0 victory over ADM. Gilbert was set to take on Dallas Center-Grimes (who beat Greene County 15-1 in district play) at 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning in the 3A semifinals. The winner will play either Norwalk or Marion in the state championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Principal Park.