Baseball: SVM’s 2021 All-Area Team

First Team

Jake Ackman, Newman sr. SS – He hit .360 with a .441 on-base percentage, and tied for second in the area with 28 runs scored. His 28 RBIs and 2 triples were tied for third in the area, and he also had 5 doubles and a home run. Ackman was named second-team all-Three Rivers East.

Drew Burkholder, Eastland sr. P/3B – SVM’s Player of the Year hit .358, with a .536 on-base percentage and an area-best .717 slugging percentage. Burkholder scored 23 runs, and his 20 RBIs tied for third-best in the area, while his 3 home runs were tops in the Sauk Valley. He also led the area with 7 wins, a 0.53 ERA and 83 strikeouts on the mound, and pitched the second-most innings with 39 2/3. He was named 1A All-State, and was a unanimous all-NUIC South selection.

Chase Chappell, Rock Falls sr. SS/P – He hit .371 with a .548 on-base percentage and a .613 slugging percentage. His 28 runs scored tied for second-most in the area, and his 3 triples tied for the area lead. Chappell also had 15 RBIs, 6 doubles, a home run and 16 stolen bases (third-most). He had 4 wins, a 2.53 ERA and 59 strikeouts (third-most) in 38 2/3 innings pitched. He was named first-team all-Big Northern.

Eli Dever, Dixon sr. 3B/P – He scored 12 runs and drove in 19, with a home run. His 6 wins were second-most in the area, and his 1.69 ERA was fourth-lowest; he also had 39 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched. Dever was named first-team all-Big Northern.

Beau Evans, Dixon jr. C – He led the area with a .658 on-base percentage, and his .457 batting average and .672 slugging percentage both ranked fourth. He scored 18 runs and had 11 RBIs, 8 doubles (tied for third-most), 1 triple and 9 stolen bases. Evans was named 3A All-State, and second-team all-Big Northern.

Ryan Heffelfinger, Sterling sr. IF – He hit .397 with a .449 on-base percentage and a .635 slugging percentage. He finished with 10 runs scored, 14 RBIs, 7 doubles, a triple and 2 home runs (tied for second-most in the area). Heffelfinger was named second-team all-Western Big 6.

Kellen Henze, Eastland jr. OF – He hit .375 with a .452 on-base percentage and a .547 slugging percentage. His 25 RBIs tied for the area lead, and he also scored 24 runs, and hit 5 doubles and 2 home runs (tied for second-most in the area). Henze was a unanimous all-NUIC South selection.

Jacob Jones, Fulton jr. OF – His .466 batting average was third-highest in the area, his .551 on-base percentage ranked fourth, and his .655 slugging percentage was sixth. He scored 17 runs, drove in 12, and his 9 doubles tied for the area lead; he also had one triple and 7 stolen bases. Jones was a unanimous all-Three Rivers West selection.

Treyton Selman, Milledgeville sr. IF – His .521 batting average led the area, and his .623 on-base percentage and .708 slugging percentage both ranked second. He scored 23 runs, and had 12 RBIs, 1 triple and 1 home run. Selman was a unanimous all-NUIC South selection.

Blake Wolfe, Newman sr. P/2B – He led the area with 49 1/3 innings pitched, ranking third with 5 wins, fifth with 47 strikeouts, and sixth with a 2.13 ERA. Wolfe was named first-team all-Three Rivers East.

Second Team

Gage Burdick, Dixon jr. CF – He hit .355 with a .481 on-base percentage and a .548 slugging percentage. He scored 20 runs, drove in 16, and his 8 doubles and 2 triples both tied for third-most in the area; he also had 7 stolen bases. On the mound, Burdick had the second-most strikeouts in the area with 61, and the third-lowest ERA at 1.58; he had 4 wins and pitched 35 1/3 innings. He was named second-team all-Big Northern.

Jacob Gaither, Dixon jr. LF/P – His .486 batting average was second-highest in the area, and his .686 slugging percentage ranked third; he also finished with a .512 on-base percentage. He had 15 runs scored and 15 RBIs, with a triple, and home run and 5 stolen bases. Gaither was named honorable mention all-Big Northern.

Jordan Harris, AFC so. IF – He hit .417, and his .662 on-base percentage was third-highest in the area. He scored 15 runs, ripped a triple, and stole 9 bases. Harris was named second-team all-NUIC South.

Andruw Jones, Amboy jr. OF – His .442 batting average was fifth-best in the area, and he had a .500 on-base percentage and a .581 slugging percentage. He scored 11 runs and stole 7 bases, and also amassed a 6.30 ERA on the mound. Jones was a unanimous all-NUIC South selection.

Ryan Pitzer, Dixon sr. IF/OF/P – He hit .377 with a .512 on-base percentage and a .475 slugging percentage. His 31 runs scored led the area, and his 17 stolen bases were second-most. He had 19 RBIs from the leadoff spot, and ripped 6 doubles. Also the team’s closer, Pitzer was named second-team all-Big Northern.

Andrew Pollom, Dixon sr. SS/P – He hit .390 with a .519 on-base percentage and a .542 slugging percentage. He scored 20 runs and had 19 RBIs, 5 doubles, 2 triples (tied for third-most) and 9 stolen bases. Pollom also had a 2.62 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. He was named first-team all-Big Northern.

Dillon Schueler, Rock Falls jr. 3B/P – He hit .379 with a .463 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage, good for fifth-best in the area. His 25 RBIs and 9 doubles were tied for the most in the area, while his 2 home runs were tied for second and his 2 triples were tied for third; he also scored 15 runs. Schueler struck out 35 batters in 16 2/3 innings pitched, and was named second-team all-Big Northern.

Connor Sibley, Erie-Prophetstown jr. UTIL – He hit .368 with a .533 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. He finished with 15 runs scored, 10 RBIs, 1 triple and 6 stolen bases. Sibley was a unanimous all-Three Rivers East selection.

Ethan VanLanduit, Newman jr. C – He hit .354 with a .474 on-base percentage and a .494 slugging percentage, scoring 17 runs to go with 14 RBIs, 6 doubles, a triple and a home run. VanLanduit was named second-team all-Three Rivers East.

Kyle Wolfe, Newman so. P/2B – He hit .354 with a .485 on-base percentage, 22 runs scored and 10 RBIs. Wolfe also had 2 wins and a 3.37 ERA on the mound, striking out 39 batters in 37 1/3 innings pitched (tied for fifth-most). He was named first-team all-Three Rivers East.

Honorable Mention

Amboy – Lane Boehle, Ian Eller, Preston Henkel

AFC – Evan Kopp, Carson Rueff, Jared Warner

Bureau Valley – Payton Dye, Sam Rouse

Dixon – Michael Ullrich, Ethan Van Horn

Eastland – Kamden Baber, Wyatt Baber, Makel Cropper, Carson Heckman, Owen Rogers, Jaxson Sturtevant, Cason Witt

Erie-Prophetstown – Erik Daubman, Kolby Franks, Jake Jensen, Jaime Miner, Bryce Rosenow

Fulton – Connor Barnett, Drew Dykstra, Davis Ludin, Brock Mason, Kannon Wynkoop

Milledgeville – Kieren Harris, Noah Newstrand, Ashton Nobis, Caden VanDyke

Morrison – Payton Decker, Brendan Martin, Danny Mouw, Ashton Smith

Newman – Nolan Britt, Elias Henkel, Grant Koerner, Kory Mullen, Brendan Tunink

Oregon – Breccan Berns, Gabe Eckerd, Nico Giuffre

Polo – Brady Clark, Cole Faivre, Nolan Hahn, Tyler Merdian, Gavin Zell

Rock Falls – Luke Akerman, Victor Rivera, Gavin Sands

Sterling – Colt Adams, Noel Aponte, Blake Nettleton, Garrett Polson, Daylen Stage

West Carroll – A.J. Boardman, Devin Davis, Ashton St. Ores