Eight returning lettermen lead the charge for IKM-M
MANILLA -- It won’t be easy in a rugged Western Iowa Conference, but the IKM-Manning baseball team is hoping to sneak up on some teams this summer and improve on last year’s 7-17 overall record.
Despite graduating seven senior contributors from last season’s eighth-place WIC squad, the Wolves still bring back eight letter winners as they prep for a June 16 season opener vs. Tri-Center.
In some ways, IKM-M is still playing for the future with a 2020 roster that includes just two seniors (Will Jorgensen and Ben Lingle) and three juniors, but head coach Cory McCarville has high hopes for several of last year’s underclassmen that now have at least one season of varsity ball under their belts.
Nolan Ramsey returns as the team’s leading hitter after batting .315 as a freshman and earning honorable mention all-conference plaudits. Three returning pitchers - Max Nielsen, Conner Richards and Amos Rasmussen - logged between 17 and 28 varsity innings in 2019.
“We graduated a large senior group last year, but we were fortunate in that we had a lot of the younger underclassmen pitch," McCarville said. "We have an all-conference kid coming back in Nolan Ramsey, so that’s been positive. We still have two seniors and two juniors that played quite a bit last year, so it’s a nice mixture of some upperclassmen and a large sophomore group that is pretty talented. They’ve cut their teeth at the JV level and I think they’re going to be ready to step up.”
IKM-Manning Baseball Profile
2019 RECAP
7-17 Overall, 3-12 Western Iowa Conf. (8th Place); WIC Tourney Quarterfinals
Postseason Run - def. Ar-We-Va 7-6; lost to Coon Rapids-Bayard 10-1.
IBCA All-District Honors - Alex Lingle: 2nd Team First Baseman (Class 1A Southwest).
All-Western Iowa Conference Honors - Alex Lingle, sr. (First Team); Dane Blom, sr. (Honorable Mention); Ethan Carter, sr. (Honorable Mention); Nolan Ramsey, fr. (Honorable Mention).
2020 OUTLOOK
Team Roster -- Seniors: 21 - Will Jorgensen*, 5 - Ben Lingle*. Juniors: 1 - Matt Lapel, 18 - Hayden McLaughlin*, 25 - Conner Richards*. Sophomores: 36 - Kaiden Barry, 39 - Brody Blom, 40 - Max Nielsen*, 35 - Luke Ramsey*, 34 - Nolan Ramsey*, 7 - Amos Rasmussen*. Freshmen: 10 - Reed Hinners, 14 - Cooper Perdew, 32 - Austin Wiederin. 8th Graders: 9 - Tristan Barry, 24 - Tyler Heaton, 23 - Nolan Kerkhoff, 2 - Ross Kusel, 15 - Zander Richards, 8 - Lane Sams, 16 - Max Sanford, 37 - Bryc Summerfield. (* denotes returning letter winners)
Returning Varsity Stat Leaders
Batting Average: Nolan Ramsey .315, Will Jorgensen .222.
Total Hits: N. Ramsey 17, W. Jorgensen 12, Amos Rasmussen 10, Max Nielsen 10.
Runs Scored: A. Rasmussen 12, N. Ramsey 7, Hayden McLaughlin 7.
Runs-Batted-In: N. Ramsey 8, W. Jorgensen 8, A. Rasmussen 6, M. Nielsen 6.
Doubles: N. Ramsey 4, W. Jorgensen 2, A. Rasmussen 2.
Triples: A. Rasmussen 2, W. Jorgensen 1.
Home Runs: M. Nielsen 1.
Walks: A. Rasmussen 10, N. Ramsey 9, M. Nielsen 4.
Stolen Bases: A. Rasmussen 6, W. Jorgensen 2.
On-Base Percentage: N. Ramsey .406, A. Rasmussen .394.
Pitching W-L Record: A. Rasmussen 1-0, Luke Ramsey 1-0, H. McLaughlin 1-0, Conner Richards 1-3.
Innings Pitched: M. Nielsen 27.3, C. Richards 21.0, A. Rasmussen 17.7.
Earned Run Average: H. McLaughlin 0.00 (5 IP), C. Richards 5.33.
WHIP: H. McLaughlin 1.00, C. Richards 1.62.
Strikeouts: M. Nielsen 26, C. Richards 18, A. Rasmussen 15.