Vote now: Who should be the SBLive Iowa high school athlete of the week?
By Barry Poe
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for June 27-July 3 as nominated by coaches, fans and readers.
Read through the nominees and cast your vote. We’ll send a free SBLive T-shirt to the winner of the poll!
Voting will conclude Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced Monday.
If you would like to make a nomination in a future week, email nate@scorebooklive.com.
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes who receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
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BASEBALL
Mitch Johnson, Independence
The junior hit his 11th home run of the season in Class 3A No. 10 Mustangs’ 14-3 loss to Class 4A No. 10 Cedar Falls on Tuesday. It was Johnson’s ninth home run in nine days.
Reese Moore, Van Meter
Senior and University of Iowa commit had a triple and homer, driving in three runs in a 13-3 win over Bondrant-Farrar to close the regular season. Moore leads the state in home runs (14) and RBIs (62) and the three-time defending Class 2A state champions are 33-0.
Cale Brechwald, Alta-Aurelia
The sophomore earned his state-leading 10th pitching win of the season in Warriors’ 12-2 win over South O’Brien in a Class 2A district opener Saturday.
Miles Risley, Johnston
The top-ranked Dragons completed a sweep of No. 3 Waukee with a 10-0 win on Wednesday. Risley had two home runs and drove in four and leads the team with a .439 average, five homers and 31 RBIs.
Michael Ray, Davenport Assumption
Senior had a home run and double, driving in five as the No. 2 Knights snapped a two-game losing streak with an 11-5 win over North Scott on Thursday.
J.C. Dermody, Council Bluffs Lewis Central
The senior and DMACC signee improved his pitching record to 9-1 as the Titans clipped Southeast Polk 3-1 on Saturday. Lewis Central (28-2) has won 24 games in a row.
Cole Johnson, Grinnell
Senior catcher was 4-for-4 and drove in two runs for Tigers in 13-1 win over Newton on Friday.
Gable Mitchell, Iowa City High
Senior and University of Iowa recruit continued his torrid pace with five hits, four RBIs and three runs in a 14-7 win over Waukee Northwest on Saturday. Mitchell is hitting .466 for the season.
Jake Goodman, Western Dubuque
Sophomore had three hits and drove in two runs in 3-2 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier on Friday.
Cal Sullivan, Cedar Rapids Prairie
The Hawks completed a sweep of Dubuque Senior with a 7-1 win on Friday. Sullivan, a junior catcher, hit two home runs and drove in three.
Carson Cummer, Dubuque Wahlert
Senior had two hits and scored two runs for No. 10 Golden Eagles in 12-3 win over Cedar Rapids Kennedy on Friday.
Cooper Nicholson, W.D.M. Dowling
Junior had a double and home run, driving in four in a 6-0 win over Waukee on Monday.
Alex Neal, Cedar Rapids Xavier
Knights earned a split with Western Dubuque with a 9-4 win in the second game Friday. Neal had three doubles in four trips to the plate.
Carter Schorg, Remsen St. Mary’s
The senior and Briar Cliff University recruit had a single, triple, home run and drove in four as the Hawks stayed unbeaten at 30-0 with a 15-0 rout of Whiting in a first-round Class 1A district game Saturday.
Grant Love, Estherville-Lincoln Central
The Midgets won their 19th straight, 17-0 over North Iowa in a regular season finale Thursday. Love had a double and triple, driving in four runs.
Ben Phillips, Cedar Falls
Senior had three hits, including a double and home run, and drove in two in a 14-3 win over Independence on Tuesday.
Doug Taylor, Mason City Newman
Junior and University of Iowa recruit drove in four runs as Knights blanked Dike-New Hartford 10-0 Friday. The win was the 17th in a row for Newman.
Lane Weis, Dubuque Hempstead
Senior got the win on the mound and drove in three runs as Mustangs salvaged a split with Cedar Falls with a 6-2 win in the second game Friday.
Sam George, Pleasant Valley
The defending Class 4A state champions blanked Urbandale 1-0 on Friday as George, a junior, pitched a five-hit shutout, striking out 10.
Kooper Schulte, New London
The Hawks bounced back from having their 25-game win streak snapped with a loss to Anamosa, winning the second game 11-2 as Schulte drove in three runs.
Tyson Cota, Lansing Kee
The Kee Hawks edged New Hampton 5-4 in a regular season finale Friday. Cota had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run.
Tylar Lutgen, Sergeant Bluff-Luton
Junior had a couple of hits and drove in a run as the Warriors ended a 17-game win streak by MOC-Floyd Valley with a 4-3, 10-inning victory.
Owen Huehergarth, Dyersville Beckman
Senior hit a triple and home run, knocking in two in a 5-4 win over Benton in a regular season finale on Thursday.
Alex Fawcett, Burlington
Junior had a double and triple and scored three runs in a 9-2 win over Fort Madison Thursday night.
Joey Oakie, Ankeny Centennial
Sophomore tripled and knocked in four runs as Jaguars blew past Sioux City North 17-0 in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday.
Austin Hilmer, North Linn
Senior stole three bases – increasing his state-leading total to 53 – collected two hits and was the winning pitcher in the Lynx's 18-0 rout of Springville in a Class 1A district opener Saturday.
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SOFTBALL
Ellie Flanagan, North Linn
The junior registered her 17th pitching win of the season and had a single and double at the plate in Class 1A top-ranked North Linn’s final regular season win, 9-2 over Center Point-Urbana on Thursday.
Abby Pate, Central Springs
The Class 2A top-ranked Panthers closed the regular season at 28-1 with their 14th straight win, 12-0 over Osage on Thursday. Pate, a junior, was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Cameran Smith, ADM
The sophomore pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out 10 in a 2-0 win over Earlham on Friday for the Tigers, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A.
Ella Smithson, Johnston
Sophomore first baseman was 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs in 13-1 win over Waukee on Wednesday.
Bridget Stover, Winterset
Senior catcher hit a grand slam home run as the 31-4 Huskies rolled to a 14-1 win over Gilbert on Thursday.
Tory Bennett, Fort Dodge
Senior had two hits and drove in four runs for the defending Class 5A state champions in a 12-0 victory over Earlham on Friday.
Maura Chalupa, Muscatine
Junior dialed a two-hit shutout as Muskies blanked top-ranked Waukee Northwest 3-0 on Saturday in the Iowa City West tournament.
Kaylee Bunn, Linn-Mar
Sophomore collected two hits and drove in four of her team’s runs in 7-6 win over Iowa City Liberty on Thursday.
Ryleigh Algood, Lisbon
The 12th-ranked Lions ended the regular season at 32-4 with a 3-0 win over Anamosa on Wednesday. Algood, a junior, struck out 12 and allowed only four hits.
Grace Bailey, Twin Cedars
Senior was 4-for-4 at the plate with a homer and three RBIs in 8-6 win over Pella Christian to end the regular season Saturday.
Nyah Hulbert, Norwalk
Freshman had two hits, including a double, and stole a base for No. 15 Warriors in 5-2 win over Indianola on Wednesday.
Elle Nelsen, Dallas Center-Grimes
The 16th-ranked Panthers beat West Delaware 16-2 on Friday for their 11th straight win. Nelsen had a single, double, home run and four RBIs.
Alexis Houge, Collins-Maxwell
The DePaul recruit is the top hitter in the state with a .705 average. She had three hits in a 10-0 blanking of Don Bosco on Monday.
Jena Young, Winterset
Senior and University of Iowa signee smacked her state-leading 17th home run of the season in a 10-0 win over Ballard on Monday. Young is also fourth in the state with a .640 batting average.
Emily Watters, Anamosa
Junior – hitting .614 for the season – was 3-for-3 with a double, homer and five RBIs in 13-1 win over West Branch Tuesday.
Emily Meyer, North Union
Junior notched her state-leading 29th pitching win of the season in the regular season finale, 16-0 over Eagle Grove. North Union, No. 2 in Class 2A, finished 29-3 with its seventh straight win.
Dakota Lake, Saydel
The junior pitched a two-hit shutout, striking out 12 to earn her 26th win of the season in an 8-0 win over Perry on Wednesday. Lake leads the state with 359 strikeouts.
Ava Smithson, Johnston
Senior and Minnesota State signee drove in a run in an 11-0 win over North Polk on Friday. That gives Smithson 55 RBIs for the season, tops in the state.
Anna Weathers, Des Moines Christian
Promising freshman slugged her 16th home run of the season, a two-run blast in a 9-4 win over Woodward-Granger on Thursday.
Bailey Olerich, Clear Creek-Amana
Senior and University of Iowa recruit had three hits and drove in four runs in 11-4 win over Mount Vernon on Wednesday. The win gave CC-A a share of the Wamac West Conference title.
Anna Bellcock, Newell-Fonda
Senior drove in three runs as the Class 1A No. 2 Mustangs closed the regular season with a 9-1 win over Kingsley-Pierson. Bellcock leads the team with 37 RBIs.
Payton Drefke, Ankeny Centennial
The Jaguars, No. 19 in the latest SBLive rankings, scored three times in the bottom of the sixth to overtake No. 3 ADM, 4-3, on Friday. Drefke had two hits and drove in a run.
Campbell German, Martensdale-St Marys
The sophomore drove in two runs and was the winning pitcher as the Pride of Iowa Conference champions closed the regular season with a 4-2 win over Independence on Friday.
Lexi Clendenen, Southeast Warren
Just an eighth-grader, Clendenen had a single, double, homer and drove in four runs in Warhawks’ 10-2 win over Central Decatur in a regular season finale Tuesday.
Pearson Hall, West Liberty
The freshman is the leading hitter for the Comets with a .544 average, four home runs and 21 RBIs. She had a double and triple and drove in two in a regular-season ending 6-2 win over Mount Pleasant on Saturday.
