The Eagle’s 2015 All-Metro baseball team

DRAKE BLISS

Senior shortstop

Maize South

Bliss led Maize South (18-7) to a fourth-place finish in the Class 5A tournament, where he hit .555 with two RBIs and two stolen bases as the Mavericks’ leadoff hitter. He led Maize South with a .403 batting average and had 26 runs, 11 RBIs and a .511 on-base percentage.

JORDAN DINGMAN

Senior third baseman

Northwest

Dingman, a two-time All-Metro selection, led Northwest (17-6) to the Class 6A tournament for the third straight season. He had a .359 batting average and a .672 slugging percentage. He also had 18 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits, including five triples.

MASON HISER

Senior pitcher

Augusta

Hiser gave up two hits and struck out 10 batters in the Class 4A-I quarterfinals. He returned in relief in the semifinals as Augusta (17-7) finished tied for third. He had a 0.76 ERA with 65 strikeouts. He also had a .387 batting average and .530 on-base percentage with 11 RBIs.

KEYLAN KILLGORE

Senior utility

Heights

Killgore, a two-time All-Metro selection who has signed with Wichita State, primarily pitched and played left field, but he also played first base and center field. He had a 2.79 ERA, was 5-4 and struck out 54 in 52.7 innings. Opponents had a .219 batting avearge against Killgore. He also hit .300 with nine doubles. He didn’t make an error.

JOE LIENHARD

Senior first baseman

Kapaun

Lienhard, who signed with Oklahoma State, was a big target for the Crusaders at first. As a pitcher he was 6-1 with one save and a 1.47 ERA. He threw 43 innings, struck out 57 and walked eight. Lienhard helped lead Kapaun to a 15-7 record and a Class 5A regional title game. He had a .355 batting average with eight doubles, 13 runs and 22 RBIs.

CONNOR LUNGWITZ

Senior pitcher

Maize

Lungwitz, who has signed with Wichita State, was 6-1 with a 0.97 ERA. He threw 65 innings, had three complete games, two shutouts and gave up 42 hits. He struck out 74 and walked 11, two of which were intentional walks. Opponents hit .181 against Lungwitz.

TRACE MADDUX

Junior second baseman

Campus

Coach Bryan Clasen raved about Maddux’s defensive prowess early in the season because of his ability to make all the usual, and outstanding, plays. Maddux, who helped lead Campus (15-8) to the Class 6A tournament, had one error. He hit .361, struck out four times and had 12 RBIs.

COOPER MINNICK

Senior catcher

Bluestem

Minnick, a two-time All-Metro selection, is so valuable defensively that he started the season at shortstop to stabilize the position before moving to catcher, coach Daniel Scribner’s preferred position. Minnick will catch at Neosho Community College. He had 25 runs, 11 doubles, three triples and a .532 batting average.

BRADEN MINOR

Junior pitcher

Eisenhower

Minor, a two-time All-Metro selection, had a 1.21 ERA, struck out 61 in 46 1/3 innings and didn’t give up a home run. He walked 11 and opponents had a .153 batting average. He was 6-1 with three saves and three complete games. Minor had a .353 batting average with nine doubles and 18 RBIs.

MARK QUANEY

Senior outfielder

Carroll

Quaney, who helped lead Carroll (16-4) into the Class 5A tournament as the top seed, regularly showcased his quickness in the outfield. A Top 11 football selection in December, he had a .508 batting average, .728 slugging percentage and had 25 runs, 22 RBIs, three doubles and five triples. He also had 12 stolen bases.

NATE SCANTLIN

Sophomore outfielder

Rose Hill

Scantlin helped Rose Hill (16-8) recover from an early five-game skid to win nine of its final 14 games, finishing tied for third in Class 4A-I. Scantlin had a .488 batting average with 12 doubles, four triples and three home runs. He also had 16 stolen bases, 31 runs and 24 RBIs.

BRYLIE WARE

Senior designated hitter

Sedgwick

Ware, a two-time All-Metro selection, hit a grand slam to help Sedgwick advance to the Class 3A tournament. He had a .667 batting average, had 31 RBIs with 10 home runs, a 1.533 slugging percentage and a .797 on-base percentage. He struck out twice and walked 23 times. He finished his career with a .631 batting average, 131 RBIs and 26 home runs, striking out nine times.

CURTIS WHITTEN

Senior outfielder

Derby

Whitten, who was an All-Metro selection as a junior at Heights, shut down the outfield because of his speed and didn’t have an error. He also used that speed on the basepaths with 30 stolen bases. The Saint Louis University signee had a .377 batting average with 27 runs, 13 RBIs and nine strikeouts.

JAMIE FOWLER

Coach

Independent

Fowler, who is 261-103 in 16 seasons at Independent, led the Panthers to their fifth Class 3A berth in the past eight seasons. Independent (23-3), which finished third, was third in 2013 and second in 2008. He has seven Central Plains League titles.

ALL-METRO SELECTION PROCESS

This is the 11th year for All-Metro teams selected by The Eagle, recognizing the best high school athletes in team sports throughout Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties.

Nomination ballots were sent to baseball coaches at high schools in those counties. Coaches were asked to return ballots with nominations of the best players within those counties that they saw this season, including their own players.

The team was selected by Joanna Chadwick after tabulating nominations, her own evaluation of the players and additional input from coaches.

This is the 11th year for All-Metro teams selected by The Eagle, recognizing the best high school athletes in team sports throughout Sedgwick, Butler and Harvey counties. Nomination ballots were sent to baseball coaches at high schools in those counties.

Coaches were asked to return ballots with nominations of the best players within those counties that they saw this season, including their own players.