Not since 2009 has a Raven baseball team flown this high. 

This year Hillcrest (21-5) put together a remarkable summer season on the baseball diamond and their stellar play did not go unnoticed. 

In addition to the numerous postseason accolades awarded to Hillcrest, senior Luke Schrock was named Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division Player of the Year and coach Danny Hershberger was appointed SEISC North Coach of the Year. 

After ushering in a Hillcrest season where they collected 20 plus victories, won the SEISC North title with a perfect 12-0 conference record, and claimed the Class 1A District 10 championship it becomes easy to see why Heshberger earned COY honors. 

This is the second time he has received this award, also earning COY recognition in 2019. 

“I want to thank Phil Schintler, our assistant coach,” Hershberger said about who he is thankful for after receiving COY recognition. “Phil puts in a lot of time, especially during the offseason, making sure our players arms are strong and ready to go when the season starts.”

Hershberger, who has years of coaching experience under his belt and is a former player who was a part of the Hillcrest 2007 State Championship team, puts great value in creating an environment where players want to put their best foot forward.

“As a coach I try to not get too high or too low,” Hershbeger said about his coaching style. “As a former player I try to be a coach that players want to play for and create an environment players want to be a part of and look forward to coming to the field and playing the great game of baseball each day.”

Not slowing down once the regular season wrapped up, the Ravens rattled off three postseason wins to advance to the substate finals, a playoff game where the winner advanced to the state tournament.

The substate round is where Hillcrest’s impressive season came to an end, falling to Burlington Notre Dame, 4-3. 

As a team the Ravens, when they stepped up to the plate to bat, connected on 221 hits and scored 248 runs.

Having a knack for hitting the ball out of the park, Hillcrest’s 17 home runs are the second most in Class 1A. Winning 13 games by virtue of mercy rule, Hillcrest made home plate a spot they visited quite frequently. 

“I think the strength of our team was our ability to deal with adversity and make positive plays and innings after having plays or innings not go our way,” Hershberger said about the strengths of the team. 

The Ravens had seven different players see playing time as a pitcher. As a collective unit they gave up 116 hits, 70 runs allowed with 40 of them being earned runs allowed and struck out 146 batters.

Possessing a top-notch defense Hillcrest held a team to zero runs scored six times over the course of the season. 

Making the most of his final year playing high school baseball for Hillcrest, Luke Schrock put together a senior season to remember. 

“Luke had an incredible senior season this year,” Hershberger said. “He has worked hard over his career and has improved each year. It was a joy to watch his hard work pay off for him with the season he had this year.”

Not only being named SEISC North POY but also selected first-team all-District as a shortstop, Luke was a commanding force for the Ravens not only as a batter, but as a pitcher as well. 

Luke, who pitched in 30 innings, ended his year with an unblemished 5-0 pitching record. He was Mr. Reliable on the mound for Hillcrest this season. His 38 strikeouts are tied for the most on the team, he only gave up 16 hits, and his 1.15 ERA is fifth best in the SEISC North. 

“He stepped up big for us on the mound and pitched lights out against some tough hitting teams.” Hershberger said about Luke. 

When Luke stepped up to the plate, he consistently found a way to make contact with the ball. The moment was never too big for Luke; he could be counted on to kick start the Raven’s offense if they ever got off to a slow start. 

No one on the Ravens recorded more hits or scored more runs than Luke. Some of his stats were so great they even went beyond his own team.

In the SEISC North he held the best batting average (.468), had the most hits (37), produced the third most RBIs (28), and scored the most runs (40). A dynamo on both offense and defense the honors he received were more than deserving.  

“Luke had some big hits for us this year in moments we needed something good to happen,” Hershberger said. “Luke was able to provide a big home run or extra base hit to get our offense started.”

Hillcrest would be overjoyed if Luke continued to play sports while donning a Raven’s uniform, but his graduation marks the end of his athletic high school career. A multi-sport athlete he participated in baseball, golf, and soccer. 

There will be a void to fill with his departure but the impact he made with his play and leadership will last for years to come. 

“Luke has been a tremendous role model for our younger guys to follow,” Hershberger said. “The leadership and positive energy he brings to the field everyday will be missed.”