LONE TREE

It was a summer season filled with growth and improvement for Lone Tree baseball. Coming off a one-win season, the Lions captured seven wins, which included their first playoff win in three years.

Under first year head coach Jacob Craven, Lone Tree went 3-5 at home, 3-8 on the road, and 4-7 in conference play. Averaging 5.6 runs per game, they also gave up 9.3 runs per game. 

When it came to postseason accolades, a total of six Lions were recognized by the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North.

Headlining the Lone Tree conference selections is Emmett Burke. 

It was a breakout sophomore season for Burke as he was named the SEISC North Player of the Year, first-team all-conference as an infielder, and 1A Southeast first-team all-district. 

In the SEISC North, Burke had the best batting average (.467), the best on base percentage (.553), dished out the most assists (46), tied for the most hits (28), tied for the third most stolen bases (18), and scored the fifth most runs (19).  

Putting all his impressive stats in perspective it’s easy to see why Burke was named the conference player of the year in his second year of playing high school baseball. 

Playing shortstop on defense and first up in the batting order when on offense, Burke had a fielding percentage of .750 and led the team in doubles with seven. With his junior season to look forward to expect Burke to be one of the top players for Lone Tree baseball next year. 

The de facto starting pitching for the Lions this year, Jack Patterson earned first-team all-conference honors as a utility player. 

Pitching a conference high 50.2 innings, Patterson earned five wins (tied for most in the conference) and tallied 55 strikeouts (second most in the conference). 

On offense the junior tied for the team high in RBIs with 15 and went 14 for 53 at the plate for a batting average of .264. 

Getting it done in the outfield for the Lions, Maddox Jondle earned first-team all-conference honors as an outfielder. 

With a fielding percentage of .880, Jondle was responsible for 19 putouts and three assists on 25 total chances. He also saw a limited time on the mound, pitching in 10 innings and recorded five strikeouts.

When it came to offense, the junior had 17 hits and seven RBIs on a batting average of .397. Jondle also went 18 for 18 on stolen base attempts and scored 16 runs. 

In his final season of Lone Tree baseball, Ethan Bockelman was selected second-team all-conference as an outfielder. 

Using his speed to his advantage, no one in the SEISC North stole more bases than Bockelman, going 25 for 26 on stolen base attempts and scoring 18 runs. 

When up to bat Bockelman collected 20 hits and 15 RBIs with a batting average of .339. The senior was also responsible for the Lion’s only home run of the season, and it was a grand slam. 

In the outfield he had a fielding percentage of .879 and accounted for 27 putouts and 24 assists. Bockelman also pitched in 15.1 innings, striking out 16. 

Rounding out the Lone Tree conference selections, both Brody Magruder and Brock Nebergall earned honorable mention all-conference honors. 

On defense Nebergall played catcher and he was solid behind home plate as a freshman, totaling a team high 120 putouts (fourth most in the SEISC North) and had a fielding percentage .978 (fourth best in the conference). 

Magruder was also vital on defense for the Lions, stationed at first base, the junior had 115 putouts (fifth most in the SEISC North) and had a conference best fielding percentage of .992. 

With their season ending in the second round of the postseason, Lone Tree says goodbye to three seniors: Bockelman, Harry Brenneman, and Dominic Graap.