Nine Falcons Earn All-Region Honors

Centerville --  Nine members of the Indian Hills baseball team were named to the All-Region squads announced by the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference.  The Falcons had three first-team choices, five players on the second team and an honorable mention selection.

Representing IHCC on the first team are sophomore pitcher Jake Stalzer (Albia, Ia.), sophomore first baseman Taylor Ostrich (Carroll, Ia.) and freshman outfielder Caleb Ratzman (Winneconne, Wis.).

Second-team picks are pitcher Christian Torres (Canovanas, Puerto Rico), infielders Tyler Hermann (Eau Claire, Wis.), Junior Santos (Lynn, Mass.) and Dario Polanco (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), and outfielder Joel Booker (Columbus, N.C.).  Hermann is the only sophomore in that group.

Sophomore catcher Kevin Cicali (Absecon, N.J.) made the honorable mention list.

Stalzer and Ostrich received all-region recognition for the second straight year.  Ostrich was second team as a freshman and Stalzer was honorable mention.

Ostrich and Ratzman were key contributors in an IHCC offense that was much-improved over the 2012 unit.  Ratzman led the team in hitting with a .372 average, stole 28 bases in 31 attempts and had an on-base percentage of .522.  Ostrich led the region in RBIs with 41 and hit .345 with 14 doubles and four homers.

Stalzer posted a 4-3 record with a 3.14 ERA.  He struck out 56 in 51 2/3 innings.  Torres also won four games (4-2) and fashioned a 2.38 ERA, allowing only 27 hits in 41 2/3 innings pitched.

The other four second-team picks all had solid offensive years.  Hermann hit .336 with 40 RBIs; Santos had a .366 batting average and team highs in doubles (15), triples (four) and hits (56) along with a .575 slugging percentage; Polanco batted .352 with four homers and 38 RBIs; and Booker recorded 31 RBIs, three home runs and a .365 average.

Cicali was productive while playing in 22 games, hitting .369 with 19 RBIs.