Lenox’s Lange becomes two-time all-stater

Lenox co-coach Kurt Stoaks said his senior leader, Caleb Lange, felt the weight of the world on his shoulders early in the 2015 season.

And he played like it.

The other “co-ace” of the pitching staff, 6-foot-8 Spencer Brown, would miss the season while recovering from a knee injury. Last year’s leader on the field, catcher Dustin Gordon, had graduated and was now the co-coach with Stoaks.

Outfielder Dusten Reed was another senior on the team, performing at an all-conference level. But, Stoaks could see that Lange was trying to strike out every batter, and hit a six-run homer during every at-bat. He was pressing.

“As a pitcher he didn’t have control early in the season at all,” Stoaks said. “Last year he had 38 walks total. This year, he was at 40 walks in just six games. His batting average was down around .250 or below.”

Something clicked, though, and down the stretch there were few better baseball players in Class 1A than Caleb Lange. He walked only 13 more batters the rest of the season, finishing with 95 strikeouts in 82 innings with a 9-2 record and 1.53 ERA. Opponents batted only .152 against him.

At the plate, Lange brought his batting average up to .325 with a home run and 23 RBI, even though he was frequently walked with runners in scoring position, if first base was open.

That happened to him in the district final game against state semifinalist Martensdale-St. Marys, a 2-0 loss. In that game, despite pitching 10 innings earlier in the week, Lange allowed only four hits and one earned run while striking out four with one walk.

For his overall performance as a senior, Lange earned all-state status for the second time today from the Iowa Newspaper Association. After being on the second team in Class 1A a year ago, he was selected as a third-team pitcher this year. He’s joined on the third-team pitching staff by Van Meter ace Kyle Schmitt.

“After that tough start, he was really on a tear,” Stoaks said. “He just went out and did his job. He was more relaxed. He started hitting the ball a lot better and he started a lot more hitters out with a strike, instead of getting behind. He was a real competitor. He wanted the ball in those big games.”

Another Pride of Iowa Conference team, state runner-up Pleasantville, is represented on all-state by first-team pitcher Zeb Adreon and first-team infielder Josh Luna.

Martensdale-St. Marys, which bowed out in the state semifinals after beating Lenox and Van Meter on the tournament trail, had two players earning all-state honors. Senior Tanner Foster, the team’s pitching ace who also batted .417 as a second baseman, was named as an infielder on the second team. Freshman third baseman Brady Gavin, who batted .402 while also pitching to a 7-1 record and 1.91 ERA, earned a utility spot on the third team.

Otis Roby of Twin Cedars, one of the top pitchers in the state who also batted .566, was selected to a first-team utility position. St. Albert outfielder Jon Meyerring also was named to the first team.

Two seniors from Exira/Elk Horn-Kimballton — Tyler Jacobson and Zach Kliefoth — were named to the 1A second team at pitcher and utility, respectively.

Joining Lange and Schmitt on the third team is infielder Tom Snead of St. Albert.

Three players from Harlan’s Class 3A state runner-up team received all-state honors.

Junior Brett Croghan was named a second-team pitcher. Chosen on the third team are sophomore catcher Nick Tarney and sophomore infielder Dillon Sears. Denison-Schleswig senior Sean Houston was named to the 3A second team infield.

All-district sophomore pitcher Kadon Hulett and senior shortstop Connor Pals were Creston players among the nominees considered by the panel of Iowa sportswriters, assisted by members of the Iowa Baseball Coaches Association.

In Class 4A, senior Austin Simmons was named to the outfield and junior Caleb Shudak at a utility spot from Lewis Central on the second team.

A complete list of INA all-state teams will be published later in the week.