Spring sports are in full swing as action on the baseball fields, soccer pitches, and the track is heating up. Plus, action in boys’ volleyball has already been outstanding. We also saw a group of young men honored by the local amateur baseball association as rising stars on the diamond.
Let’s get caught up in this week’s Friday Fast Break sponsored by Triad Bank.
The Greater St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame created the Rising Star Award back in 1995 as it honors local high school baseball players for their accomplishments on and off the field. The Hall of Fame committee selects the finalists via nominations by the head coaches in the area.
This year five outstanding young men were finalists for the award:
Dane Bjorn of Lindbergh has been a constant member of the Flyers starting lineup both at the plate and on the mound. Last season, Bjorn carried a 5-4 record on the bump with an ERA of 1.70; this season, he is currently 1-2 with a 1.47 ERA. He has also hit three doubles and a pair of home runs this season.
Riley Iffrig of Edwardsville helped the Tigers claim the IHSA Class 4A baseball title last season and is a mainstay in the starting lineup again this season. Iffrig last season batted .433 with 10 doubles, three home runs, and drove in 32 runs. This season, he is off to an outstanding start with a .400 batting average as he is leading the Tigers with 19 runs batted in.
Sean Kang of Parkway Central has aided the Colts to a 5-2 record this season and is a contributor every time he steps on the field. Last season, Kang lead the Colts with a .430 batting average as he hit 14 doubles and drove in a team-high 35 RBI. This season, He is batting .421 with eight runs batted in.
Kaden Peer of CBC is picking up where he left off at the end of last season as he leads the Cadets with a .436 batting average while hitting five doubles, a triple, and five home runs already in the early season. Peer led the Cadets last season with five home runs while driving in a team-high 38 runs.
Rising Star Award recipient, Brett Norfleet. Photo Credit – Francis Howell High School
The winner of this year’s Raising Star Award is Brett Norfleet of Francis Howell. Norfleet aided the Vikings in advancing to the MSHSAA state semifinals by leading the team with a .451 batting average and he also had a team-high nine home runs and drove in 54 runs. This season, Norfleet is off to a great start with a .324 batting average, hitting two home runs and driving in 15 runs.
Last weekend, De Smet and Marquette took a trip to Kansas City to showcase boys’ volleyball in matches held at Lee’s Summit West. The reason for the trip was to help build support for the sport as ADs and principals from across the state are voting to move the sport to be recognized as a championship sport. The Spartans were a perfect 3-0 on the trip by winning all three of their matches 3-0. The Mustangs went 2-1 for the weekend with their only loss coming to De Smet. The level of boys’ volleyball is truly something to see in the metro area and the hope is that the vote will come out that boys’ volleyball will become a fully recognized sport.
This weekend, there is a heavy schedule of baseball games this holiday weekend as many local teams are playing in Jefferson City in their annual tournament while other local teams are playing in the Midwest Jesuit Classic being played at SLUH’s Sheridan Stadium and at GCS Ballpark.
Jim Powers has been covering prep sports in the St. Louis area for 15+ years and a part of the Missouri State High School Activities Association Championship Broadcasts for the past 11 years. Powers is also a part of the Fox 2 Verlo Mattress Prep Zone Friday nights at 10:10 during the football and basketball seasons. If you have a prep sports story, please contact Jim at japowers2421@yahoo.com. Follow Jim at @hssportscaravan
