Wet weather has backed up the start to the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk baseball season twice this week. The Hawks will give it a go for the third time Thursday when they are set to welcome Davenport West to Wellman.
The Golden Hawks were 19-10 a season ago, finishing 13-5 in the River Valley Conference, champions of the South Division. The Golden Hawks finished in the top 10 of Class 2A last year with 169 walks, sixth best, .458OBP ninth best and 174 total RBI 10th best. They hit .306 as a team with 219 total hits and 200 runs scored while posting a 3.12 ERA on the mound as a staff and a 1.58WHIP. Opponents hit .235 against them and the Hawks had a 1.58WHIP. The Golden Hawks had five All-River Valley Conference selections last season with two returning including RVC Player of the Year Tatem Telfer and First-teamer Brady Weber. Both Telfer and Weber were also All-District choices. They each did damage on the mound and at the plate. Telfer finished the year hitting .382 with an OPS over 1000, five homers, second most in 2A, 31 RBI, 10th in 2A, 34 total hits, and 25 runs scored, while on the mound, he went 5-1 with 70 strikeouts in 29 innings and a 1.95 ERA. For Weber, he hit .318 with 27 runs, 27 hits, and 17 driven in. He was 3-2 as a pitcher with a 1.78ERA and 45 punchouts in 35 frames. The Hawks will have to replace eight total seniors including all-conference selections Bowen Burmeister, Brock Harland and Luke Trateow. Mid-Prairie is ranked No. 14 in the first Class 2A poll of the year from Iabaseball. Golden Hawk head coach Kyle Mullet joined KCII sports this week to talk about what has him excited for the upcoming year.
Mullet says, “We have a core group of seniors that are veteran guys. That’s very very important to this program. We’re going to need that this season. That mixed in with some big positions that are going to need to be filled by some young guys is exciting. We’re not just coming out with the same set of guys, it’s going to be a good mix!”
This is also the season opener for Davenport West, who was victimized by Mother Nature Monday, when their first game of the year against Maquoketa was rained out. The Falcons were 12-27 a year ago, 4-14, ninth in the Mississippi Athletic Conference. They hit .248 as a team with a .352OBP and .306 slug, scoring 146 runs on 241 hits with 106RBI, 119 walks and 248 strikeouts. Individually, they will have to replace their top two hitters by the numbers, Wyatt Hass and Ian Keeney who moved on through graduation after posting a combined 77 hits, 47 runs and 34RBI with a .358 average, .453OBP and .470 slug. Leading returner is Karter Kormann with a .307 average, 27 hits, 13RBI, 11 runs and 13 walks. On the mound, the Falcon staff had a 5.97 team ERA with a 1.89 WHIP, giving up a .227 opponent average, 297 hits, 214 earned runs, 177 walks and 206 strikeouts in 251 innings a season ago. Hass and Tyler McCrery who combined for an 8-7 record, five ERA, .234 opponent average, 88 hits and 74 strikeouts last season have graduated. Back are Damen Dahlhauser, Cayden Williams and Logan Haynes who each had one win last year, and combined to work 68 innings with an ERA over seven. Mid-Prairie beat the Falcons 6-4 in 2023. The two schools have split their last four games. Action starts tonight at 7p.m. At Paul N. Bailey Field in Wellman.