Iowa quartet will move on together (5/28)
Iowa quartet will move on together (5/28)
Don’t look know but the state of Iowa is quietly producing some significant softball talent.
College standouts include last year’s Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Cassandra Darrah at Wisconsin along with Chelsea Thomas of Missouri and Team USA, pitcher Miranda Kramer from Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne who led the D1 regular season with 301 Ks and Jadyn Spencer from Alabama who is tearing it up right now for Coach Murphy and leads the team in home runs (12) and RBI (47).
And the pipeline looks strong with current high schoolers committed to programs like Missouri, Northwestern, Wisconsin and many others.
So it shouldn’t be any surprise when a Hall of Fame coach comes into Iowa and finds talent to build upon which is what has happened at Illinois State as Coach Melinda Fischer, in her 30th year as a head coach, crossed into the Hawkeye State and recruited four players who have committed together.
The quartet—soph. P/1B Morgan Christner, jr. 2B/OF Riley Hale, jr. OF Kori Mesecher and soph. 3B Alyssa Wiebel—are rated by some scouts as four of the top 15 prospects in the state regardless of age.
Here’s a closer look at the players; tomorrow, we’ll have a Q&A with them to find out more about their “group commitment”…
*****
— Soph. P/1B Morgan Christner (New London, Iowa/Southeast Iowa Hawks Gold)
As an eighth grader, Morgan played 1st base primarily and batted .301 with eight doubles at New London High School, earning 2nd Team All Conference. In the circle, Morgan had a 6-3 record with 89 strikeouts her first varsity season. Her team lost in the Substate Championship game to Bellevue-Marquette.
As a freshman, Morgan helped lead her high school team to a Class 1A State Runner-Up finish where she was a member of the Iowa State High School 1A All Tourney team. She picked up the win and helped break a 0-0 pitchers’ duel in the bottom of the 7th inning in the state semifinal game with an RBI double to help lead her team to the State Championship game. During the season, Morgan hit a school-record 21 doubles and batted .425.
On the mound her freshman season, Morgan recorded 379 strikeouts and a 31-9 record. Morgan’s 31 wins and 379 K’s are both school records at New London. She earned 1st Team All Conference, 1st Team All District, 1st Team All Hawkeyeland, 1st Team All State IGHSAU, and 1st Team All State Iowa Sports Spotlight. Morgan was voted The Burlington Hawkeye Softball Player of the Year in 2013.
An outstanding basketball player as well, Morgan was 1st Team All Conference, 1st Team All District, and 2nd Team All Hawkeyeland on the court as a freshman where she was 3rd in the entire state in rebounds per game.
As a sophomore, Morgan was a 1st Team All Conference volleyball player from her Middle Hitter position, helping to lead her team to a #4 ranking at the end of the regular season and earning honorable mention All Hawkeyeland.
She chose Illinois State while considering Wisconsin, Iowa State, Western Illinois, Arkansas, and Northern Iowa.
***
— Jr. 2B/OF Riley Hale (West Burlington, Iowa, West Burlington-Notre Dame/Southeast Iowa Hawks Gold)
Riley is a three time All-State infielder as an eight grader, freshman, and sophomore and is also a three time 1st Team All Conference and 1st Team All Hawkeyeland selection (selected by the Burlington Hawkeye Newspaper).
Riley was named 1st team All-State as a Sophomore in 2013 after posting a .603 batting average with 17 doubles, five triples, six home runs, and led Class 3A in slugging percentage (.960), on-base percentage (.645), and hits (76).
She was in the top 10 in all classes in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. Riley helped lead the Lady Falcons to a runner-up finish in the 2011 Iowa State Tourney and a 34-7 mark as the team’s All State lead-off batter as an eighth grader.
Riley’s high school team has a 99-16 record over the last three seasons and she holds single season school records for hits (76), runs (61), doubles (17), batting average (.603), and on base percentage (.645).
Like her fellow ISU commits, Riley is a multi-sport standout and participated in track as a freshman and was a three-year starter in volleyball earning 1st Team All Conference and 2nd Team All Hawkeyeland honors her sophomore and junior seasons from her outside hitter position.
She chose Illinois State while considering Iowa State, Drake, Northern Iowa, Western Illinois, and Arkansas.
***
— Jr. OF/UT Kori Mesecher (Stronghurst, Ill., West Burlington-Notre Dame/Southeast Iowa Hawks Gold)
Kori helped lead her high school team to a Class 2A State runner-up finish as an 8th grader where she was a member of the Iowa State High School 2A All Tourney team. She hit an inside-the-park home run in the state semifinal game versus Mid Prairie helping to propel WBND into the State Championship game.
Kori used her speed and power to hit .426 and set a single season school record with a Class 2A-leading 10 triples to earn her Honorable Mention All State and 1st Team All Hawkeyeland honors.
As a freshman, she batted .507 and was second in 3A in RBI with a school record of 62. Kori also had a 6-1 record as a pitcher and earned 1st Team All Conference, 1st Team All Hawkeyeland and 1st Team All District honors as a shortstop/pitcher.
Kori batted .455 her sophomore season with four home runs on her way to earning 1st Team All District, 3rd Team All State IGHSAU, 1st Team All Hawkeyeland, and 1st Team Iowa Sports Spotlight All State honors as an outfielder and pitcher. She finished the season with a 5-0 record from the mound and helped her team to the Substate Championship game. Kori’s high school team has a 99-16 record over the last three seasons.
The multi-sport athlete was a participant in track as a freshman and has also played varsity basketball.
As a sophomore, Kori helped lead her high school basketball team (Burlington Notre Dame) to the Class 1A State Basketball Final Four and was voted 2nd Team All Conference and the team’s Defensive MVP.
This season as a junior, Kori helped lead her high school team to the Class 1A Iowa State Basketball Championship by averaging 9.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg, and 2.3 steals in the State Tourney.
Her older brother, Kyle, is a pitcher for Grandview University in Des Moines.
Kori chose Illinois State while considering Drake, Western Illinois, Northwest Missouri State, and Quincy.
***
— Soph. 3B Alyssa Wiebel (Benton Community High School / Iowa Premier Gold)
Like her future Illinois State teammates, Alyssa has had an amazingly prolific high school career and she hasn’t even played her sophomore year yet.
She was 3rd team All-State as an eighth grader and 1st team All-State last year when she compiled a .549 batting average, .869 slugging percentage, had 56 RBI, 48 runs scored, slugged seven home runs and added 14 doubles.
Her honors included being named All-District and 1st Team Wamac Conference both years.
Alyssa was recruited by Arizona, Missouri, Purdue, Western Kentucky, Minnesota among others.
.