Prairie Baseball

Bell, Carlson, Hayden pick their colleges

Three premier athletes from Metro high schools have made their college commitments.

Cedar Rapids Kennedy senior Cody Bell has decided to play golf at the University of Northern Iowa, ending a tug-of-war for his own emotions between golf and baseball.

Cedar Rapids Prairie senior Brayton Carlson has committed to play baseball at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington and Kennedy senior Alex Hayden has committed to play baseball at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge.

Bell tied for sixth at the Class 4A state golf meet this year and placed fourth last year as a junior. He's also a top baseball player at Kennedy and had an offer to play baseball at Loras College.

Bell decided Wednesday to play golf at UNI. "I just feel that I'll be more successful playing golf in college as opposed to baseball," he said.

Bell is a year-round athlete at Kennedy with golf, basketball and baseball. He's looking forward to concentrating on golf at Northern Iowa.

"It will be something new," he said. "I'm hoping it really helps. I think with all the work I'm going to be able to put in and all the time, I think it will be a big step for my golf career."

Bell plans to study business and finance at UNI.

Carlson will be joining his older brother, Dustin, on the Southeastern Community College baseball team. Dustin Carlson is a freshman relief pitcher at SCC.

Brayton Carlson hit .429 with eight homers and 36 RBIs for Prairie last season. He made second team all-state as a second baseman.

Southeastern Community College Coach Justin Schulte, formerly the head coach at Mount Mercy University, has attracted several Metro baseball players to his program. Terrell Sykes (Kennedy), David Yancey (Kennedy), Colby Brecht (Xavier) and Alex Ries (Xavier) are freshmen at SCC this year.

"I know a lot of guys on the team and Coach Schulte seems like a really good coach," Carlson said.

Griffin Michael (Kennedy) and Anthony Gagliardi (Prairie) began the school year at Southeastern Community College but will not play for the Blackhawks. Gagliardi has transferred to Indian Hills Community College.

Hayden compiled an 8-1 record with a 3.22 ERA at Kennedy last season as a junior, helping the Cougars reach the Class 4A state tournament. He's also a middle infielder and will be given a chance to be a two-way player at Iowa Central.

"They said they're open to me playing the field," he said. "They're leaving that up to me, and I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do with that."

Bell, Carlson and Hayden all said they're glad to have made their college decisions. "A lot of stress is relieved now," said Hayden, who had offers from at least four other schools in Iowa.

Witte will add toughness to UNI wrestling team

Zach Witte will bring talent to the University of Northern Iowa wrestling team next year. He'll bring dedication. He'll also bring a high degree of toughness.

How tough?

Witte is so tough, he played the last two games of the football season at Cedar Rapids Prairie this year with a broken arm. And he didn't even know it.

Witte signed his national letter-of-intent with UNI Wednesday morning with his left arm in a sling, courtesy of an injury he suffered in mid-October at an informal wrestling workout.

"It's really not a big deal," he insisted. "I just fractured off a little chunk."

He thought he hurt a ligament, so shrugged it off and kept playing football. As it turned out, he broke an edge of the ulna (outside) bone in his arm.

He'll have a hard cast installed Monday, then will have X-rays Dec. 5 to gauge his recovery. If all goes well, he hopes to be wrestling again by mid-December.

"I won't miss much at all," he said.

Witte won the Class 3A state title last season with a 38-0 record at 145 pounds. He plans to wrestle at 152 pounds this season and will be aiming for 149 at Northern Iowa.

Witte has compiled a 113-7 record at Prairie as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He finished second at the state tournament as a freshman in 2009, then did not qualify for state as a sophomore.

"After that," he said, "I was not going to let anything bad happen again. I'm always hard on myself, I guess."

He was driven to succeed last season.

"My goal the whole year - I even said it publicly - was to be a state champion," he said. "And after doing so I felt a great accomplishment."

Prairie Coach Blake Williams admires Witte's determination and effort.

"He's got a mentality where he hates to lose. He really hates to lose," Williams said. "That has really driven him."

Williams thinks Witte can have an outstanding career at Northern Iowa, especially once he concentrates on wrestling during the entire year. "The sky's the limit," he said.

Witte is excited about wrestling for Doug Schwab, who's in his second year as the head coach at Northern Iowa. Schwab won an NCAA title at Iowa and wrestled at the 2008 Olympics in China.

"He's earned all my respect, that's for sure," Witte said. "He brings a lot of excitement to the room.

"He's done a lot for that program already, and I want to be part of it. He's got something going. Something big, I think, and I'm going to be part of it."

Schebler coming home as successful minor leaguer

Scott Schebler is coming home Sunday for a well-deserved vacation after a successful season in the minor leagues.

He hit .285 with 13 homers and 58 RBIs for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Rookie Pioneer League, collecting those numbers in just 70 games with the Ogden (Utah) Raptors.

He's spent the last month at the Fall Instructional League in Arizona, but it's almost over and the former Cedar Rapids Prairie star is looking forward to some home cooking in Solon.

It's been a long year, starting with spring training in March, but it's been a good year.

"Overall I felt good about the season, getting my first one under my belt," he said. "I didn't know what to expect. Now I kind of do.

"I wouldn't say I excelled, but I thought I did my job well. There were some struggles, but that's baseball."

Schebler, 21, was selected by the Dodgers in the 26th round of the 2010 draft after his freshman year at Des Moines Area Community College. He signed at the deadline on Aug. 16, 2010 and began his pro career this season.

Schebler began the year in left field at Ogden, but played 50 games in right field and appears to have settled at that position. He runs well and has a strong arm, so right field could be his spot as he tries to climb in the minor leagues.

Schebler was happy with most of his numbers this season, but struck out 97 times and worked on making better contact with two strikes in the Instructional League.

"I struck out quite a bit during the season. There's no getting around that," said Schebler, a right-hander who bats from the left side of the plate. "They're trying to eliminate the leg kick I've got. Get ready for the fastball and adjust off of that."

Schebler also worked on becoming a better base stealer in the Instructional League after struggling with that aspect of the game in the Pioneer League.

"This season I had only one stolen base, and with my speed I should have a lot more than that," he said. "I've never stolen bases before. It's a lot harder than I thought. There are a lot of little things to look at, a lot of little things to watch on a pitcher to get that one step that you need.

"I had the green light all year," he said. "They continually pushed me and pushed me to go. I don't know, I would freeze up at first base. I never had the mindset of stealing, and I didn't know how to steal."

He's stolen three bases in the Instructional League and feels he's making progress. He's also been working on his defense, trying to become a better outfielder.

Schebler played five sports at Cedar Rapids Prairie, but it's been all baseball at DMACC and now the minor leagues. That's helped him improve as a player.

"I get to concentrate 24/7 on one thing. Once you do that, you really improve a lot," he said. "Especially with baseball, because there's two sides to the game.

"There's the mental side to the game, which is 80 percent of the game. And there's the physical side. The mental part is still what I'm working on."

Schebler reported to the Instructional League as soon as the Pioneer League campaign ended. He was glad to go, viewing it as a favorable sign with the Dodgers.

"I used to hear that it's a bad thing, but the more I hear about it, it's a good thing," he said. "I think it's like the top-50 prospects get invited. It's a good thing that I'm here."

He's been playing baseball non-stop since March, but said he's had a chance to relax a little in Arizona.

"It's not a real intense camp," he said. "My body is doing a lot better than it was during the season, just because we're not playing as long. I'm ready for a break, I'll tell you that."

Schebler thinks he'll be home in Solon until it's time to report for spring training.

"They could call me at any time and send me to a winter league, but I don't think that's going to happen this year," he said. "I'll be in town for a while."

Schebler said the Dodgers control his rights for five years. He fully expects to be invited to spring training in 2012 after having a productive rookie campaign.

The Dodgers have a Class A team in the Midwest League in Midland, Mich., so that could be Schebler's next stop in the organization. He hasn't heard anything yet, but he might be playing for the Great Lakes Loons next season.

"They really keep that under wraps," he said. "You just never know."

The Loons play in the same league as the Cedar Rapids Kernels. They are not scheduled to play in Cedar Rapids during the 2012 season, but will have trips to Burlington, Peoria (Ill.) and Beloit (Wis.).

Schebler has mixed feelings about the possibility of playing in the Midwest League.

"It would be nice, but there's always added pressure when you're around your family," he said. "I would love it, of course, but the added pressure can build on you and wear on you a little more than people think. But obviously it would be nice to play in front of your family and all that."

Schebler finished one year of junior college at DMACC and plans to take online courses while he's home, in addition to working out. He also plans to work for his father, Jeff Schebler, who is an instructional engineer.

Schebler has survived one year of professional baseball. He's looking forward to more.

"It's kind of nice to get the first year out of the way and also do well," he said.

Prairie runs into buzz-saw at Mason City

MASON CITY - Matt Thede squeezed 26 wins and a bunch of records out of a Prairie High School baseball program that had struggled for years this season, but the Hawks fell short in their bid to make the state tournament Wednesday night.

Jake Peter tossed a tidy three-hitter as No.2 Mason City spanked Prairie, 6-0, in the Class 4A substate finals at Roosevelt Field in Mason City.

Prairie won only 13 games last season and had a 10-13 record at one point last month, but the Hawks won 16 of their last 19 games to finish 26-16 and set a school record for victories.

Thede shook hands with all the seniors and thanked them for a job well done. They led the Hawks from obscurity to their first winning season in 17 years.

"The seniors have set a precedent for us," Thede said. "I told our guys it would be a serious tragedy if we didn't celebrate our season with a huge banquet at the end.

"We're going to get together and celebrate the right way. I can't tell you how much I love them and how proud I am of these guys."

Peter handcuffed the Hawks and was never in serious trouble. Chaz Boots hit a soft single in the third inning, Anthony Gagliardi singled down the third-base line in the fourth inning and Tyler Mougin singled to right-center in the fifth inning for Prairie's only hits on a hot night in Mason City.

Peter (7-2) went the distance and needed only 75 pitches to tame the Hawks. He struck out the side in the seventh inning and fanned five of the last six batters he faced.

"Every pitch was working," said Peter, an all-state selection from 2010 who has signed with Creighton. "I was just trying to get them to put it in play and that's what they did, and my defense made plays behind me."

Peter has become the No.1 pitcher for Mason City with all-state hurler Brandon Platts sidelined with a sore right elbow. Platts was drafted in the 13th round by Pittsburgh last month, but he hasn't pitched since June 27.

Peter has picked up the slack.

"It was a special performance tonight, but it's been typical of him down the stretch," Mason City Coach Troy Rood said. "He's been really, really good down the stretch."

Peter struck out seven batters and walked only one.

"We ran into a buzz-saw tonight," Thede said. "My hat's off to those guys. They have a heck of a team."

Mason City (33-9) will face Des Moines Roosevelt (29-12) in the quarterfinals of the Class 4A state tournament next Wednesday night.

Gagliardi pitched five innings for Prairie and was touched for all six runs (five earned). The Mohawks scored an unearned run in the second inning, then Peter blasted a home run to right field to make it 2-0 in the third.

"To get that one run early was huge, because I really did believe that one run would win the game for us with Jake on the hill," Rood said.

Prairie had only one runner reach second base all night and nobody touched third.

Mason City scored three runs on five hits in the fourth inning to take control at 5-0. The Prairie outfielders had a few problems with fly balls in the frame, turning possible outs into doubles.

Gagliardi (6-4) thought Mason City was beatable. "I didn't see anything special," he said. "They didn't really hit the ball too hard. They just found holes."

The Mohawks took a 6-0 lead in the fifth inning. Bryce Alberts pitched two shutout innings in relief for the Hawks with three strikeouts.

Thede stressed all of his team's accomplishments this season after the year ended with a loss, but the setback seemed hardest on senior Dustin Carlson, who did double-duty this year as a catcher and pitcher.

"I finally realized it's my last high school game," said Carlson, sitting sadly in the Prairie dugout. "It's kind of weird."

Carlson said he'll have good memories. "The records that we broke and the way we came together was awesome," he said. "Too bad it had to end today, but this was a good team that we played. I wouldn't be surprised if they win state."

Mason City reached the semifinals of the state tournament last year before losing to Cedar Rapids Kennedy. The Mohawks feel they have unfinished business in Des Moines.

"Definitely," Peter said. "We made the semis last year and we want to get over that hump. We want to be playing Saturday night (July 30) for the championship."

By coincidence, Mason City could meet Kennedy in the semifinals again this year if they both win their opening-round games next Wednesday. Kennedy opens with Fort Dodge.

Rood is not sure if Platts will be able to pitch in the state tournament or not.

"He has a chance. I wouldn't rule that out," Rood said. "We need to get his bat back. He's our cleanup hitter."

Platts was not in the lineup against Prairie.

MASON CITY (6)
Peter, p, 3 1 1 1, Voves, cf, 4 0 1 0, Schultz, lf, 3 1 0 0, Overbeck, 3b, 3 2 2 0, Hrubetz, ss, 1 0 1 0, Weiss, rf, 4 1 2 2, Ring, 1b, 4 1 1 1, Stoeffler, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Swenson, c, 3 0 1 1. Totals 28 6 9 5.

PRAIRIE (5)
Hammer, dh, 3 0 0 0, Joens, cf, 0 0 0 0, Alberts, p, 0 0 0 0, Utley, 1b, 3 0 0 0, B. Carlson, 2b, 3 0 0 0, Gagliardi, p/cf, 3 0 1 0, Votroubek, rf, 2 0 0 0, Velvick, ph, 1 0 0 0, D. Carlson, c, 3 0 0 0, Butz, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Meyer, 3b, 1 0 0 0, Boots, lf, 2 0 1 0, Mougin, ss, 2 0 1 0. Totals 24 0 3 0.

Mason City  011 310 0 - 6 9 2
Prairie        000 000 0 - 0 3 1

Peter and Swenson. Gagliardi, Alberts (6) and D. Carlson. W - Peter. L - Gagliardi. 2B - Weiss, Ring, Swenson. HR - Peter.