The Atlantic baseball team is anxious to test their skills on the diamond with the season getting underway. Atlantic Head Coach Joe Brummer said the program has good numbers and the guys have been having fun.

The Trojans lost a couple of really strong leaders from last year’s 7-18 squad. Chase McLaren was a .500 hitter and lock-down shortstop for the Trojans and Nate Behrends really came along as a great outfielder. Coach Brummer said their leadership is hard to replace, but this year they come back in with more experience overall than last season.

Brody O’Brien will be counted on for a lot of production on the mound and at the plate. He hit .343 last year and led the team with 17 RBIs. He also had a 3.31 ERA with a 2-2 record last year. Coach Brummer said team speed is going to be a big strength.

The Trojans open up at defending Hawkeye 10 Champion Lewis Central on Monday and then host Denison-Schleswig for the home-opener on Tuesday. The Trojans will be playing all their home games at the Griswold baseball diamond due to construction in Atlantic.

ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 11, 2020 – The St. Louis Cardinals selected six players on the second day to conclude the 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, bringing their total to seven picks over the two-day event. Three pitchers, one infielder, two outfielders and one two-way player round out their seven total selections, which were tied for most among all teams in the draft with the San Francisco Giants. The club’s first three picks were chosen from high schools, while their final four selections were college players.

Masyn Winn, the Cardinals second round pick (No. 54 overall) out of the Kingwood (Tex.) High School, is a 5-11, 180 lb. right-handed pitcher and shortstop. Featuring an upper 90s fastball and 12-6 curve ball, the right-hander went 13-0 with a 0.67 ERA (76.1 IP) and 117 strikeouts on the mound in his junior season for the Mustangs on his way to the District 22-6A MVP. Winn also posted a .417 batting average with eight home runs and 46 RBI while scoring 37 runs. Winn has signed his letter of intent to the University of Arkansas.

Markevian “Tink” Hence, the Cardinals Competitive Balance Round B pick (No. 63 overall), is a 6-1, 175 lb. pitcher from Watson Chapel (Ark.) High School. Featuring a mid-90s fastball, slider, and changeup, the right-handed pitcher turns 18 in August 2020. Also a verbal committed to the University of Arkansas, Hence is an alum of MLB/USA Baseball’s Breakthrough Series and Dream Series. His older brother, Braelin, is a redshirt sophomore infielder at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Alec Burleson, the Cardinals second round Compensation pick (No. 70 overall) for outfielder Marcell Ozuna signing with the Atlanta Braves, is an outfielder from East Carolina University. The 6-2, 212 lb. two-way player batted a career .341/.387/.496  (141-413) with 12 home runs and 91 RBI in 116 games at four different positions (1B, LF, RF, DH) for the Pirates. Over his pitching career, the left-handed pitcher was 13-5 with a 3.47 ERA (137.2 IP), nine saves, and 139 strikeouts in 47 appearances. Burleson earned 2020 preseason First-Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball as a utility player and CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America honors. Burleson joins Seth Maness (2011, 11th round), Evan Kruczynski (2017, ninth round), Chris Holba (2018, 11th round) as the fourth ECU Pirate to be drafted by St. Louis.

Levi Prater, the Cardinals third round selection (No. 93 overall), is a left-handed pitcher from the University of Oklahoma. The 6-0, 184 lb. southpaw was 11-8 with a 3.56 ERA (154.1 IP) and 194 strikeouts in 53 career appearances (11.31 SO/9) over his career for the Sooners, including going 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA (23.2 IP) and 33 strikeouts (12.80 SO/9) in four starts as a junior during the shortened 2020 season. In 2017, the Ada, Okla. native, who lost three fingers on his right hand as a child due to a lawnmower accident, led Byng (Okla.) High School to its 2017 4A State Championship while winning the Oklahoma 4A and Conference Player of the Year Awards in his senior season.

Ian Bedell, the Cardinals fourth round selection (No. 122 overall), is a twenty-year-old right-handed pitcher from the University of Missouri. The 2020 Perfect Game/Rawlings Preseason Third-Team All-American and D1Baseball Preseason Third-Team All-American was 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA (24.1 IP), 35 strikeouts, and four walks (8.75 SO/BB) in four starts as a junior in 2020, ranking third in the SEC (T-43rd in NCAA Division 1) in strikeouts before the season ended early. One of youngest college prospects in the 2020 MLB Draft, Bedell skipped his senior season of high school to reclassify and enroll early at Missouri. The Davenport, Iowa native, who has an identical twin brother, won the AABC Connie Mack World Series his junior summer with the Midland Redskins (Ohio). This marks the second straight year St. Louis has drafted a pitcher from Missouri (Cameron Dulle, 2019, 30th round), with Bedell becoming the ninth Missouri Tiger overall and the highest-drafted in Cardinals history.

Leonard (LJ) Charles Jones IV, the Cardinals fifth round pick (No. 152 overall), is a redshirt sophomore outfielder from Long Beach State University. The Chula Vista, Calif. native hit a career .315/.365/.436 (57-181), with three home runs, 11 doubles, and 31 RBI in 58 games during his time at Long Beach State. After leading the Dirtbags in batting (.312) as a true freshman in 2018, Jones missed most of the 2019 season, appearing in just two games, getting hit by pitch against the Florida Gators and redshirting. In 2017, his Eastlake team won the CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship, ending the season with a No. 3 rank nationally and a No. 1 state ranking from USA Today. Jones is the seventh Dirtbag drafted all-time by the Cardinals and highest since Shane Peterson (2008, 2nd round).

2020 FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT – FINAL RECAP

Rd.,   Player (overall pick)    Pos.     B-T     Ht    Wt.    School                                                            Hometown
1.    Jordan Walker (21)            3B         R-R      6-5      220      Decatur (Ga.) High School                          Mountain Ridge, Georgia

—————————————————————————–   DAY 2   ————————————————————————————-

2.    Masyn Winn (54)           SS/RHP    R-R     5-11     180      Kingwood (Tex.) High School                                              Katy, Texas
CB B.    Tink Hence (63)                RHP       R-R      6-1      175      Watson Chapel (Ark.) High School                     Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Comp 2.    Alec Burleson (70)             OF         L-L      6-2      212      East Carolina University                             Charlotte, North Carolina
3.    Levi Prater (93)                 LHP        S-L      6-0      185      University of Oklahoma                                               Ada, Oklahoma
4.    Ian Bedell (122)                RHP       R-R      6-2      200      University of Missouri                                                Davenport, Iowa
5.    LJ Jones IV (152)                 OF        R-R      6-0      225      Long Beach State University                              San Diego, California

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast with Jim Field.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (6.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Here is the latest sports news from The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs, led by Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu, are putting together a voter registration program in response to the social unrest that has gripped the nation. The details of the drive are still in the works, but the 24-year-old quarterback and 28-year-old safety wanted to make sure they were at the forefront of affecting change. And the best way to do that was making sure people had a voice when the November elections come around.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Major League Baseball is building a field a few hundred yards down a corn-lined path from the famous movie site for “Field of Dreams” in eastern Iowa. Unlike the original, it’s unclear whether teams will show up for a game this time as the league struggles during a coronavirus-shortened season. Those who live near the Field of Dreams say the country could use a boost like seeing the scheduled Aug. 13 game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa kicker Keith Duncan has been named a Walter Camp preseason All-American. Duncan is coming off of a season in which he set a Big-10 and Iowa record, with 29 made field goals and also converted all 32 Point After Attempts. A finalist for the Lou Groza award, Duncan was a consensus All-American last year, and was named to five first-team All-America squads.

(Radio Iowa) — The Heart of America Conference has approved a nine game football schedule for the upcoming season. The move comes after the NAIA moved to alter the length of fall sports seasons. The league has two divisions for football and utilized an 11-game conference schedule.

That’s William Penn coach Todd Hafner. He says the changes only effect two crossover games and not division games.

Hafner says he is thrilled they have a nine game season.

The Statesmen will open September 12 at MidAmerica Nazarene. Iowa schools Grand View, Clarke and Graceland are members of the Hear of America Conference.

(Radio Iowa) — As the Iowa Cubs wait to see if there will be any kind of Pacific Coast League season team officials are looking at other ways to utilize Principal Park. Sam Bernabe is president and CEO of the I-Cubs.

Baseball returns to the stadium on Monday with the start of the high school season and the stadium will host 16 games over a 17 day period.

(Radio Iowa) — Northern Iowa athletic director David Harris says officials with the Missouri Valley Football Conference have been looking at options for the football schedule, if some states don’t open. The Panthers play two games in Illinois, one in South Dakota and another in Ohio this fall.

Harris says the possibility remains that some conference members may not be able to host a game.

Harris says it is a discussion that is going on in every conference right now.

The high school softball and baseball season gets underway on Monday around the state and like a lot of teams the Atlantic softball team is fired up for games to start. Atlantic Head Coach Terry Hinzmann said the team has been a lot of fun in practice with the excitement for a season that was uncertain during the pandemic. A lot of protocols have been put in place to follow for practice and games but Coach Hinzmann said that part has been going well.

Atlantic is coming off another strong season with a 27-9 record, but the year ended with some disappointing losses including in the opening round of the postseason. Coach Hinzmann said the team has certainly been motivated by the end to last year but he thinks more of the enthusiasm has come from just being able to compete.

The Trojans will be replacing a couple of stellar seniors from last year in shortstop Bailey Newell and right fielder Karsyn Rush but a lot of varsity experience returns as well. 6 starting sophomores and 2 junior starters are back for another season. Coach Hinzmann said they will need to have a mixture of power and speed to have success this year but ultimately it comes down to strong defense and the returning pitching staff.

The Trojans open up on the road Monday at Lewis Central. They will then play a varsity doubleheader on Tuesday to open the home slate against Denison-Schleswig. We will have that Tuesday double-dip on KJAN. The Trojans are playing their home games at the Atlantic Little League Complex this year due to construction on their traditional home field.

DYERSVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Major League Baseball is building a field a few hundred yards down a corn-lined path from the famous movie site for “Field of Dreams” in eastern Iowa. Unlike the original, it’s unclear whether teams will show up for a game this time as the league struggles during a coronavirus-shortened season. Those who live near the Field of Dreams say the country could use a boost like seeing the scheduled Aug. 13 game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox.