JOE SANTORO
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 6/11/2006
The Reno Huskies and McQueen Lancers baseball teams led the Northern 4A Region in the regular season and have done the same on the Reno Gazette-Journal/Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Class 4A All-State Baseball Team.
McQueen, which won the High Desert League regular season title, and Reno, which won the Sierra League, combined to place 14 players (seven each) on this year’s 60-member All-State team.
The two second-place teams — Galena in the High Desert and Carson in the Sierra — each placed three players on the All-State teams. Galena won the Northern Regional tournament and won a game in the state tournament, and Carson was the only team in the North to beat either McQueen or Reno in a league game, beating Reno twice on the final weekend of the regular season.
Both McQueen and Reno put two players on the All-State First Team — McQueen infielders Brian Barnett and Luke Feiler and Reno infielder Davis Banks and pitcher Garrett Luippold.
Barnett was the most feared hitter in the Northern 4A this year with 19 homers, 66 RBIs and 69 runs. The shortstop also hit .471.
“The thing about Brian is he just kept pushing himself to improve all year,” McQueen coach Brian Nelson said. “He is never satisfied.”
Nelson said Arizona State is one of the schools that is already interested in the McQueen junior.
“The kid deserves all the attention he is getting,” Nelson said.
Feiler, another McQueen junior, hit .465 with six homers, 48 RBIs and 47 runs while playing mainly third base.
“He is really the jack of all trades,” Nelson said. “He’s played third, first, second and he’s pitched and caught for us. He hit cleanup behind Barney (Barnett) and did an outstanding job. A lot of times teams would walk (Barnett) to get to Luke, and Luke accepted the challenge and took advantage of it. Luke is a great kid who just loves the game of baseball.”
Banks, a senior, played shortstop and pitched for the Huskies. He led the Huskies with a .417 average and 12 home runs. He was second on the team with 39 RBIs. On the mound, he was 4-2 with a 4.25 ERA, striking out 28 in 28 innings.
Luippold was nearly unhittable this season. The junior was 10-0 with a 0.62 ERA. He fanned 82 in 562/3 innings (13 appearances) and allowed just 32 hits, 25 of them singles.
“He is obviously the best pitcher in the North this year,” Reed coach Jon Foss said last month. “He’s a Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine type. He spots the ball in and out and can locate all of his pitches.”
Luippold threw a shutout in four of his nine starts. He did not allow a single earned run in Sierra League play over 41 innings (66 strikeouts).
“When you do that, you have to be mentally and physically tough,” Reno coach Pete Savage said. “He always got the big out when he needed it.”
Reno put three players on the Second Team (infielder Alex Gardner, outfielder Trever Zaldain and utility player John Rice) and McQueen had two (outfielder Eric Chaump and pitcher Will Honjas).
Gardner, who played third base, was second on the Huskies with a .412 average. His 13 doubles were second and his 31 RBIs and 35 runs were third. Gardner led the team with 11 stolen bases.
Zaldain hit .398 and led the team with 41 runs. He also had 11 doubles and drove in 25 runs and stole 10 bases. Rice was one of the better hitters and pitchers in the Northern Region. The senior hit .367 with 13 doubles and a team-high 41 RBIs. He also was 7-1 on the mound with a 1.43 ERA, striking out 53 in 44 innings.
Chaump hit .357 for the Lancers with 33 RBIs and 35 runs. Honjas, who also hit .390 playing outfield when he wasn’t pitching, was 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA. He struck out 82 in just 57 innings and walked just 17.
“Will throws four pitches for strikes and really kept up that tradition of solid pitching at McQueen,” Nelson said.
The Third Team finds three McQueen players (catcher Jared Murphy, infielder Travis Reynolds and designated hitter Kyle Stewart) and two from Reno (infielder Tim Moore and utility player Mike Brown).
Murphy hit .375 with 46 RBIs and 32 runs, Reynolds hit .341 with 55 runs and 32 RBIs and Stewart hit .350 with 28 RBIs and 29 runs.
“This was (Murphy’s) first year as a catcher,” Nelson said. “The work ethic he put forth, making himself into a solid catcher, was phenomenal.”
Moore hit .384 for the Huskies with 27 runs and 27 RBIs while Brown hit .365 with 38 runs, 31 RBIs and a team-best 14 doubles.
Both Galena and Carson placed one player each on the First, Second and Third Team.
Carson’s All-State players are outfielder Tony Fagan (First Team), infielder Logan Parsley (Second Team) and outfielder Royal Good (Third Team). Fagan hit .412 and drove in 35 runs. He hit .433 in Sierra League play. Parsley hit .458 with five homers and Good hit .338 with 12 stolen bases.
Galena’s Tony Thompson (utility) was placed on the First Team, Jacob Anderson (pitcher) on the Second Team and Basim Azzam (catcher) on the Third Team.
Thompson was one of the best all-around players in the state. The third baseman hit .468 with 16 homers, 18 doubles and 53 RBIs. On the mound he was 7-3 with a 2.19 ERA, striking out 56 and walking just five.
“He was everything for us, both offensively and defensively,” Galena coach Gary McNamara said. “He was our No. 1 guy on the mound and our best hitter. And, what people don’t realize, is how good of a defensive third baseman he is.”
The 6-foot-4 Thompson saved his best for the regional tournament, hitting .526 (10-for-19) with five homers, 15 RBIs and 10 runs in just five games.
“It was the Tony Thompson talent display,” McNamara said.
Anderson, just a sophomore, was 9-0 this season with a 2.06 ERA, striking out 61 and walking just 17. Azzam hit .457 with 31 RBIs and 14 doubles.
“Basim had knee surgery last summer so we weren’t sure how much we were going to catch him,” McNamara said. “But he was great for us.”
Anderson also doubles as the Grizzlies starting quarterback in the fall. “He brings all of those qualities he has as a quarterback to the mound,” McNamara said. “He is very competitive and never quits out there.”
Reed put two players on the All-State team. Garrett Silva (utility) was named to the Second Team and Chris Garcia (Third Team) was picked on the Third Team. Silva hit .414 with 25 RBIs while Garcia was 5-3 with a 3.04 ERA. He struck out 53 in 35 innings.
North Valleys catcher Van Love was named to the First Team. The junior hit .414 (.462 in Sierra League play) with six homers, nine doubles and 23 RBIs. Love also stole seven bases, scored 21 runs and was hit by seven pitches. He also threw out 14-of-28 runners attempting to steal.
Douglas’ Ryan Laing, another junior, was also named to the First Team as a designated hitter. Laing, a former Spanish Springs player, hit .403 with 12 doubles, 11 homers and 41 RBIs.
Bishop Manogue’s Joe Wieland was named as one of the five First Team pitchers. Wieland, a sophomore, was 5-3 for the Miners with a 1.12 ERA. He struck out 43 in 56 2/3 innings and completed five games.
Damonte Ranch’s Matt Gardner, a shortstop and pitcher, was named to the Second Team as an infielder. Gardner led the Mustangs with a .411 average, 24 RBIs, 34 runs and 18 stolen bases.
Wooster infielder David Kuhfuss and Spanish Springs pitcher Kyle Smit were named to the Third Team. Kuhfuss hit .463 with eight stolen bases and 26 RBIs while Smit won three games and struck out 61 in 501/3 innings. The senior also had a 2.09 ERA.