Wildcats place seven on all-league team; Battle earns all-state honors

By Andy Brown
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Updated: June 6, 2023

The Louisburg baseball team earned seven spots on the All-Frontier League team, including second team selections Declan Battle, Cade Driskell and Corbin Hamman. Battle was also named second team all-state.

The Louisburg baseball team had a successful season that ended with a 13-8 record, which was its first winning season in more than decade.

Several Wildcats contributed to that success and the Frontier League coaches took notice.

Seven Wildcats were selected to the All-Frontier League team that was released last week, including three second team selections in Declan Battle, Cade Driskell and Corbin Hamman.

Danny Napier, Luke Schultz, Brody McGreer and Nathaniel Lamm were all named to the honorable mention team.

Along with his all-league honor, Battle was also named to the Class 4A all-state second team by the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches.

“I felt we were represented really well this year in the all-league voting,” Louisburg coach Kade Larson said. “Everyone in the league knew we had a great team and they were going to have to play well to beat us. There are a ton of great players throughout the league.”

Battle had a big season for the Wildcats as he took over the leadoff spot and put himself in a position to allow his teammates to knock him in. He led the team with a .429 average and tallied 30 hits.

Once he got on the base paths, Battle was dangerous as he scored 32 runs and had 17 stolen bases. He also played centerfield for Louisburg.

“Declan was an outstanding outfielder for us as well as leadoff hitter,” Larson said. “Teams knew he had the power for extra base hits and the speed to leg out infield singles. That’s a tough spot to be in on defense. He also was a menace on the base paths.”

Hamman was the Wildcats’ top starting pitcher and he kept his team in the game for most of his nine starts. He had a team-best 3.25 earned run average and also had three wins on the season.

He added 51 strikeouts to just 12 walks. At the plate, he batted .289 with 11 hits and 11 RBIs.

“Corbin had a great year for us on the mound,” Larson said. “He threw a ton of strikes all season long and that led to a lot of wins for us.”

As for Driskell, his senior season ended prematurely due to injury, but he made a big impact for the Wildcats while he was in there.

Driskell finished with a .372 average and had 16 hits and 13 runs driven in. He also added three doubles on the season, while playing first and third base for the Wildcats.

“Cade was another leader for our team all year,” Larson said. “He was a tough out every time he stepped up to the plate. It was a tough loss for us when he broke his arm. Even with that, he continued being a great leader for us.”

Napier caught all 21 games for the Wildcats this season behind the plate and he was one of the team’s top hitters in the process. The Louisburg freshman had a .322 average, and he had an OPS of 1.235.

The led the team with five home runs to go along with 30 RBIs. Napier also finished with seven doubles and a triple.

“Danny was awesome behind the plate for us this year,” Larson said. “He was great at calling games and held runners in check all season long. He also swung it pretty well, which helped us a ton.”

Schultz was the team’s starting shortstop for most of the season, and also played third base. He swung the bat well with a .368 average, 25 hits, three doubles, three triples, a home run and 16 RBIs.

“Luke was another big bat for us in the lineup,” Larson said. “He did a great job of getting on base and moving runners when needed.”

McGreer shifted between shortstop and second base this season and the Louisburg junior was solid up the middle with just four errors on the year and a .902 fielding percentage.

He also tallied 15 hits on the year and scored 16 runs to go along with a .288 average.

“Brody played really well for us all season,” Larson said. “He was a steady bat in the lineup and you always knew he was going to make the play in the field when it mattered. He did a great job at second base and shortstop for us all season long.”

Lamm also found a lot of success at the plate for the Wildcats. He was second on the team with a .422 average and had 19 hits and 15 RBIs.

“Lamm was a kid that worked hard all season and it paid off in some big situations,” Larson said. “He was always on base, and drove in some key runs for us down the stretch.”

ALL-FRONTIER LEAGUE BASEBALL

FIRST TEAM

CATCHER: Logan Wake, senior, Tonganoxie

PITCHER: Trevor McGraw, junior, Tonganoxie; Donovan Johnson, senior, Spring Hill

INFIELD: Trevor McGraw, junior, Tonganoxie, Eden Myers, sophomore, Bonner Springs; Hunter Loethen, sophomore, Paola; Brett Davidson, sophomore, Baldwin

OUTFIELD: Caden Campbell, junior, Bonner Springs; Kaden Kerr, junior, Eudora; Boston Bloomer, sophomore, Ottawa

DH/UTILITY: Jagger Dey, sophomore, Baldwin

SECOND TEAM

CATCHER: Brandon Richardson, senior, Spring Hill

PITCHER: Corbin Hamman, senior, Louisburg; Owen Blaine, junior, Ottawa; Keaton Matlick, senior, Paola

INFIELD: Carter Hepner, sophomore, Ottawa; Cade Driskell, senior, Louisburg; Kale Murdock, senior, Paola; Keaton Neal, freshman, Spring Hill

OUTFIELD: Declan Battle, junior, Louisburg; Cade Johnson, senior, Spring Hill; Xander Meinig, sophomore, Paola

DH/UTILITY: Keaton Neal, freshman, Spring Hill

HONORABLE MENTION

CATCHER: Brandon Reynolds, junior, Ottawa; Kolby Wheeler, senior, Paola; Danny Napier, freshman, Louisburg

PITCHER: Luke Kessinger, junior, Tonganoxie; Holden Fields, senior, Spring Hill; TJ Kerns, junior, Ottawa; Logan Morton, senior, Ottawa; Kelton Ford, junior, Eudora; Hunter Loethen, sophomore, Paola; Dane Warmuskerken, senior, Baldwin

INFIELD: Talon Langford, sophomore, Tonganoxie; Jake Titus, senior, Ottawa; Keegan Rimmer, junior, Ottawa; Wyatt Caldwell, senior, Bonner Springs; Liam Prentice, senior, Bonner Springs; JD Troutman, sophomore, Paola; Luke Schultz, sophomore, Louisburg; Brody McGreer, junior, Louisburg

OUTFIELD: Brendan Briley, junior, Tonganoxie; Aidan Michel, senior, Ottawa; Eli Gerken, senior, Paola; Shamus Sawyer, senior, Baldwin; Nathaniel Lamm, junior, Louisburg