EHS' Zack Lee Named Player of Year, Justin Fleener Coach of Year

Effingham High School's Zack Lee was named the Decatur Herald & Review Player of the Year while Teutopolis High School's Justin Fleener earned Coach of the Year honors.

Lee, a senior, finished out his EHS career with an 0.35 ERA in 59.1 innings with 102 strikeouts. He led the Hearts to their first sectional championship in 42 years.

Lee will pitch for the University of Kentucky next season and would have gone in the Major League Baseball draft. He finished the Hearts season with a 9-1 record. He struck out 102 batters in 59.1 innings.

Fleener led the Wooden Shoes to the Class 2A state championship for the fourth time in his tenure at Teutopolis. He was named Coach of the Year by the Herald & Review in 2017.

Earning First Team honors along with Lee were his teammate Brayton Poland, a senior utility player. Poland was the Hearts' leading hitter with a.434 average. He had a .524 on-base percentage and a .656 slugging percent. He finished with 33 RBI.

T-town's Dawson Smith, a senior infielder, Clint Weber, a senior infielder, and Mitch Hemmen, a junior pitcher, also made the First Team. Smith was the Shoes' shortstop and finished with a .385 average. He also aided the Shoes on the mound and went 7-1 with a 1.04 ERA.

Weber hit .361 with five home runs and drove in 37 runs. He played third base and also went 5-0 on the mound with a 1.36 ERA.

Hemmen led the Shoes on the mound with an 8-0 record and a 1.25 ERA. He hit .330 with five home runs and 32 RBI.

Cumberland's Brennyn Cutts was named on the infield. The sophomore hit .459 with six home runs and 32 RBI. He also led the team on the mound with a 0.63 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

Harmon Clifton, utility player from North Clay, was named First Team. He hit .448 with a .582 slugging percentage and a .602 on-base percentage.

Other First Team members were Logan Tabeling, a  junior from Tuscola, Ben Fricke, a senior from Mount Pulaski, Drew Martin a sophomore from Mount Pulaski, Cade Kresin, a senior from Tuscola and Kade Lassen, a junior from Robinson.

Named to the Second Team were two Effingham St. Anthony players, Colin Koester, a senior infielder/pitcher and Blake Niebrugge, a senior outfielder/pitcher. Koester hit .407 with a.490 on-base percentage. He had 18 RBI, scored 31 runs and had 13 stolen bases. He was 3-3 on the mound. Niebrugge hit .432 with 37 RBI and five home runs. He had 14 stolen bases. He went 4-0 on the mound with a 0.71 ERA.

Also named were T-town's Trenton Schwerdt, a junior, and Mitch Hardiek, also a junior. Schwerdt hit .327 with six doubles and three home runs. He had a 1.21 ERA pitching and 49 strikeouts in 40.1 innings.  Hardiek hit .352 with 29 RBI. He also had a 1.60 ERA on the mound.

Altamont's Jacob Hammer was named outfield/pitcher. The senior hit .396 with a .443 on-base percent  age and a .667 slugging percentage.

Other Second Team members were Hayden Birdsong, senior from Mattoon; Brayden VonLanken, a senior from Tuscola; Jake Wilson, a senior from Charleston; Brock Smith, a senior from Mattoon; Logan Peterson, a senior from Clinton and Lucas Otto, a junior from Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

Third Team honors went to Cooper Jackson (utility, Effingham), Jacob Robbins (senior infielder, Altamont), Justin Brown (senior catcher, Cumberland), Brayson Shew (sophomore infielder, Cumberland), Nate Philpot (senior utility, St. Elmo/Brownstown), Luke Ungrund (junior utility, Teutopolis), Logan DeRight (senior pitcher, Mount Pulaski), Lucas Kresin (junior pitcher, Tuscola), Sam Hagerman (senior infielder, Shelbyville), Keagan Bradley (senior outfielder, Charleston) and Alek Bundy (senior utility, Monticello).

Honorable Mention from the area went to: Kendall Ballman (Effingham), Connor Bierman (Newton), Nick Bishop (Effingham), Luke Fleener (North Clay, Louisville), Chase Galloway (Newton), Dylan Guy (Effingham St. Anthony), Zach Stark (Newton) and Noah Teasley (Altamont).