Mustangs break six school records in 2017 baseball campaign
Jacob Lamoreux finished his baseball career as Morningside’s all-time leader in four offensive categories.
Morningside broke six school records during the 2017 baseball season.
Jacob Lamoreux, a senior outfielder from Le Mars, Iowa, was at the center of the record-breaking performances. Lamoreux, the 2017 Hauff Mid-America Sports/Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Player of the Year, finished as Morningside’s all-time career leader with 311 hits, 53 doubles, 230 runs scored and 804 at-bats. Lamoreux, who was already the Mustangs’ all-time hit leader entering the campaign, compiled a .387 career batting average and struck out only 52 times in his 804 at-bats. He broke the former Morningside career standards of 52 doubles by Jared Noteboom and 209 runs by Bret Hoch, who both played from 2007-10, and 628 at-bats by A.J. Staiert from 2011-14.
Lamoreux collected a team-high 73 at-bats in 191 at-bats for a .382 batting average this past season for his third Mustang batting title in the last four years. He had 12 doubles, a team-high three triples, six home runs, 44 RBIs, nine stolen bases and a team-high 59 runs scored. Lamoreux topped the team with 23 multiple hit games, including 11 3-hit performances, and was the Mustangs’ best contact hitter with only 10 strikeouts in 191 at-bats. His 73 hits was the seventh highest single-season total in Morningside history and his 59 runs scored ranked eighth in the Mustangs’ record book.
Nathan DeChaine, a junior third baseman from Brainerd, Minn., was also a Morningside record breaker. DeChaine, who batted .493 with runners in scoring position, topped the team with 66 RBIs to become Morningside’s all-time leader with 163 career RBIs to break Noteboom’s former record of 155 career RBIs. With 33 career home runs, DeChaine is also on pace to eclipse Noteboom’s Morningside standard of 36 career home runs.
Aside from leading the Mustangs in RBIs during the 2017 season, DeChaine also paced the team with 15 home runs and a .646 slugging percentage to go along with a .354 batting average, 10 doubles and one triple. His 15 home runs and 66 RBIs were the fourth highest single-season totals in Morningside history. He collected 69 hits for the 10th highest total in the Mustangs’ annals.
Morningside broke a team single-season record with 250 walks to break its former record of 234 walks by its 2005 and 2016 teams.
Nolan Hoff, a senior infielder from Walnut, Calif., played a pivotal role in helping the Mustangs break their base on balls record. Hoff walked 40 times for the second highest single-season total in Morningside history. He was the Mustangs’ fifth leading hitter with a .349 batting average and one of the team’s top run producers with 49 runs scored and 36 RBIs. Hoff had the Mustangs’ longest hitting streak of the season when he collected a hit in 17 consecutive games from April 2 to May 4.
Blake Rogers, a senior catcher from Reading, Minn., led the Mustangs with 17 doubles and a .478 on-base percentage and ranked second on the team with a .365 batting average, 69 hits, 11 home runs, 47 RBIs, 34 walks and a .630 slugging percentage. Rogers put together one of the most productive offensive seasons in Morningside history. His 34 walks was the sixth highest total in school history, while his 11 home runs ranked seventh, his 17 doubles eighth and his 69 hits 10th.
Lucas Henning, a senior pitcher from Worthington, Minn., was the top winner on the Mustangs’ staff with an 8-3 record and also led the starting pitchers in earned run average with a 3.72 mark. Henning had a team-high 75 strikeouts and two shutouts and was the workhorse of the Mustangs’ staff with team-high totals of 72.2 innings pitched and four complete games. He finished one victory shy of a school record with his eight wins. His 72.2 innings and 75 strikeouts ranked fifth and ninth, respectively, among the Mustangs’ all-time single-season bests.
Jordan Barr, a junior pitcher from South Sioux City, Neb., fashioned a 3-1 record with a team-high eight saves and 23 appearances as the Mustangs’ closer. Barr’s eight saves was the fifth highest total in Morningside history. Barr led the Mustangs with a 2.59 earned run average and allowed only 15 hits in 24.1 innings pitched while holding the opposition to a paltry .181 batting average.
Richard Mitchell, a junior pitcher from Bakersfield, Calif., pitched 68.2 innings for the 10th highest total in the Morningside record book. Mitchell went 6-3 with a 3.80 earned run average to raise his career record to 18-4 to move within striking distance of the Mustangs’ career record of 24 wins set by Heath Horsley from 2004-07.
Cody Selig, a junior pitcher from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, also moved closer to Horsley’s Morningside victory record. Selig went 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA in an injury-shortened season to put his career mark at 18-5.
Morningside posted a 35-22 record during the 2017 season for its fourth consecutive winning season and third straight campaign with at least 35 victories. The Mustangs finished second in the GPAC standings with an 18-10 league mark.
Read more:
All News