Owen Siegert

Owen Siegert had a season that set him apart from the rest The release of the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association’s All-State Teams validated it.

The West Marshall senior left-hander was named to the IHSBCA’s All-State Super Team, becoming the first area baseball player to do so since 2009. Siegert led the Trojans to a 34-3 season that included an undefeated Heart of Iowa Conference championship, a No. 1 ranking in Class 2A and a trip to the substate finals.

Siegert was joined on the All-State teams by fellow Trojan senior Grayson Shaver, who earned 2A third-team honors after a sterling season that was cut short at the end of the summer by a knee injury. Grundy Center senior Tate Jirovsky was named First Team Academic All-State as well.

Over the first weekend in August, Siegert was named the Most Valuable Player on his Small Schools East team during the IHSBCA All-Star Series in Pella, and in Thursday’s release of the All-State teams, Siegert’s name was among the elite.

Siegert was voted as a member of the 16-player All-State Super Team, becoming the first Marshalltown-area prep since Marshalltown’s T.J. Flanagan in 2009 to achieve the honor. He was also voted the captain of the 2A All-State team.

Siegert, who committed to South Dakota State before his junior season at West Marshall, is ranked the fourth-best outfielder and the 26th-best overall prospect in the state by Perfect Game.

Siegert’s senior season included a number of superlative statistics. He led all of 2A with 57 runs scored and was second with 43 stolen bases. He ranked fifth with 29 walks and was 14th with only five strikeouts. Siegert ranked fifth with 49 hits, seventh with 13 doubles and fifth with 74 total bases.

On the mound, Siegert led the entire state with a 0.52 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), ranked 11th in runs allowed (4) and 17th with 99 strikeouts.

Both Siegert and Shaver tied for the team lead with eight wins on the mound, ranking them sixth in 2A and 24th in the state.

Siegert finished with a 0.41 earned run average, good for fourth in 2A and eighth in the state. Opposing hitters batted just .099 against him in his 51 2/3 innings pitched.

Shaver was 8-1 on the mound with a 1.69 ERA, striking out 66 while walking 11 in 54 innings. Opposing hitters batted just .183 against him.

Jirovsky was Grundy Center’s ace on the mound until his senior season was derailed by an injury. He went 8-0 on the mound with a 0.71 ERA, striking out 65 while walking only eight over 39 2/3 innings pitched.

Jirovsky, who repeated as the NICL West Division’s Player of the Year, was Grundy Center’s second-leading hitter as well with a .390 batting average. He hit seven doubles, drove in 12 runs and scored 20 times for the Spartans.

He was one of 23 players honored with First Team Academic All-State selection.