GRANGER — The final honors of the 2017 prep baseball season have been awarded, and Woodward-Granger seniors Matt Rhodes and Spencer Hanson were two of the worthy recipients.
Both were named to the Class 2A All-State First Team by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association after helping lead the Hawks to a 29-7 season, a campaign that began with 25 consecutive wins.
“These guys taught our program how to have fun,” W-G head coach Eric Evans said of the two standouts. “They were both loose the whole time, and no situation was too big for them. They played hard, but they had fun, too, and made sure the other guys did as well.”
Rhodes was selected as a third baseman, but played all nine positions throughout the season, leading Evans to dub him “our defensive MVP.”
He set a new school record for RBIs in a season with 49, which tied two Beckman Catholic players — each of whom had more than 25 more at-bats than Rhodes — for second-best in 2A. He was 45-of-102 (.441) at the plate, belting 11 doubles and scoring 37 runs while stealing 19-of-20 bases.
Hanson was a utility choice. His 10-1 record set a new school mark for victories in a season and came with a 1.06 ERA. He walked 15 batters and struck out 70 in 66 innings while allowing the opposition to hit just .177.
Hanson had 44 hits in 98 at-bats for a .449 average, and his seven doubles, four triples and two home runs generated a .663 slugging percentage. He drew 20 walks for a .543 on-base percentage and was successful on all 13 steal attempts while scoring 36 runs and driving in 38.
Rhodes will continue his baseball career at William Penn, with Hanson to join Perry’s Kyle Nevitt and Janier Puente at DMACC.
