This story is sponsored by: Sternweis & Sons
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
Stratford sophomore infielder Jack Tubbs was named Player of the Year and was one of three Tigers named to the first team of the 2023 All-Marawood Conference South Division Baseball Team, as voted on by the six conference coaches following the regular season.
Tubbs hit a conference-best .515 (34-for-66) with two home runs, 16 RBI, 16 stolen bases, nine doubles and 30 runs scored.
All 10 players named to the first team were unanimous selections, including Tubbs, Henry Zaleski and Brady Schmidt of Stratford, and Blake Raab and Caden Weinfurter of Auburndale.
Zaleski went 5-0 pitching with a 1.65 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 34 innings, while also batting .286 with 10 RBI. Schmidt was 5-1 on the mound with a 1.95 ERA, a save and 61 strikeouts in 43 innings, and hit .242 with 14 RBI.
Raab was Auburndale’s top pitcher, going 6-2 with a 1.24 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. He also hit .395 (30-for-76) with 19 RBI and 29 runs scored. Weinfurter batted .390 (30-for-77) with 28 RBI and 17 runs scored, and also went 1-0 on the mound with 21 strikeouts in 23 innings.
Wisconsin Rapids Assumption’s Nick Leberg, Edgar’s Jase Apfelbeck, Marathon’s Grant Warren and Tyler Underwood, and Wausau Newman Catholic’s Tyler Ackerman were also named to the first team. Leberg was the only senior of the group.
Ian Brown and Aden Cherney of Auburndale, and Jackson Ormond and Braeden Schueller of Stratford were among the second-team choices.
Marathon’s Steve Warren was named Coach of the Year as the Raiders won their first Marawood South title since 2018.
2023 All-Marawood Conference South Division Baseball Team
(*denotes unanimous selection)
First team: *Nick Leberg, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; *Blake Raab, so., Auburndale; *Caden Weinfurter, jr., Auburndale; *Jase Apfelbeck, so., Edgar; *Grant Warren, jr., Marathon; *Tyler Underwood, jr., Marathon; *Tyler Ackerman, so., Wausau Newman Catholic; *Brady Schmidt, jr., Stratford; *Henry Zaleski, jr., Stratford; *Jack Tubbs, so., Stratford.
Second team: Ryan Shaw, sr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Ian Brown, sr., Auburndale; Aden Cherney, jr., Auburndale; Lucas Stahnke, fr., Edgar; Leyton Schuett, so., Edgar; Cooper Hoeksema, jr., Marathon; Daniel LaQua, sr., Marathon; Eli Gustafson, Wausau Newman Catholic; Jackson Ormond, sr., Stratford; Braeden Schueller, sr., Stratford.
Honorable mention: Nolan Hartman, jr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Walker Livernash, fr., Wisconsin Rapids Assumption; Kaden Anderson, jr., Auburndale; Sloan Welch, sr., Auburndale; Justin Davis, sr., Edgar; Keghan Hartway, sr., Edgar; Pierson Hamann, sr., Marathon; True Thurs, fr., Marathon; Carson Rice, so., Wausau Newman Catholic; Jackson Varline, sr., Wausau Newman Catholic; John Seitz III, sr., Stratford; Vance Kielman, so., Stratford.
Player of the Year: Jack Tubbs, Stratford.
Coach of the Year: Steve Warren, Marathon.