As voted on by the Northwest Conference baseball coaches, the All-NWC 1st and 2nd Teams were released on Tuesday morning. Sedro Woolley won the Northwest Conference, and was led by Rob Davie who was named Coach of the Year. Anacortes senior short stop/pitcher Ty Saunders was named the Most Valuable Player and Sehome sophomore Jacob Kaepernick was named Pitcher of the Year.
ALL-NORTHWEST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
JACOB KAEPERNICK – SEHOME – SOPHOMORE – PITCHER
The Sehome southpaw was named pitcher of the year in the Northwest Conference, and rightly so. He pitched in every important game in the conference, and usually came out on top. He finished the season with a 9-3 record and a minuscule 0.67 ERA. He also struck out 73 batters, while only walking 10 batters in 72 and 2/3 innings. Incredible fast worker that consistently throws strikes.
CHASE ABSHERE – BLAINE – SENIOR – THIRD BASE
Perhaps the most feared hitter in Whatcom County. Batted .361 with a county-high 4 triples. Great gap hitter with plus speed. His .557 slugging percentage was near the top of the league. Played all over the field, including third base, outfield and even catcher. A fixture in the Borderite lineup for the last four years.
BRENDAN KLEINDEL – LYNDEN – SENIOR – SHORT STOP
He hits the ball like he hits opposing wide receivers on the football field. Awesome all-around player with speed (22 stolen bases), power (.438 slugging percentage) and defense. A major threat at the top of the Lion lineup. Became a master at stealing home. His 33 runs scored led Whatcom County.
JACK DOOLITTLE – LYNDEN – SENIOR – LEFT FIELD
Tied for the county lead with a pair of home runs. Possesses a picture perfect swing. An extra-base hitting machine. Also walked 18 times. Smacked six doubles and knocked in 19 runs. Led the Lions with a .390 batting average, and he led the entire county with a .627 slugging percentage.
KALEB BASS – MOUNT BAKER – SENIOR – INFIELD
The heart and soul of the Mountaineers. A huge reason for the resurgence of the Mount Baker baseball program. His .483 batting average led Whatcom County. Also scored 22 runs, hit six doubles and had 20 runs batted in. Hurt his arm halfway through the season, and had to be moved from short to second base. Finished the season back at short stop. Also pitched 17 innings and struck out 23 batters, finishing with a 3.71 ERA.
TREVOR SEAHOLM – SEHOME – SENIOR – SHORT STOP
The catalyst for the Mariners that finished fourth in the state. Incredibly led his team in walks (22) and hits (31). His 31 hits led Whatcom County. Great bat control and tends to drive the ball through the middle. A master on defense. Takes control of the Sehome infield. Also stole 19 bases and scored 23 runs. Batted .348 and was Whatcom County’s top closer with six saves and a 1.19 ERA.
BEN WALLEN – BLAINE – SENIOR – SHORT STOP/FIRST BASE
Provided great protection in the lineup behind Abshere. Flirted with a .500 average for much of the season. Ended up batting a team-high .365. Drives the ball well, and picked up 16 runs batted in. Struck out just seven times in 72 plate appearances. Moved from short to first halfway through the season to help his team out. Also went 4-1 on the mound in 25 innings with a 1.68 ERA. He also struck out 31 batters and walked just seven.
ALL-NORTHWEST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
CARTER PARCHER – LYNDEN – SENIOR – CATCHER
Tremendous two-way player. Awesome clutch hitter that tied for the Whatcom County lead with 24 runs batted in. Also hit his third home run in the last two years. Batted .333 and struck out just eight times. Has a big-time arm behind the plate, and used it often. Also stole 10 bases to show all of his skills.
SHALE WHITTERN – LYNDEN CHRISTIAN – SOPHOMORE – THIRD BASE
One of the best contact hitters I’ve seen in a while. Rarely swings and misses. Doesn’t walk (4) or strike out (6) very often, he wants to put the bat on the ball. Batted .439 on the season. He also tied Kleindel with a Whatcom County leading 22 stolen bases. Scored 18 runs and hit seven doubles. Could be a possible Conference MVP in the years to come.
KOBE SANDSTROM – FERNDALE – SOPHOMORE – CATCHER/THIRD BASE
A baseball junkie. An extremely hard worker, and it shows on the field. Does all the little things to help his team win. Batted third all season, and led Whatcom County with 23 walks. Had an amazing .556 on-base percentage. Struck out just eight times in 81 plate appearances. Knocked in 17 runs and batted .345. Had amazing control on the mound as well, walking just two batters in 24 and 2/3 innings pitched.
BRYAN EBE – FERNDALE – SENIOR – SHORT STOP
An amazing leader. One of those most respected athletes around the county. Batted .328 and was hit by a pitch 11 times. Extreme toughness. Played great at short stop, and he will get to continue his baseball career at Lower Columbia College next season. Scored 16 runs and knocked in 13 more.
LUKAS DELISLE – SEHOME – SENIOR – CATCHER
Missed all of the 2018 season, and didn’t disappoint in 2019. A fiery competitor that always gives 100% effort. Batted .289 on the season, with six doubles, 16 runs batted in and 20 runs scored. Not opposed to laying down a sacrifice bunt. Amazing quickness out of his crouch behind home plate to nail opposing base runners.
CONNOR WHITE – LYNDEN – SOPHOMORE – CENTER FIELD
One of the many talented sophomores in Whatcom County. Can run down anything in center field. Batted .288 with 15 runs scored and 12 runs batted in. Also walked 14 times, which put his on-base percentage at .447. He should be an even bigger contributor near the top of the Lion lineup for the next two seasons.
*Non-Whatcom County players that were also named were:
1st Team:
Ty Saunders, Anacortes
Isaiah Shetler, Burlington-Edison
Axel Wilhonen, Burlington-Edison
Michael Hall, Sedro Woolley
Tyler Goss, Sedro Woolley
2nd Team:
Ryan Rubalcava, Anacortes
Carter Trammell, Sedro Woolley
Alex Thurmond, Burlington-Edison
Cody Buchanan, Sedro Woolley
Alex Hulst, Sedro Woolley
What a terrific honor to the ones that deserve it . Wonder who makes the decision.
The NWC coaches get together to vote on this.
Where’s carson peters? #rigged
Carson Peters hits 439 on the season and doesn’t make the team? #bs
How is Carson Peters not on here? #Rigged
I have been following whatcom Preps since baseball started. I think this is a political thing. Surprised you would get picked for most walks. Is that a honor or political or money changing hands.
Thank you for following the page. Again, I had no say in picking these teams. They were chosen by the coaches, I’m just publishing the story.
Dear Lori – if you are implying that someone is purchasing their kids place on an all=league team then you need to really take a look at your motivation. Did your kid not make it? There were many deserving kids that are ON the team and many that are NOT on the team. The coaches can only pick so many kids. For you to take pot shots at kids who did make it and downplay their accomplishments is completely uncalled for. To focus on one individual statistic and not look at the complete body of work shows you might not understand baseball as much as you think. I agree that you should go to bat for “your” favorite player but to try and sour the accomplishments and performance of another player is just wrong. Knowing who the player is that you are taking shots at and knowing that he could really care less if he received any recognition makes this much easier to type up. I can ask him, but I’m pretty sure he would be happy to give “your” player all his trophies and awards if it will make you feel better. Want them?
Having the most walks can be an honor as that would imply that the player had respect from opposing teams which in turn didn’t want to throw him a strike as he was a good hitter.. coaches understand and that’s why they get to vote..(no I’m not one of the coaches and no I didn’t vote)
Lynden is by far the most well rounded team this year. I am a baseball fan and went to see all the teams play and from what I saw was Lynden was the best team in the league. When Sedro was undefeated and the #1 team in the state Lynden played them and beat them 11-0 and ended the game in the 5th. This shows their motivation and what this powerful team can do. Lynden also got invited to top 8 teams in the state tournament at the beginning of the year and they beat Ellensburg (previous 2 yr state champion team) 10-0.