Meet Max Martin, a freshman sensation on the Ames baseball team

Max Martin managed to show the inexperience of a freshman and a high baseball IQ on the same play during Ames' 8-2 non-conference victory over Boone last week.

During the bottom of the fourth inning, Martin reached base on a single, but he made a base-running mistake on a steal attempt. Boone pitcher Reid Carr executed a pickoff attempt at first, and Martin was caught in a rundown between in what looked like a sure third out to end the inning.

“I didn’t expect them to throw it first,” Martin said. “I just ran for my life at that point.”

Instead of it leading to the final out, Martin evaded Boone's attempt to tag him and slid in safely to second base as part of a four-run inning that put Ames in firm control.

“I was like thank God,” said Ames coach Nick Steenhagen. “He got caught a little bit, but he worked it out and kept grinding.”

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Martin has been playing baseball since he was a little kid, but he did not expect to immediately move up to varsity as a freshman on a team that reached last year's Class 4A state championship game. But Ames struggled out of the gate in 2024, going 2-9 in its first 11 games.

That slow start forced Steenhagen to tinker with his lineup.

“It’s one of those things where we just kind of figured it out,” Steenhagen said. “He actually started on JV. We weren’t sure where he was going to fit.”

Martin quickly asserted himself at the plate.

Through the Boone game, Martin is leading Ames with a .400 batting average in 45 at-bats. Martin has three doubles and eight runs, and he is tied with Logan Bjerke for the team lead in RBIs with 14.

“He’s been raking it,” said Ames all-state pitcher and Iowa signee Carter Geffre. “He’s, statistically, the best hitter on our team.”

Martin was 2-for-4 against Boone. His two-run single in the bottom of the third inning put Ames up, 3-2, and the Little Cyclones maintained the lead the rest of the way.

Martin said he was a little nervous entering his first varsity season. But he has been fearless swinging the bat.

“I’m just trying to put the ball in play,” Martin said. “Get the boys rolling.”

Without much experience against top-level varsity pitchers, Martin's strategy has been simple.

“Look for the fastball,” Martin said. “Just get us around the bases.”

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Steenhagen said Martin's inexperience has actually played to his advantage on offense.

“I don’t think he has got a care in the world right now," Steenhagen said. "I think he’s going out and having fun doing what he does. He seems to not let the moment get too big.”

Defense is where Martin's inexperience has shown the most.

Martin has taken over at the hot corner after last year's third baseman, Charles Tucker, moved to shortstop. Martin got away with a wild throw to first against Boone on a great catch by Ames first baseman Jameson Webber. So far this season, he has six errors on the season.

“If he makes an error I get on his butt at first, but then try to help him through it,” Tucker said. “Kind of him showing him the way. I learned a lot from the seniors last year, and now it just feels nice that I can pass it along to him.”

Tucker said if Webber can settle down a bit on his throws, he will be in good shape.

“Sometimes he’s having trouble making it to first base," Tucker said. "Other than that, he’s seeing the ball well hitting-wise and fielding-wise.”

The win over Boone was the seventh in a row for Ames and it put the Little Cyclones at 9-9 on the season.

If Martin can continue improving in the field and remain hot at the plate, Ames has a good chance to keep going in the right direction. After last year's magical run to the 4A state championship game, Martin said he wants a little taste of that himself.

“Keep hitting the ball, put it in play and move my boys around," Martin said. "My goal is to make it to the state championship and win it this year.”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Freshman Max Martin has made a big impact on the Ames baseball team