Tribune Notebook: Two Cards honored by Central Lakes Conference
May 7—WILLMAR — Willmar junior Grace Etterman earned Central Lakes Conference Performer-of-the-Week honors for a couple of big hitting games on the softball diamond.
Etterman batted .667, going 4 of 6, with two doubles, a run and an RBI in two games last week for the Cardinals.
Meanwhile, Willmar's Dylan Staska was the CLC Performer of the Week for April 29. The senior baseball player batted .500, going 5-for-10 with three doubles, three runs, five RBIs and a stolen base. He also pitched seven innings, striking out six.
Former Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg star Isaac Call has been named the MIAC Baseball Player of the week. Call, a junior outfielder for Bethel University, led the Royals to a 4-1 record by batting .588 with a 1.118 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage.
Call went 11-for-17 with three doubles and two homers, scoring six runs and driving in six more. Against St. Scholastica, Call went 5-for-8 with a home run, three runs and three RBIs. And, against the University of Wisconsin-Stout, he was 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and two runs scored and three RBIs.
Bethel wrapped up the regular season with a 13-7 record in the MIAC and is 22-14 overall. The Royals play St. John's University in the opening round of the MIAC playoffs at 7 p.m. Thursday at CHS Field in St. Paul. Call, who is also a defensive starter for the Royals in football, has played 15 games with four home runs, five doubles and a triple this season in baseball. He has 16 runs and 19 RBIs with a .417 batting average and .813 OPS.
Nine area children have been honored by the Willmar Stingers and Coordinated Business Systems as community all-stars.
"The award was created to reward youth for being leaders in their community and provide them with a once-in-a-lifetime Stingers experience," according to the team.
Students between the ages of 8-14 were asked to submit answers to three questions focusing on their community and how they make a positive impact.
According to the team, the nine winners were selected from more than 250 applicants based on their experiences and answers.
The nine will be honored by the Stingers on Monday, July 15 at Bill Taunton Stadium before the Stingers' 6:35 p.m. game with the Mankato MoonDogs.
The nine are: Amelia Kowal, age 8 of Benson; Harper Wander, age 9 of Sauk Centre; Connor Anderson, age 9 of Renville; Lane Coulter, age 10 of Montevideo; Lily Kallevig, age 11 of Kandiyohi; Elijah Borstad, age 11 of Willmar; Tristan Gaffaney, age 11 of Willmar; Reid Morrison, age 11 of Murdock; and Jackson Jenks, age 11 of Brooten.
All nine receive official Stingers jerseys, their own baseball card, and will be introduced as official members of the team. They'll throw out the first pitch and get to take batting and infield/outfield practice with the team, among other activities.
Former Willmar Stinger Kyle Manzardo has been called up by the Cleveland Guardians. He's a power-hitting first baseman and considered a top prospect in the Cleveland system. He was batting .303 with a .375 on-base percentage and .642 slugging percentage for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. He has 10 doubles, nine home runs and 20 RBIs with 15 walks in 128 plate appearances with the Clippers.
