Burlin, Smith, Reis named to All-IIAC baseball team
INDIANOLA, Iowa – Simpson put three players on the All-Iowa Conference Baseball Team for their performance during the 2016 season, as voted on by the league's coaches.
Right fielder Austin Burlin landed a spot on the first team following a career season while catcher Bud Smith and pitcher/infielder Gage Reis earned second team honors.
Buena Vista senior Neil Marshall earned Position Player of the Year honors while Luther hurler Nate Beckman was the Pitcher of the Year. Head coach of IIAC Champion Wartburg, Joel Holst was the Coach of the Year.
2016 All-Iowa Conference Baseball Team
Burlin, a senior from Chariton, Iowa, hit .383 with six home runs and 32 RBIs, all team-highs. He tied a school record with 18 doubles and enjoyed a 25-game hitting streak to start the season, a mark that totaled 30 games dating back to the 2015 season. A career .283 hitter going into the season, Burlin flirted with becoming Simpson's first .400 hitter since 2010.
Smith, a senior from Runnells, Iowa, hit .336 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 31 RBIs. An iron man behind the plate, Smith made 126 consecutive starts at catcher, starting every game for the Storm since 2014. Smith saved his best performance for last, going 5-for-6 with five RBIs against Luther in the first game of the Iowa Conference Tournament before hitting two home runs and driving in five in a win over Dubuque.
Reis, a senior from Coon Rapids, Iowa, hit .283 with nine doubles, four home runs and 23 RBIs while going 2-5 with a 5.72 ERA on the mound. Reis played four different positions for the Storm in 2016: shortstop, first base, designated hitter and pitcher. Reis played in more than 110 games throughout his career, hitting .295 with 21 doubles at the plate while going 12-14 on the mound with a 4.89 ERA.
Simpson went 14-29 under 10th-year head coach Ben Blake in the 2016, finishing sixth in the Iowa Conference standings. The Storm returned to the Iowa Conference Tournament after a one-year hiatus, going 1-2.
