Following this year’s successful season, the Northland Pines High School baseball program was the recipient of several Great Northern All-Conference honors.
Senior Aiden Minx joined fellow teammates Griffin Beyer, Brody Hoeft and Nolan Huelskamp as members of this year’s all-conference team.
Head Coach Peter Aerts was named co-Coach of the year in the GNC after leading the Eagles to an overall record of 17-10 and a 9-5 mark in the league, good for a tie for second place.
It’s a great honor to get that recognition from your peers,” stated Aerts. “We had a great group of guys who were willing to be coached.”
The Assistant coaches for Pines were Jeff Janssen, Jakob Kahle and Bob Krohn.
“Aiden did so much for us as a player and a leader, noted coach Aerts. “The reason Aiden was honored that way is that he is a tough guy and gave us a shot to win in every game.”
Minx led the Eagles with a .354 batting average and a sparkling earned run average of 0.88 in GNC competition. He led the team with 17 hits in 48 at-bats against conference opponents, with two doubles and a home run. On the mound, he allowed 19 hits in 48 innings pitched and struck out 48 batters.
Beyer was named to the second team. Beyer had a fielding percentage of .979 along with 11 stolen bases this season and 15 RBI. Beyer pitched five innings in 14 conference games and struck out seven. He finished those innings with a 5.60 ERA.
“Griffin caught almost every game for us when he didn’t pitch,” said Aerts. “That’s a lot to ask for a high school athlete, along with keeping us at our best with great leadership.”
Hoeft flashed his versatility this season and was named to the second team as an infielder and received honorable mention at pitcher.
“Brody battled injuries all year, and I am really proud of him and the success he had,” said coach Aerts. “His third base play was at the college level.”
Hoeft had a slugging percentage of .513 and an earned run average of 3.33. Hoeft went 4-2 on the mound and made the most of his appearances by striking out 17 in almost 34 innings of work. Offensively, the junior was tied for third on the team with 12 hits in conference play. He had three doubles, one triple and one home run and also drove in 12 runs, which was second on the team.
Junior Nolan Huelskamp rounded out the all-GNC baseball selections from Pines, and he was awarded honorable mention as a utility player.
“Nolan was great in left field and second base for us, and he developed into an elite hitter later in the year,” noted coach Aerts.”
Huelskamp batted .366 with 11 runs batted in and a home run in 41 at-bats.
“This was a really fun group to coach because they supported each other, which made it an honor to be around them,” said Aerts about his team this season.
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