Five Pierre Governors received regular season recognition on Tuesday as the All-State and All-Region teams were announced as Lincoln Kienholz would make first team All-State while Zabel was second team. JJ Bucholz, Deegan Houska and George Stalley join Kienholz and Zabel on the All-Region team.
Kienholz was dominant both on the mound and at the plate as he hit .472 on the season leading the team while also hitting three home runs and with five triples and two doubles. He also threw a no hitter against Brandon Valley and heads into the state championship weekend with a 0.53 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and .130 batting average against. Zabel, on the All-State second team, hit .410 leading the team with 17 RBI and an OPS of 1.162 which was second on the team. Zabel also picked up a win on the mound and a save having a batting average against at just .268.
JJ Bucholz has excelled all season out of the bullpen. Bucholz is 2-0 with a save in 19 innings pitched allowing just 10 hits and two runs which has his ERA at 0.74 and a WHIP at 0.95. Opponents are hitting only .154 off of him as his numbers almost mirror that of Kienholz. Pierre has turned to Bucholz in pressure situations and he has lived up to the task. Stalley is hitting .311 heading into the final weekend of the year as he has scored 11 times, mostly hitting out of the nine spot in the order for a double-leadoff type move. Stalley is tied for the team high with nine steals and as just a sophomore is still continually getting better. Houska is the only other season on the list for Pierre besides Kienholz. After missing all of last season due to an injury, Houska has rebounded for a .310 batting average driving in 11 runs and helping spark the Governors in their 12 game winning streak. Houska has caught nearly every inning of the season and has been steady behind the plate for the Govs to help lead the pitching staff to 3.50 team ERA which includes just a 2.73 ERA in the 12 game winning streak.
You can see a full list of the All-State and All-Region teams below. The Governors will face Brandon Valley on Saturday in the second semifinal at 2:30. If Pierre wins they will face the winner of Jefferson and Harrisburg for the state championship at 5:00 all at Sioux Falls Stadium. Coverage of the Pierre games will be on KCCR and on YouTube at KCCR Sports.
