(Logan, IA) — For the first time in school history, Logan Magnolia has made it to the state baseball tournament. The Panthers knocked off Coon Rapids Bayard 3-1 in 8 innings in the Substate Finals and they will play in the first round in Class 1A in Carroll.
Lo-Ma has ridden the arm and bat of Senior Kalab Kuhl — at the plate he is hitting .507 and 20 RBI and on the mound he has a 0.66 ERA, only allowing five earned runs in 53 innings and opponents are hitting just .144 against him. Kuhl has committed to playing college baseball at Buena Vista. Panthers Head Coach Kurt Hinkel says he has pitched a long time to get this opportunity to pitch at state
Logan Magnolia’s line up does not have much power — just six homers and 42 extra base hits all season. Besides Kuhl, there’s Freshman Cale Cunard (.360, 2, 31), Senior Wes Vana (.326, 3, 14) and Junior Jason Kastner (.324, 0, 12) and Hinkel says his team says there is one word that describes the style his team plays
Hinkel says that some people would always tell him that Logan Magnolia was the best team that never made it to state. They cannot say that anymore and Hinkel says the response to going this year has been tremendous
Logan Magnolia is 21-5 and is the 6 seed at the 1A State Baseball Tournament — the Panthers will play three seeded Saint Ansgar who is 21-7 Monday night at 7 pm in Carroll.
Complete Interview with Head Coach Kurt Hinkel
