(Harlan, IA) — The Harlan Cyclones have been a solid baseball program over the last couple of years and were only one win away from making the state tournament for the third straight year, but lost 4-2 to Bishop Heelan in the 3A Substate Final. However, the Cyclones will have to replace a senior class that has combined for 97 wins over a four year span.
Head coach Heath Stein says, it was a solid season overall.
Harlan will lose four seniors including All-State catcher Hayden Soma, who batted .414 with five home runs and 41 RBIs. They also lose Brett Heese, Landen Kaufman and Weston Reisz, who each started 36 games for the Cyclones this year.
Despite losing these four seniors, Harlan has reloaded with talent, especially on the pitcher’s mound. Harlan will return four of their top five pitchers including Jonas Reynolds who led the team in innings pitched and Gavin Eck, who went 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA.
As Harlan looks to return to the state tournament next year, Stein says they need to develop that killer instinct.
