Marion High School - Marion, Iowa

Japan-Metro Classic: David Kuhn

David Kuhn figured his dream of playing baseball in a Minor League stadium ended this summer when the Marion Indians did not reach the state tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines, but the story has a happy ending.

Kuhn enjoyed a terrific year for Coach Steve Fish and the Indians and was invited to play in the IHSCBA all-star series this past weekend at Ashford University Field, home of the Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League.

That went well as his Large Schools East team won the series on Sunday, and now he'll play for the local Metro ballclub in the Japan-Metro All-Star Classic at Veterans Memorial Stadium Thursday night.

"This is really fun," Kuhn said Saturday in Clinton. "In fact, I joked with Coach Fish. I told him I've never played on a field except for a high school field. Now I get to play five games on minor league fields. That's kind of fun."

Kuhn has always played baseball for fun, keeping the game in perspective. It's one of the reasons he'll sacrifice a chance to play college baseball at the Division III level and enroll at Iowa State later this summer to study materials engineering.

Kuhn will wear his Marion High School uniform in the Japan-Metro Classic Thursday, then probably never play for an organized baseball team again. He's the only member of the Metro all-stars who does not plan to play sports in college.

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5 Metro players picked for all-star games

Five baseball players from Metro high schools have been selected to play in the 2015 IHSBCA All-Star Series that will be held Aug. 6-9 in Clinton.

Zach Daniels of Kennedy, Sammy Lizarraga of Kennedy, Lucas Larson of Jefferson, David Kuhn of Marion and Trey Beckman of Prairie will play for the Large Schools East Squad in the series, which is sponsored by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association.

The team will play games against Large Schools West, Small Schools East and Small Schools West.

Marion High School Coach Steve Fish will serve as the head coach for Large Schools East.

The games will be played at Ashford University Field, the home of the Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League.

Marion puts 6 on all-Wamac baseball

Six members of the Marion High School baseball team have been honored on the All-Wamac Conference team in the West Division.

Brady Donohue, Maverick Miller and David Kuhn were named to the first team. Donohue was selected as a pitcher, Miller as a catcher and Kuhn as a utility player.

Marion outfielder Bobby Vanderlind was named to the second unit. Josh Carstensen and Gage Kray received honorable mention.

Wamac Conference Standings

West Delaware 25-5, DeWitt Central 23-7, Williamsburg 21-9, Solon 19-11, Mount Vernon 19-10, Marion 18-12, Western Dubuque 18-12, Dyersville Beckman 18-11, Vinton-Shellsburg 17-13, Benton Community 15-15, Clear Creek-Amana 14-16, Independence 10-20, South Tama 9-21, Maquoketa 7-23, Anamosa 5-25, Center Point-Urbana 1-29.

West Division Standings

Williamsburg 11-3, Marion 10-4, Vinton-Shellsburg 9-5, Clear Creek-Amana 8-6, Benton Community 8-6, Independence 6-8, South Tama 4-10, Center Point-Urbana 0-14.

Poor defense dooms Marion in playoffs

SOLON – The Marion Indians’ inexperience caught up with them when they needed it the least in a Class 3A district championship baseball game Monday.

Marion committed five errors, leading to seven unearned runs in an 8-3 loss to Duqubue Wahlert to end the season at 24-17.

The Golden Eagles (20-19) advanced to the substate final at 7 p.m. Wednesday at DeWitt Central.

“I’m not shocked, I’m disappointed,” Marion Coach Steve Fish said. “I love this team. They’re fun to coach. I think we had six sophomores out there and some quality seniors.”

The Indians started strong, taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

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