Thomas earns first team all-state baseball
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By Mike Monahan
Arcola’s Tanner Thomas earned first team Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association first team honors. Thomas was one of 26 to be named, including 18 seniors, seven juniors and a sophomore. Thomas is a recent graduate of Arcola and is headed to further his education and play baseball at Louisville. There were also 11 players that received honorable mention.
This season Thomas had a team-high .560 batting average with a team-high 44 runs batted in; 15 doubles; 10 home runs and 14 stolen bases (third on the team). On the pitching mound he had a miniscule 0.20 earned run average with 10 hits allowed in 35 innings and only one earned run. He had 78 strikeouts and just 8 walks. The 0.20 earned run average is tied for 13th place all-time for the lowest earned run average in a season according to the Illinois High School Association baseball stats.
In Thomas’s four years Arcola won two regional titles and one Lincoln Prairie Conference title, going 65-19. 773. Thomas was coached by Mike Phillips and assisted by Jeff Thomas (and Justin Glass this season only). He finished his high school career with 357 strikeouts in 163 innings. He allowed 26 earned runs for an earned run average of 1.12. He walked 53.
Offensively for his four years Thomas had 25 home runs, 111 runs batted in, 172 runs and 149 hits out of 270 at-bats for a batting average of .552. He finished with 60 stolen bases. The career batting average places him sixth in the state all-time.
The IHSBCA has had all-state teams since at least 2010 and no other Arcola player has earned the honor.