NorthWood’s Sergio Lira Ayala was named All-State by the IBCA. InkFreeNews photos by Mike Deak

By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews

INDIANAPOLIS – In the final installment of awards for the 2020-21 athletic season, the Indiana Baseball Coaches Association announced its All-State selections for the recent season.

Among the lists for each class were two local players from Class 3-A, each a North-South All-Star. NorthWood outfielder Sergio Lira Ayala was named First Team All-State while Wawasee infielder Kam Salazar was named Honorable Mention All-State.

Lira Ayala hit .529 on the season in just 51 at-bats, slugging six homers and knocking in 20 runs. He held a .643 on-base percentage and was a First-Team All-Northern Lakes Conference selection as well. Salazar, the 2020-21 InkFreeNews Athlete of the Year, hit .436 on the season and added a .564 on-base clip. The speedy infielder scored 50 runs and ripped seven triples among 17 extra-base hits he collected this past season. The Region I Player of the Year was also a First Team All-NLC pick.

Four other regional players from Class 3-A were also named to the IHSBCA All-State list. John Glenn’s Brycen Hannah was named First Team at first base and Peru’s Kade Townsend was a First Team outfielder. Honorable Mention 3-A went to Peru’s James Loftus and Culver Academy’s Connor Schmiedlin.

Class 1-A had three from Southwood, catcher Mo Lloyd and first baseman Alex Farr named First Team and Mason Yentes named Honorable Mention for the Knights. Caston’s Joey Spin was also an Honorable Mention All-State pick.

Class 2-A did not have a regional player named, but in Class 4-A, Columbia City’s Sam Gladd and Northridge’s Carter Gilbert were both named Honorable Mention All-State.

Wawasee’s Kam Salazar was named Honorable Mention All-State by the IBCA.