North baseball standouts commit to D-1 programs
By Steven Allspach | Posted: Monday, October 20, 2008
Smart as whips and they certainly can whip a baseball.
North High diamond gems Dean McArdle and Chad Piersma have made verbal committments to Division I baseball programs.
McArdle, who has 28 career pitching wins for the Stars, will play at tradition-rich Stanford University and Piersma, a strong-armed catcher, will play at Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League.
The two seniors are also outstanding students boasting perfect 4.0 grade point averages. Piersma also scored 35 on his ACT exam and McArdle 34. In that testing process, 36 is a perfect score.
McArdle and Piersma, standouts on North's 2008 Class 4A state tournament qualifier, will wind up their prep careers next summer when Coach Brian Drent's team makes a bid for a return trip to the finals in Des Moines.
"This is a dream scenario for both of these young men,'' said Drent. "With Dean McArdle playing at Stanford, that 's as big as you can get in college baseball.
"Stanford's tradition of excellence is second to none.
"This is two guys who have worked extremely hard to become outstanding athletes and worked every bit as hard to maintain excellence in the classroom.
"They're true student-athletes.''
McArdle, a first-team all-stater, was 11-1 last summer, losing only to Marshalltown when the second-ranked Stars were upset by Marshalltown in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.
Piersma is one of just two North High students to meet the necessary academic requirements to reach the semifinals stage of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship testing program.
Stanford, coached by the legendary Mark Marquess, was 41-24-2 last season with a loss to Georgia in the College World Series in Omaha ending the Pac-10 school's season.
In his three-decade tenure at Stanford, Marquess has guided the program to two College World Series titles.
Dartmouth Coach Bob Whalen, who guided the Big Green to a 25-17 record last season, will begin his 20th season at the helm in 2009. Dartmouth advanced to the College World Series in 1970. Whalen has a 349-377 career record at the school in Hanover, N.H.
North High diamond gems Dean McArdle and Chad Piersma have made verbal committments to Division I baseball programs.
McArdle, who has 28 career pitching wins for the Stars, will play at tradition-rich Stanford University and Piersma, a strong-armed catcher, will play at Dartmouth College, a member of the Ivy League.
The two seniors are also outstanding students boasting perfect 4.0 grade point averages. Piersma also scored 35 on his ACT exam and McArdle 34. In that testing process, 36 is a perfect score.
McArdle and Piersma, standouts on North's 2008 Class 4A state tournament qualifier, will wind up their prep careers next summer when Coach Brian Drent's team makes a bid for a return trip to the finals in Des Moines.
"This is a dream scenario for both of these young men,'' said Drent. "With Dean McArdle playing at Stanford, that 's as big as you can get in college baseball.
"Stanford's tradition of excellence is second to none.
"This is two guys who have worked extremely hard to become outstanding athletes and worked every bit as hard to maintain excellence in the classroom.
"They're true student-athletes.''
McArdle, a first-team all-stater, was 11-1 last summer, losing only to Marshalltown when the second-ranked Stars were upset by Marshalltown in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.
Piersma is one of just two North High students to meet the necessary academic requirements to reach the semifinals stage of the prestigious National Merit Scholarship testing program.
Stanford, coached by the legendary Mark Marquess, was 41-24-2 last season with a loss to Georgia in the College World Series in Omaha ending the Pac-10 school's season.
In his three-decade tenure at Stanford, Marquess has guided the program to two College World Series titles.
Dartmouth Coach Bob Whalen, who guided the Big Green to a 25-17 record last season, will begin his 20th season at the helm in 2009. Dartmouth advanced to the College World Series in 1970. Whalen has a 349-377 career record at the school in Hanover, N.H.
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bloozman wrote on Oct 20, 2008 10:49 AM:
Leif Erickson wrote on Oct 20, 2008 9:41 AM: