Three area baseball players were named to the Class B first-team all-state and four more earned second-team honors, it was announced recently.

SMVHE's junior Pierce Smith, Winner/Colome junior Zach Harter and Wagner’s Alex Kocer were named to the first team. Chamberlain/Kimball’s Mike Schwartz, Bon Homme/Scotland/Menno senior Macon Oplinger, McCook senior Jordan Heumiller and SMVHE senior Kaleb Kopfmann earned second-team honors.

Smith, a third-baseman, hit .453 and drove in 16 runs in 16 games for SMVHE. He also had five doubles and stole six bases.

Harter was one of three outfielders named to the first team. He posted a .703 batting average with six doubles in 12 games for Winner/Colome.

Kocer was named a first-teamer as a designated hitter after hitting .500 with two doubles for Wagner.

Schwartz, a first-baseman, hit .385 with three doubles and seven RBIs in eight games for Chamberlain/Kimball.

Oplinger and Heumiller both were second-teamers as outfielders. Oplinger hit .447 and drove in 14 runs while stealing six bases for Bon Homme/Scotland/Menno. Heumiller had four home runs, five doubles and 21 RBIs to go along with a .415 batting average to lead McCook.

Kopfmann was one of three pitchers named to the second team. Kopfmann posted a 3-2 record in 24.1 innings, while maintaining a 1.15 earned run average. He allowed just 12 hits and recorded 35 strikeouts.

Smith, Oplinger, Kocer and Kopfmann also were named to the all-region first-team in Region 1. Parkston’s Beau Behrend, SMVHE’s Trevor Doyle and Bon Homme/Scotland/Menno’s Doug Vanacek were also named to the team.

Honorable-mention choices in Region 1 included Parkston’s Eric Reiff, SMVHE’s Cole Wenande, Cody London and Nate Zens, Bon Homme/Scotland/Menno’s Tyler Edler and Corsica/Stickney/Armour’s Luke Bamberg.

In Region 3, McCook’s Jordan Wolf joined Heumiller on the first team.

Harter and Schwartz were named to the first team in Region 4. They were joined by Platte-Geddes/Dakota Christian’s Calby Plooster and Tommy Holleman and Chamberlain/Kimball’s Wes Kroupa. Honorable-mention selections in Region 4 included Winner/Colome’s Ben Connot, Sam Aeschbacher, JD Farley and Austin Richey; Chamberlain/Kimball’s Aaron Holan and Josh Denke and PGDC’s Mike Kimball.

There were also a number of area players that earned Academic All-State honors as well.

Bon Homme’s Michael Ruppelt and Wes Kloucek, Scotland’s Brian Bartlett, Kimball’s Kroupa, Chamberlain’s Chevy Fischer, SMVHE’s Trevor Doyle and Corsica’s Steven Blom and Kirbey Baan Hofman were all honored for their work in the classroom.