WINSTED — The numbers don’t lie.
HLWW’s Noah Bush dominated the 2021 high school season in nearly every way despite staying involved in two other sports — and figuring out how to navigate a junior year that wiped away a whole season. It resulted in a stellar senior campaign and the Herald Journal Area Baseball Player of the Year award.
Bush’s natural talent rivals anyone in the state of Minnesota — he was named one of just a few Mr. Baseball candidates this week and quickly announced as the winner of the award — but head coach Tyler Maher got to see what Bush did behind the scenes. It turned into spearheading a 16-9 season for the Lakers.
“What people don’t see is the offseason,” Maher said. “Noah continued to push himself. He embraced the coaching staff and the core values, and I believe that allowed him to just go out and play the game.”
Headed to Iowa Western Community College next year, Bush put together a two-way season for the ages, hitting .500 and smashing 10 home runs (second in the state) and 43 RBI and 11 doubles. He walked 19 times and struck out only eight times. He was the staff ace for the Lakers as well, going 6-0 with a 1.24 ERA, while striking out 117 batters in just 62 innings.
Few could match Bush at the plate or on the mound, and that remains true as he continues to play summer ball with the Howard Lake Orphans.
In a year where experience was scarce for pretty much every team around, Bush’s experience, confidence and talent stood above, and helped HLWW to a strong finish in the Section 5AA playoffs.
“He’s a tremendous athlete, baseball player and young man. It will be exciting to see his progression as a baseball player and see where he ends up,” Maher said.