North Linn’s Ellie Flanagan: Tri-Rivers single-season RBI queen

Ellie Flanagan was asked a question, and her approach to answering was similar to her strategy in the batter’s box:

She kept it simple.

“Skylar (Benesh) and Kenzie (Bridgewater) get on, and I hit ‘em in,” said Flanagan, a senior at North Linn High School.

Nobody in Tri-Rivers Conference history has “hit ‘em in” in as prolific of a manner as Flanagan has this season.

The top-ranked team in Class 1A, North Linn (17-3 overall) has played 14 league games, all victories. In those 14 games, Flanagan has accumulated 41 RBIs.

That’s a Tri-Rivers record. And the Lynx still have 10 league games to play, including a doubleheader Thursday at 2A No. 12 Alburnett (14-7, 11-2).

The old record was 36 RBIs (in 24 Tri-Rivers games), set by Benesh in 2021.

“You’ve got Skylar and Kenzie in front of (Flanagan), and all three of them are doing a lot of damage,” Lynx Coach Chad Spore said.

In all 20 games, conference or non-, Flanagan has a state-leading 49 RBIs. She is hitting .644 (38 of 59), with seven doubles and eight home runs. Toss in her 12 walks, and her on-base percentage is .685, with a 1.169 slugging percentage.

Benesh (42 runs) and Bridgewater (39) are 1-2 in the state in crossing the plate.

“We always want to score first, and with those three kids at the top, we usually do,” Spore said.

Flanagan was 4-for-5 with a double and a home run Monday, driving in five runs as the Lynx swept Edgewood-Colesburg 12-2 and 6-5 at Troy Mills.

The younger sister of 2020 North Linn graduates Abby and Grace Flanagan, Ellie began to hit her stride, both at the plate and in the pitcher’s circle, last year.

“Her path wasn’t super-easy,” Spore said. “She wasn’t very disciplined as a hitter when she was younger. She struck out more than 30 times as a sophomore. A lot of the time, she was late. She has fixed a lot of mechanical things.”

This year, Flanagan has fanned only four times.

“I’m laying off the high pitch a lot better,” she said. “That high pitch is harder to drive.

“It was big for me playing with my sisters in eighth and ninth grade, even though I didn’t play a lot. They both were able to hit the crap out of the ball.”

Flanagan is 10-2 in the circle with a 2.04 ERA. She has struck out 103 batters and walked 30 in 72 innings.

Bracket watch

The postseason series begins in 16 days, and IGHSAU associate director Jason Eslinger said that regional pairings will be released “at the end of next week.”

Regionals begins June 30 in Class 1A and 2A, July 6 in 3A, 4A and 5A.

Regional finals are July 10 (1A/2A) and July 11 (3A/4A/5A). The state tournament is July 17-21 at the Rogers Sports Complex, Fort Dodge.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com