Senior poised to break triples record

by Alysun O'Brien

Senior infielder Scott Sibbel credits most of his success to his coaches, teammates and the Simpson student-athlete program.

“Our coaching staff is extraordinary and they also give us freedom as athletes,” said Sibbel. “That’s why I chose the Simpson program instead of a larger school, the fact that as a student-athlete, class always comes before practice.”

Sibbel is making some marks in the history books with his power to produce triples while at the plate. He beat an 11-year-old record last season for single-season triples with eight, the previous record being seven set by Ryan Cooley. He is now heading toward another record breaker by being tied with Cooley in career triples with 11.

Although Sibbel doesn’t consider it his goal, he’s up there helping his team by just going for the base hit.

“Triples are really doubles if you are fast,” said Sibbel. “When I’m up I’m hoping for the extra base hit, and great if it’s a triple because it helps the team.”

Last season, Sibbel was selected first-team All-Conference at shortstop and led the team with 38 RBIs. He was also second on the team in home runs and slugging percentage.

“My job last year was to drive in runs and to help the team win games,” said Sibbel. “And anytime you can do something good offensively, it’s always positive for the team.”

Sibbel is a 1999 Ankeny graduate, where he received many honors for a variety of sports. He is a double major at Simpson in biology and philosophy. Sibbel will graduate in December and isn’t exactly sure where he is going after that, but it will more than likely involve medical or graduate school.

The Storm has a current overall record of 12-10 and is 3-1 in the conference. The team defeated Luther twice at home last Thursday in a double header with scores of 5-1 and 14-4.

The team then traveled to Dubuque for Saturday’s games and came out 1-1. This Saturday will be tough conference games against Wartburg at home and Sibbel along with his teammates are hoping to defeat them, something that hasn’t been done in Sibbel’s years here at Simpson.

“We definitely want to beat Wartburg Saturday,” said Sibbel. “It would be a really great thing for us to accomplish.”

Sibbel and his teammates are setting goals for the season and one of those is to win the conference tournament.

“We want to make the regional tournament and win the conference,” said Sibbel. “No other team has done both, with the exception of Wartburg, in the past six or seven years.”

With time left in the season, Sibbel is still in hot pursuit of the triples record.

“My last three or four years have been a really good time,” said Sibbel. “And I would like to thank my coaches, teammates and past teammates.”