The National Signing Day has come and gone. This year, the Hastings High School elected to not hold a traditional signing day event and instead will celebrate their collegebound athletes at an end of the school year event that is in the works. The HHS Raider baseball program has already had three of their players sign with colleges.

Eddie Peine, a utility player, has signed with Northern State University (NSU) out of Aberdeen, SD. NSU is a NCAA Division II team in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Peine is a skilled, athletic player that excels both in the field and at the plate. His swing is naturally very powerful and smooth, and he has good vision. Having a longer frame, he is deceptively quick which is an asset in a defensive fielding position. He seems most at home in the outfield. In the 2022 season, Peine hit .389 with 65 at bats, 10 were extra base hits with one home run. He had 15 RBI and only struck out eight times.

Mitch Iliff, an infielder, has signed with the University of Sioux Falls (USF) out of Sioux Falls, SD. USF is a NCAA Division II team in the NSIC. Iliff has a long reach and is a natural at first base. If the ball is near him, he does a great job making the defensive catch. He plays the game intelligently and has good athletic skills. In his junior year, which was the end of the 2022 high school season, Iliff played in all 20 games for the Raiders. He had 64 at bats with a .344 average with 22 RBI that included seven extra base hits with two being home runs.

With both of the above teams being in the NSIC, these two teammates will be playing against each other in college.

Gavin Odman, a pitcher, has signed with Dakota County Technical College out of Rosemount, MN. The Blue Knights are a NJCAA Division II team. Odman has come a long way in the last three years. He is tall, athletic and throws hard from the mound. When he is not on the mound, Odman uses his long reach and mobility in the outfield for the Raiders. In the 2022 season, Odman won five of his ten pitching appearances and had an ERA of 3.17 over 42 innings pitched. At the plate, he had 36 at bats with a .333 average and six RBI.

Congratulations to all three of the Raiders on their signings!

Gavin Odham

Mitch Iliff