A Look At History

 

          This is a look back at some of the teams in the history of Stoutland Baseball.  It will also look at some individuals that were instrumental to each team and what those individuals are doing now.  In the tradition of Stoutland baseball, Once A Tiger, Always A Tiger.

 

1998 Conference Championship Team:  This team had a mark of 11-1 in the fall and 8-0 in the conference to give Stoutland it’s first ever Conference crown in baseball.  This team was widely underestimated by opponents, and although there may have been some better teams, nobody played the game with more heart and effort than this bunch of young men.  Led by Tim Sherrer, Travis Hartman, and Brandon Witt, this team displayed character, and a willingness to do anything it took to win.  This team was 11-1 in the fall but had a combined record of 25-7.  Unfortunately this team lost a heartbreaker in the district semi-finals to Crocker.  Team members included:

SENIORS:            Tim Sherrer, Travis Hartman, Brandon Witt

JUNIOR:               John Gideon, Kimo Concepcion, Brandon Bollig, Donnie Rogers, Brad Stradt

SOPHOMORES:  Bobby Love

FRESHMAN:        Joe Cook, Dale Harrison, Jacob Witt, Casey Biggers, Adam Duvall

MANAGERS:       Sue Sherrer, Ryan Henry, Miranda Skidmore

HEAD COACH:    SCOTT WHITE

Although Tim Sherrer received the Player of the Year from the conference coaches, it was Hartman and Witt, along with Sherrer, who led this team emotionally.  These three combined to give Coach Scott White the leadership and great role models for the younger kids who played.  Back in 1998, talented freshman and sophomores usually started for the Tigers, and this team had 2 freshman (Joe Cook and Dale Harrison), and 1 sophomore (Bobby Love) that started along side the three seniors and the four juniors (John Gideon, Brandon Bollig, Kimo Concepcion, and Donnie Rogers).  Many people in the Stoutland area forget that one of Stoutland’s best basketball players ever, John Gideon, played a year of baseball and even earned first team All Conference honors.

The outfield could have arguably been considered one of the fastest ever fielded in Missouri with Hartman, Concepcion , and Love.  Their defensive alignment was very untraditional as Hartman played deep in center, but Love and Concepcion played very shallow in right and left.  They also squeezed the gaps and took numerous hits away with their speed.

This group of young men were rewarded with Tim, Travis, and John making first team All Conference and Witt, Cook, Harrison, and Kimo made second team.  After the districts, Tim, Travis, Witt, Kimo, and Joe all made All District and Tim Sherrer was also named to the Sportswriters All State team.  Tim became the first ever Tiger baseball player to be elected to the All State team and be inducted into the Tiger Hall of Fame. 

Coach White commented on this team’s ability, “They were a special group.  What really made this group fun was the fact that they were all friends and did everything together.  We would all get together and watch wrestling pay per views (they were into that).  It cost me a fortune in food and drink, but it was fun.  They would also get together and go to the races at I-44 Raceway.  Half would cheer for Larry Phillips and the other half would cheer for Jamie McMurray.  They were just a lot of fun to be around and a real joy to coach.” 

This team really trusted in each other and everybody knew their jobs and did it.  Tim Sherrer commented on his time with this team.  “We were not supposed to win, but we did.  Kimo would get on, steal second and third, Witt would then knock him in.  My job was to pitch well and just get on base.  I was very confident that when I got on base, “Big Hart” (Travis Hartman) was going to do some major damage.  I will never forget those guys and that team.” 

Those sentiments are echoed by a number of the players such as Concepcion , “I just remember that we always had fun.  It was so fun to play baseball with guys you liked.  Tim was so dominant on the mound for us and then he and Hartman just killed the ball.  It seemed like they got a hit every time they were up.  I stole a bunch of bases and they would always get me home.  My favorite game was against Dixon at home.  We were down 5-0 in the 4th inning and Tim hit a 2 run homer, Travis hit a 3 run shot and a 2 run shot, and then to top it off, I got on and stole second.  Witt then crushed a ball for another 2 run homer.  We ended up winning 15-5 in 5 innings.” 

Witt remembered that game and more, “We just all did whatever it took to win.  Coach White put it on us every day and we worked extremely hard.  We were sure that we had earned everything we had gotten.  I finally played first base (that is an inside joke for Coach White) and everything started clicking for us.  Our outfield was awesome, our infield was really good, but our pitching won us games.” 

Big Hart enjoyed playing the fun style, “Coach White had us running all over the place and stealing bases, taking an extra base on a hit.  It was fun.  We had a blast and for a bigger guy like me, that was really fun.  Tim, or Timmy as coach called him, and Witt, John, Key (Kimo), Bobby Love, Joe, Dale, Brandon, Donnie, and all the others are all still friends to this day.  We look forward to weddings because we all get to see each other.”

“What was really funny about that year is that when I was a senior I found myself saying the same things to the freshman that Hart, Tim and Witt had said to me.  I guess that is one of those Coach White things.  He always said that as an upper classmen you have an obligation to show the young kids everything.  I know those three seniors gave us great leadership and I felt like I learned a lot from them,” said the freshman catcher Joe Cook.

This team was full of characters, but they all had great character.  Character along with their commitment to be great led them to make school history.  This team definitely brought profound meaning to the word TEAM!!!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Tim Sherrer—Went on to play at Three Rivers Community College and then to Lincoln University , graduated, and now manages ATR Lighting in Richland , MO.

Travis Hartman—Went on to play at the University of Missouri @Rolla and graduated with an engineering degree.  Now works for Toyota in Troy , MO.

Brandon Witt—Went to Northeast Oklahoma A and M College , graduated and is now the manager of First State Bank of Richland , MO.

John Gideon—Went on to play basketball at Mid America Nazarene, graduated and then became a loan officer at the Bank of Crocker in Richland , MO.

Kimo Concepcion—Working in Lebanon , MO.

Brandon Bollig— Working in Lebanon, MO.

Donnie Rogers—

Brad Stradt—

Bobby Love—Working in Lebanon , MO.

Coach Scott White—Left Stoutland and went to Wright City and Linn County as a basketball and baseball coach.  His teams have won 2 district championships and 2 conference championships in the 4 years he has been gone.  Coach White came back to Stoutland in 2005.

 

2001-2002 Conference Tourn. Champs and District Champs:  Although all seasons end in heartbreak for all but 1 team every year, this team’s heartbreak continues to hurt to this day.  Six years after “the call”, people and players of that era are still talking about it.  Some say it was the right call and some say it was not.  To make a long story short, Brennon Willard hit a double in the gap, that would have scored 2 runs, but the umpire had called time right before the pitch and so the double was brought back.  Willard grounded out and Stoutland lost to the eventual State Champions, Marion C. Early, 2-1.  Whether it was a bad call or not cannot over shadow one of the best teams Stoutland has ever had.  This team played non-stop from one spring, through the next fall.  This group of seniors had totaled about 300 baseball games (summer, fall, spring for 4 yrs.) when they took the field their last

day.  Coached by Jamie Roberts, in his first season as the Stoutland skipper, this team had finally achieved the District Championship that had for so long eluded the Stoutland baseball program.  This team was 21-10 through the fall and spring seasons. Although they did not win their first playoff game, that in no way tarnishes the records set by this bunch of young men.  This team’s accomplishments included first team to ever win a District Championship, first team to ever win a Conference Tournament Championship, first team to ever have 2 All-State players on 1 team.

Team members included:

SENIORS:            Casey Biggers, Joe Cook, Dustin Ellzey, Dale Harrison, Ben Neufeld, Jacob Witt, Brennon Willard

JUNIORS:             Cole Burns, Clint Carlson, Steven Hartman,

SOPHOMORES:  David Greenwood, Brandon Shepherd, Nils Anderson, Shawn Howell

FRESHMAN:        Brian Becker, Joey Lee, Brian Schoffstall, Bryan Scott,

MANAGERS:       Travis Pappan, David Minners, CW Waterman

HEAD COACH:    JAMIE ROBERTS

This team played excellent defense and pitched the ball very well.  Brennon Willard was the ace of the staff with Dale Harrison right behind him.  Steven Hartman also found time on the hill.  Casey Biggers first, Brennon or Dale at short, Jacob Witt at second, and Brandon Shepherd at third, made for a very solid infield.  Cole Burns, Travis Hartman, and David Greenwood made up a very strong outfield.  Joe Cook controlled the plate for the Tigers and is thought of by many to be the best defensive catcher to ever play in the Frisco League.  This team struggled to find its way early in the season under a new coach, but found their legs and turned that into a Conference Tournament Championship.  These young men were all part of the 13 inning game the year before in the Conference Tournament Finals and avenged that loss with the Championship a year later.  They then used the momentum from the fall to catapult them into a spring season where they won the first District Championship in school history.  There is no doubt this team was full of young men that gave their heart and souls to baseball and knew how to win.

Brennon Willard talked with us and had this to say.  “That team was full of great guys and guys who are still friends today.  We might not have been as talented as some other teams, but we always played together and fought for each other.” 

Steven Hartman recalled some difficulties in the beginning.  “It was tough at first to get use to a new coach.  We lost Coach White, and all of us really liked him, but his style was different than Coach Roberts style.  It was just a different personality, and terminology.  We really enjoyed and liked Coach Roberts too, and once we got everything down, we started playing like we were capable of playing.”

Senior leader Joe Cook knew they should win the district.  “I knew we should win it, but Crocker was good and Alex Shelton, who of course played with us in the summer, was a great pitcher.  I was so happy when we beat them.  I look back on it 6 years later and I still get a great feeling about all the guys on that team.  We were really close and I think that is why we won.  There was never a harsh word or bad feelings about anything.  We just did our jobs and played our hearts out.” 

            This team was showered with awards locally and from the State.  Brennon Willard was elected 2nd team All Conference, 2nd team MHSBCA All State, 1st team All District and went on to play college baseball at Three Rivers.  Dale Harrison was elected to the 1st team All Conference, 1st team All District, 1st team Sportswriters All State , 1st team MHSBCA All State .  Joe Cook was 1st team All Conference, 1st team All District, 1st team MHSBCA All State, and went on to play college baseball at Central Missouri State University where he was a part of the 2003 NCAA Division II National Champions.  Steven Hartman and Cole Burns were both elected to the 2nd team All Conference teams as well. 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Dale Harrison—Turned down numerous college scholarships.  Working in Lebanon , MO.

Joe Cook—Played baseball at Central Missouri State Univeristy.  Is the sales manager for Harley Davidson in Lebanon , MO.

Casey Biggers—

Dutin Ellzey—Joined the Army and is currently stationed in the Middle East .

Ben Nuefeld—

Jacob Witt—

Brennon Willard—Played baseball at Three Rivers and University of Missouri Rolla .  Currently finishing up engineering degree.

Cole Burns—Went on to Drury University and played basketball for 2 years and now works in Lebanon, MO.

Steven Hartman—Played baseball at Three Rivers and finished degree at Missouri State University .  Is a police man in Springfield .

Clint Carlson—Working in Lebanon, MO.

David Greenwood—Working in Lebanon, MO.

Brandon Shepherd—Went on to play baseball at Lincoln University .  Currently is still attending school.

Bryan Scott—

Brian Shoffstall—Went on to play baseball at Missouri Valley College .  Currently is still attending school.

Brian Becker—Went on to play baseball at Lincoln University .  Currently is still attending school.

Joey Lee—

Coach Jamie Roberts—After leaving in 2005 as baseball coach, Coach Roberts stayed at Stoutland as the Elementary Principal.  Baseball remains close to his heart as he continues to stay active with the MHSBCA and coaches their            Junior Sunbelt team, as well as being the past President of the organization.

 

2005-2006 Conference Tourn. Champs, District Champs, and FINAL FOUR:  Coach Scott White was back at Stoutland after a 4 year hiatus that saw him go from being a head baseball coach, to a head basketball coach, and then back to a head baseball and basketball coach.  White was ready to lead a new crop of young and talented Tigers. 

The beginning was a little rough as the Tigers started off the fall campaign 4-3, which included a loss to arch rival Richland .  That night marked the turning point in the season and the Tigers have not looked back since.  “We had a real good heart to heart talk and then we ran quite a bit.  We did not run because we lost, we ran because of the lack of effort.  All I ask is that every time they are playing baseball, they give their heart and soul to it.  They didn’t, so we had to get it from them another way,” said a laughing Coach White.  “It is really funny now, but back then that was the first time I had really got on any of them about anything.  It definitely had the desired effect.”

After the loss to Richland, the Tigers only lost one more game and finished the season 9-4, which included wins over the

reigning State Champion, Plato, and Iberia .  The Tigers used their fall finish to help build confidence for the spring season as they started the spring off 5-0.  The Tigers also received some nice hardware from the fall season as Cory Kyle, Tyler Wrinkle, Josh White, and Adam Smith were named to the first team All Conference team.  Drew Thomas, and Rusty Bragg were named Honorable Mention and Coach White was named the Co-Coach of the Year.

Although they were 5-0 the Tigers really struggled over the next two weeks and came away with a record of 7-3.  The Tigers traveled to Southeast Missouri for a wood bat tournament and only won 1 of their 3 games and then only won 1 game in their own Spring Classic.  Coach White commented on his team’s struggles during the spring.  “I felt like we were not playing our best ball, but we were getting better.  Our errors per game were going down, our runs given up per game were going down and our hits and runs per game were going up.  It just took time, and most people do not realize we were starting 1 freshman, 6 sophomores, 2 juniors, and only 1 senior.  We were young and going through a bunch of growing pains.” 

Drew Thomas also recalls the struggles and remembers Coach White’s talks to them and especially him.  “He was always in my ear about leading us.  He said they wouldn’t follow just anybody, but they would follow me if I would lead.  That really got me going and I tried very hard to lead by example and by getting everyone fired up.  Although we struggled at times, I would not change a thing about that season, except maybe the final score of the final game.  It was special, and those early struggles let us know we could overcome anything.”

         They eventually did overcome everything, including being down 4-3 in the semi-finals of districts going into the bottom of the 7th inning.  They came back and won that game and eventually won the next game to win the districts and move on to the sectional game of the playoffs.  In that sectional game the Tigers squared of against Greenfield , a senior laden team, who had a great hitting team and a pitcher with an era of 0.50.  The Tigers sent sophomore ace Cory Kyle to the mound and Kyle had a 2 hitter going through seven innings.  In the seventh, with two outs, and a 1-0 lead, Kyle got 2 strikes on the batter and then made his only mistake of the day, and gave up a solo home run to tie the game at 1.  The Tigers later rallied in the 9th inning to win the game on a Blane Willard sacrifice fly.  It was a magical moment and one that made history at Stoutland.

          The Tigers played Crane in the quarterfinals and were looking for their first ever trip to the Final Four.  The trip was slightly postponed as the Crane Pirates exploded on the Tigers for 8 runs through 4 innings.  The Tigers fought back and eventually got to the Crane hurlers for 9 runs and then Crane tied it up in the 6th inning.  The score would stay that way through 9 innings until the 9th when Crane loaded the bases with 1 out and their three and four hitters coming up.  Cory Kyle came into the game and proceeded to strike out the next two hitters and extend the game.  In the 11th inning, the Tigers had basically run the Crane Pirates out of pitching and scored 12 runs in the top of the 11th.  The Tigers had successfully claimed a spot in the Final Four with a 21-9 win.

          It is hard to explain to those who have not been to a Final Four as a player how it feels, but judging from the smiles on all of the Stoutland player’s faces all week it must have been a great feeling.  Stoutland faced off against the Silex Owls in the semi-finals.  The Tigers came out quick as Cory Kyle connected in the bottom of the first inning and drove a ball out to deep left field at Simmons Park in Columbia .  Kyle was again dominant on the mound and the Tigers brought out the whooping sticks as they mauled the Owls 9-5.  The Owls got a pair of runs late, but the Tigers traded outs for runs at that point.

          The finals were not so friendly to the Tigers.  The Gremlins from Sacred Heart scored 3 unanswered runs in the first and second innings.  The Tigers came back with 1 of their own, but the wheels fell off shortly after that.  The Tigers allowed 5 wild pitches and 2 other passed balls, to go along with 4 errors on the day.  Seven unearned runs saw to it that the Tigers would go down 11-4.  Coach White recalls the reaction of the kids.  “It was very hard to look at them after the game.  They were very disappointed, but Drew stepped up and just told the others, hey I don’t get to win it, you darn well better get back here next year and take care of business.  He was our leader all year and even with tears in his eyes, he led them.  That is what coaching is all about, those kinds of moments.”  The loss did nothing to curb the enthusiasm of the parents and the faithful fans of the Tigers as they had once again rewritten the record books of Stoutland Baseball and added their own entry.  As Drew so eloquently put it, “No matter if we had won or lost, our picture will be in the gym, and we have went farther than any other team at Stoutland ever.

          The spring season saw the Tigers add more hardware to their mantles as Cory Kyle and Adam Smith were both named to the first team MHSBCA and Sportswriters All State teams, while Tyler Wrinkle was named to the 2nd team MHSBCA All State team.  The Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association always hold a Senior All Star game and Skyler Ellzey and Rusty Bragg both played and did very well in that game.  Rusty collected 3 hits and Skyler collected 2 in the game.  Overall, it was a very successful season and one that will not soon be forgotten in Stoutland. 

Team members included:

SENIORS:            Drew Thomas

JUNIORS:             Rusty Bragg, Skyler Ellzey, Chris Bloch, Cody Clay

SOPHOMORES:  Blane Willard, Cory Kyle, Adam Smith, Scott Breeden, Josh White, Tyler Wrinkle, Shadow Martin

FRESHMAN:        Seth Burns, Keith Sherrer, Eli Sullivan,

COACHES:          Head Coach Scott White, Asst. Coach Brennon Willard, Asst. Coach Andrew Jefferson

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Drew Thomas—Drew continues with his education at Missouri State University .

Asst. Coach Andrew Jefferson—Andrew left the Tigers and is now a professional scout for the San Francisco Giants.

 

 

2006-2007 Conference Champs, Conference Tournament Champs, District Champs, Wood Bat Classic Champs, Stoutland Spring Classic Champs, FINAL FOUR:  This team could be considered not just the best team to ever play here at Stoutland, but maybe in the conference and the state as well.  This team was completely dominant throughout the year in both the fall and the spring.  This team won every tournament they played in, and ended the fall season with a record of 18-0 giving them the best season in Stoutland history, as far as winning percentage, and the first undefeated season in school history.  They later followed the great fall up with an outstanding spring, which saw them win the Mississippi Wood Bat Tournament as they beat the # 2 team in the Midwest Region, Dyersburg , TN , 8-6.  They also won their own tournament, the Stoutland Spring Classic, with a 9 inning win over Potosi .  That marks the first time in school history that Stoutland has won their tournament.  They finished the spring season with a record of 23-2, which set a record for most wins in a season, best winning percentage in a spring season, most wins in a fall and spring combined, highest winning percentage in a fall and spring combined.  This team won the conference with a perfect 8-0 record and won the Conference Tournament as well.  The also continued their domination in the spring with a District Championship and another Final Four appearance.

          Team members included:

SENIORS:            Rusty Bragg, Skyler Ellzey, Chris Bloch, Cody Clay

JUNIORS:             Blane Willard, Cory Kyle, Adam Smith, Scott Breeden, Josh White, Tyler Wrinkle, Brock Chaffin, Daniel

                             Hernandez

SOPHOMORES:  Seth Burns, Keith Sherrer

FRESHMAN:        Collin Burns, Justin Wasmer, Dylan Hodges, Shawn Hodges, Joey Vitale

COACHES:          Head Coach Scott White, Asst. Coach Brennon Willard

         

          The 2006-07 version of the Stoutland Tigers will not soon be forgotten.  This team not only won 96% of its games, but it did it convincingly.  Of the 18 wins in the fall, 13 of them were by 10 runs or more.  Of the 23 wins in the spring 8 of them were by the ten run rule.  The Tigers once again beat Iberia to seal the deal on their first Conference Championship since 1998, and then beat the Rangers again to claim their second straight Conference Tournament.  The fall was a very good one for the Tigers as the Tigers were awarded with some much deserved hardware.   The Tigers placed 6 players on the first team All Conference team.  Those players included Cory Kyle, Adam Smith, Josh White, Tyler Wrinkle, Rusty Bragg, and Brock Chaffin.  Daniel Hernandez and Blane Willard both were named to the Honorable Mention team.  Cory Kyle was also name the Frisco League Player of the Year and Coach White, once again, won the Coach of the Year.  This marked the first time in school history that the Tigers had 6 first teamers, 8 overall, and the MVP and Coach of the Year awards.  Needless to say the Tigers were looking forward to the spring portion of their season.

          The spring saw the Tigers quickly move to 4-0 as they traveled to Houston for what would end up being a very good game.  The Tigers came out on top, behind Cory Kyle’s 10 strike out, 3 hit, performance from the mound.  The next test for the Tigers came in the form of the Bulldogs, from Rolla.  Rolla came out and got 3 unearned runs in the first two innings and the Tigers committed 3 errors.  The Tigers bounced back and put up 4 runs to take the lead, which was capped off by a Tyler Wrinkle two run homerun.  Later the Bulldogs would tie it on another unearned run and the game stayed that way until the bottom of the 7th when Blane Willard singled, Seth Burns walked, Scotty Breeden bunted them over, and then Adam Smith was walked to load the bases, as Tyler Wrinkle came through again with a smash over the center fielders head to win the game for the Tigers. 

The Tigers would next be challenged by the Charleston Blue jays in the Mississppi County Wood Bat Tournament.  The Tigers came into the tournament 10-0, but Charleston gave the Tigers all they wanted.  After 12 innings, that saw the Tigers come back and tie the game twice, and saw the Blue jays do the same, the Tigers managed to squeak out a 12-10 win.  The Tigers later beat Advance 16-0 to advance to the Finals of the tournament.  The Tigers took on Dyersburg , TN , which was considered the best team in the tournament and were ranked # 2 in the Midwest Region.  The Tigers scored 2 early and then gave one right back to Dyersburg .  It was 2-1 in the second inning when Cory Kyle had to come out of the game due to arm fatigue.  Scotty Breeden took over and pitched a gem as he allowed 5 runs, only 2 earned and beat Dyersburg , with the help of an unbelievable catch from Josh White out in left field. 

The Tigers used that win to springboard them into the next weekend when they used 9 innings to beat Potosi to capture their first ever Stoutland Classic Championship.  The Tigers would remain perfect until the Hartville Eagles came to town. 

The Eagles would lay the hammer down early with a 2 run home run and a grand slam, that eventually made the score 8-0.  The Tigers did not quit though and battled back to close the gap to 8-6.  With the tying run on base, the Tigers ran out of gas and their perfect season was ended.   

The Tigers went into district play with the number 1 seed and were favored to win it.  The Tigers took care of Climax Springs in the first game, and then struggled, but beat a very scrappy Vienna team.  The Tigers played St. Elizabeth in the finals.  After much hoopla over the last year about how the Tigers were lucky to have beat them the year before in the districts, the Tigers left no doubt as they thumped the Hornets 12-2 in 6 innings.  Tyler Wrinkle started the action with a 2 run bomb in the first inning, followed up by a two run bomb by Brock Chaffin.  In the second it was more of the same as the Tigers scored 3 times to make the score 8-1.  The Tigers then scored one more before Tyler Wrinkle ended it with a 3 run blast to center field that still has not landed.  The Tigers were district champs behind Cory Kyle’s 12 strike out performance.  Kyle allowed one earned run and only allowed 3 hits.  The Tigers were dominant in the finals and took home the hardware to prove it.  The Tigers placed Cory Kyle, Tyler Wrinkle, Josh White, Adam Smith, Brock Chaffin, Rusty Bragg, and Daniel Hernandez all on the first team All District team.  Blane Willard, Seth Burns, and Skyler Ellzey all made Honorable Mention All District. 

The Tigers moved on to play Walnut Grove at their place.  The Tigers got off to a great start as the freshman, who checked and double checked everything, evidently forgot to check if they had packed the helmets.  Thanks to Brad Willard and Play It Again for providing us with some helmets for the game.  After that, Josh White had a rocky first inning as Walnut Grove got to him for a run on two hits.  That would prove to be all Walnut Grove got though as from that point on, Josh White was lights out.  Josh struck out 19 of the 21 outs he faced and made the other two outs on an infield fly to him and a ground out to him.  Josh said he felt really good.  “I don’t think I was really loose like I like to be when I went out there, but when we got into the first inning, I ended up getting loose and started throwing like I am capable of.”  Brock Chaffin connected on his 4th home run of the year in the second inning to tie the game and then in the 4th, Josh White had a bunt base hit.  Josh White was at first, when Blane Willard hit a sharp ground ball to left field.  Josh White rounded hard and the fielder looked up.  The ball rattled off the fielder and Josh White kept running hard and scored on a Haven close play at home.  Later in the 5th inning, Tyler Wrinkle hit another shot to center field for his 5th home run of the season.  This win propelled the Tigers to the quarterfinal game against the Miller Cardinals, who were supposed to have the best pitcher in 1A baseball.  Coach White had this to say about his team and their win.  “I truly believe we beat a very good team today.  We will have another tough test when we play Miller.  Tyler Abma, which is their ace, has already set the strike out record in Missouri .  We will have Cory Kyle going and I will put him up against anybody anytime.  It should be a good one.”

That best pitcher in 1A baseball got lit up for 10 runs, 6 hits, 7 walks, 2 hit by pitches, and 141 pitches en route to a 10-3 victory by the Tigers.  The Tigers busted out first for a 1-0 lead, but in the third inning Cory Kyle was tagged with a 3 run home run that just barely got out at the 256 mark in left field.  From that point on, the Tigers were in command as they scored 2 in the bottom of the third, and then 4 in the fourth behind a couple of walks that scored runs and then a second big hit by Daniel Hernandez that plated two runs.  In the 6th, the Tigers put up another 3 to put the game on ice and send the Tigers back to the Final Four.  “We threw a curve ball on the home run and sped his bat up, other wise he would not have pulled the ball.  That is an out in our park, and most parks, but here it’s gone.  Those are the breaks of the game,” said a very happy Cory Kyle.  Kyle and the Tigers will take the win behind some great plate work and Kyle’s great mound work.  Kyle struck out 10, walked none, and only gave up 2 hits.  Coach White was proud of his team’s discipline after the game.  “I thought our hitters were great tonight.  We wanted to get him into long counts and we knew the more pitches he threw, the more his curve ball would flatten out and fall short of the plate.  We also knew his fastball would come up.  Those two things allow for our hitters to really sit on specific pitches.”  Abma threw 141 pitches and had 9 full counts and another 10 counts where the Tigers were ahead in the count.

That win propelled the Tigers to their second straight Final Four.  In the semi-finals the Tigers took on the Santa Fe Chiefs, who were 14-4 and had lost to every team that was 2A or bigger on their schedule.  The Tigers looked to take advantage of their experience, but it was quickly dashed as the Chiefs put up 3 in the first inning, and 2 in the second for a 5-0 cushion.  The cushion would be short lived as the Tigers scored 2 of their own and then another 3 to tie the game at 5.  The Chiefs then took the lead again with 2 more runs and the Tigers would have to rally again to score 3 and win the game.  Coach White shook his head when asked about the game. “It was such an ugly game.  Errors, walks, hit by pitches, all those things just make a game ugly.  When we realized the strike zone was the size of a quarter, we started taking lots of pitches and they started walking us.  That gave us some life and allowed us to get back in the game.  Our kids were mentally tough though.  We had been there before and they used that experience to know they could win.”  The Tigers, who started Josh White and relieved with Daniel Hernandez, struggled with the strike zone, but, still managed 14 strike outs amongst the 4 hits and 5 runs allowed.  White’s defense did not help as they allowed 4 of the 5 runs scored early to score unearned.  The defense shored up later in the game, and shut down the Chiefs offense, which allowed the Tigers to claw their way back into the game and come up with a big win.

The Tigers found themselves in the State Championship game for the second year in a row.  The Tigers, who lost to Sacred Heart a year ago, would take on a very tough New Haven baseball club.  The Tigers sent Cory Kyle to the hill to face the Shamrocks and Kyle was excellent as always.  Even though Kyle’s velocity was not as it had been, the Tigers starter is a bulldog and worked his way through it.  New broke on top early with 2 unearned runs as the Tigers defense once again let their pitching down.  The Tigers answered with 1 of their own and the score remained that way for much of the game.  The Tigers went on the attack and had runners in scoring positions three straight innings.  The third of those saw the Tigers put up 2 runs to make the score 4-3 going into the top of the 7th.  In the top of the 7th, an error, and a base hit gave the Shamrocks runners on first and second.  Their attempted bunt was foiled by the Tigers and the Tigers got an out on a pop up.  The Shamrocks then hit a ground ball that moved the runners, but also gave the Tigers their second out of the inning.  With 2 outs and 2 strikes on the New Haven batter, Kyle threw an inside fastball and jammed the hitter.  The hitter managed to float the ball into short left field right over the out reached arms of the third baseman and shortstop.  Both runs scored to give the Shamrocks the 5-4 lead.  The Tigers would challenge in the bottom half and ultimately lose with the tying run at third and the go ahead run at second.  The Tigers were crushed and Coach White was in disbelief.  “We have not played like this all year.  We average about 1.1 errors per game and down here we have averaged 5 a game.  It is crazy.  We gave up a total of 12 runs and only 2 were earned.  That means that our pitchers and hitters did their job, but our fielders did not.  You just never know with 15, 16, and 17 year old kids; you never know.”  Those were the sentiments from most of the team as most were shocked that such a great season ended in such a manner.  You have to give credit to New Haven , who made the Tigers work for everything they got.

After the season was over and the heartache slowly started to disappear, the Tigers were rewarded with some great awards.  Cory Kyle and Tyler Wrinkle made the MHSBCA and Sportswriters first team All State team.  Josh White was a second teamer on both as well.  Adam Smith and Brock Chaffin made the MHSBCA second team All State team.  It was a great year for the Tigers and one that hopefully will be remembered as the record breaking season it was.

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Skyler Ellzey—Skyler worked for about 4 months off and is currently going to basic training for the Army where he

                             plans to enter the ROTC program at Missouri State University .

Rusty Bragg—Is currently working in Lebanon , MO and planning to attend college at the beginning of next year.

Cody Clay—Is currently working in Stoutland , MO

Chris Bloch—Is currently working in Springfield , MO.