All-KOGT Baseball Team

[GingerSnap]

AirPlay            June 4, 2007

All-KOGT Baseball Team Announced

          Although Orange County has been a hotbed for high school baseball players in recent years, if you had to describe the 2007 season in one word it would have to be “surprise!â€

          The Bridge City Cardinals third straight appearance in the Region III Final was a surprise considering the loss of key players last season and the addition of Jasper and Silsbee to the district.  Add to that two freshmen on the left side of the infield and they were a long shot but once again proved the road to Round Rock comes through District 21-3A.

          We’ve talked about the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears and their unbelievable year.  Seven out of the starting nine were first year varsity players and all they did was win the district. Vidor made the playoffs for the first time in almost 40 years in a district that was about as competitive from top to almost bottom as its ever been.

          With the end of the season comes the All-KOGT Team.  We have some great players on our team this year but what I like the most is that many of them will be coming back next season.

          We start with our Most Valuable Player who was also the MVP of the district and that’s Jake Rowell of LCM. Rowell was the senior leader that Coach Steve Griffith needed to help mold the young players and he responded by batting .600 in district and finished with 11 homeruns.  And I don’t know if it’s the first time, but certainly the first time I’ve noticed that Rowell may be the only batter to have at least one hit in every game we broadcast this season on KOGT.

          Our first baseman is Chad Richard of LCM.  He gets a little of the credit for Jake’s offensive production because teams learned that it wasn’t always a good idea to pitch around Rowell knowing Richard was coming up to the plate.  Richard will be back next season.

          The toughest selection comes at second base where senior Troy Bolton of BC and junior Jon Gunn of LCM reside. Both players made outstanding defensive plays.  Gunn’s catch in the playoff game against Bay City was the second best I saw all season.  Bolton, a senior, was the ultimate lead off hitter and both hit around .330. So we’re going with Bolton as our best leadoff second baseman and Gunn as our best number nine hitter and second baseman.  Gunn will be back next season.

          Chris Hearn of LCM earns our All-KOGT honor at shortstop.  The move-in from Port Neches-Groves had a lot of pressure on him to produce and he did his job.  He also played a great game on both sides of the dugout when LCM traveled to Hearn’s old stomping ground at the Reservation.

          Joe Robertson is just a freshman but he sure didn’t play like one.  Once our All-KOGT third baseman from Cardinal land got a chance to start at third, he didn’t give it up.  And he didn’t commit any errors during district play which most can’t claim. Robertson also did a fantastic job playing catcher early in the season when Casey Jackson was injured.

          Jackson is our catcher and he’s a junior.  An intimidating hitter, Casey had eight extra base hits in the playoffs.  Against Needville, Jackson hit a HR and they proceeded to walk him the next five times.  In Game Three he lead off the second inning so they finally decided to throw to him and boom, he hit another towering shot over the right field fence.

          Our outfield starts with BC’s Johnny Dishon, who is the complete package with power and speed, and that’s why he’s going to LSU. Dishon walloped 12 HR’s and stole more than 30 bases which is enough to get him on this team.  But he was a big factor with his arm and no telling how many runners were held up at third because of JD. He also had a flair for the dramatic.  In a key district game against Hardin-Jefferson, Dishon ran down a ball in the left gap with a backhanded catch that was the best I’ve ever seen from that position and maybe ever. He followed that by coming up in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied at zero, and hit a grand slam for the win. He will also never be forgotten by Carthage after hitting two homeruns in a game that gave the Bulldogs their first loss in 28 games.

          Earl Thomas of WOS is also in our outfield.  Although he was on a team that didn’t win many games, many coaches considered him the most dangerous hitter in the district and pitched him accordingly because they could.  But Thomas took advantage of his at-bats with a .400 + batting average.  He also stole five bases in his first two at-bats during a game this season.

          Our two other outfielders both come from LCM in sophomores Matt Johnson and Tim Barry.  Both were similar in that they had some pop in their bats and they could pitch for the Bears when called upon.

          On the mound, we start with Jeff Stringer of BC.  He was the only pitcher in the area to have more than 100 strikeouts and he finished with 150.  It’s amazing how far he’s come since his sophomore season and he has the right stuff to become a starter on the Lamar staff before he graduates.

          If Orangefield freshman Jace Statum was on the mound for the Bobcats, it didn’t matter who they played, the Bobcats had a chance to win.  The little man with the big arm could also swing a bat and along with freshman Jacob Felts the future is bright for the orange and white.

          LCM’s Adam Leggett could also swing the bat but the Bears relied on his arm.  When the Bears went into the season with five guys that were pretty even, it was Leggett that took the lead and became the go to guy.  He also had almost a half dozen saves which is a lot in high school.

          Phillip Meeks of BC may have been the number one reason the Cardinals reached their third straight Region Final.  There are few good number two pitchers in Class 3A.  Meeks is one who would’ve been the ace on many teams and the senior really stepped it up in the playoffs.

          Our Clutch Performer of the Year is Jason Clark.  The BC pitcher was called upon in Game Three against Needville after all of the fans, players, and guru’s had guessed anyone but the lefty.  Clark shot down the Bluejays with five scoreless innings and BC advanced to the next round.

          The Newcomer of the Year was saved for last and by now probably comes as no surprise after not seeing his name mentioned before.  BC freshman Matt Hicks pitched, hit, and played shortstop better than any freshman I’ve seen. He is a straight baller who battled through back problems in the playoffs and stood on the mound in Game Three in front of 3000 people in Vincent-Beck and pitched his tail off, holding the Region III champs from Jasper to just two runs.

          I’ll be pulling for Jasper this week at the State Tournament and you should too.  And don’t be surprised to turn on KOGT Wednesday night and hear the Bulldogs in their semifinal game.  We were working on the idea at press time.  I’ll also be pulling for Texas City in the 4A bracket as Chuck Young tries to bring home the hardware that he so deserves! 

          Once again it was a pleasure to bring you another baseball season on KOGT.  We hope to do it again next year.

[Dker]

Congradulations to all whom have been named on this tread, you well deserve it. :o

[Baseball 4 life]

Good job boys you have had a great year all of you and well deserve it.

To all the Seniors moving on to the next level, I hope hope to hear good things fromm all of you.