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One of my favorite sports to cover is baseball. And one of my favorite things to do in this job is put together all-area teams.
I love sports in general and I love my job; but there is something special about grabbing my camera, throwing a handful of sunflower seeds in my mouth and going to the ballpark. This season, I had the privilege of covering five different high school baseball teams with five different sets of strengths.
Neosho
First there was Neosho. The Wildcats were led by a huge group of seniors, six of whom signed college letters of intent to continue playing baseball after high school. Neosho landed three individuals on this year’s all-area roster. Alex Wise is featured as both a first-team shortstop and a second-team pitcher. Wise was a terror on the base paths for most of the season. Not only did he have a stretch where he was stealing two or three bags a game, he constantly put pressure on infielders on routine ground balls with his athleticism and intelligence. Jacob Patterson came off of an injury from his junior year and had a tremendous senior campaign en route to earning a nod as a first-team outfielder. Patterson not only hit for a good average, he was clutch in big situations. Against Joplin, Patterson smacked a lead off double in the bottom of the ninth and later scored from second on a bunt single to win the game in walk-off fashion. Patterson was also a defensive stalwart patrolling center field. Jacob Rickman was a valuable part of the Neosho lineup because of his versatility and because of that, he was chosen as a second-team outfielder this season. Rickman bounced between three outfield positions as well as second base for the Wildcats this season. He provided a consistent bat to every spot that he played and was a big part of Neosho’s offensive attack.
Diamond
The Diamond Wildcats landed five players on the all-area team after finishing their season with a 14-6 record and a District Runner-Up trophy. Diamond depended on quality pitching for most of the season as their three-man starting rotation can all be found in the top five in the area in ERA. Third baseman/pitcher Ryan Jinks headlines the group as the 2011 Neosho Daily News All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. Jinks, who played in every game as either the third baseman or the starting pitcher for Nathan Cook’s Wildcats, ranked in the top five in the area in six different categories between the plate and the mound. At the dish, Jinks .431 average ranks third in the area, his 23 RBI rank him second overall and his 11 stolen bases put him in fourth in the area. Diamond’s No. 3 hitter also led the area with four triples. As a pitcher, Jinks led the area with five wins and a 2.23 ERA. Another Diamond Wildcat to have a breakout year was freshman Zach Renfro. After batting .345 and slugging four home runs as the Diamond lead off hitter, Renfro has been named the 2011 Neosho Daily News All-Area Freshman Baseball Player of the Year. Renfro broke into the starting lineup during the Mickey Mantle Classic and started every game after that. The freshman drove in 11 runs and stole four bases on the year. Chris Epperson earned first team honors after leading the area with 70 strikeouts, 15 more than the next highest pitcher. Epperson posted a record of 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA. Both his wins mark and ERA were second in the area. First baseman Keith Reiss and outfielder Austin Singleton each earned second team honors. Reiss hit in the middle of the lineup all season and posted a .291 average with a homer and 12 RBI. Reiss also flashed the leather as perhaps the best defensive first baseman in the area. Singleton bounced from the bottom to the top of the lineup and ended the season with a .339 average and six doubles. Six doubles puts Singleton in a six-way tie for fourth in the area. Brodie Bien, another freshman, also earned second team honors after pitching his way to a 3-1 record with a 3.66 ERA and 31 strikeouts. His ERA and strikeouts are fourth and fifth in the area respectively.
One of my favorite sports to cover is baseball. And one of my favorite things to do in this job is put together all-area teams.
I love sports in general and I love my job; but there is something special about grabbing my camera, throwing a handful of sunflower seeds in my mouth and going to the ballpark. This season, I had the privilege of covering five different high school baseball teams with five different sets of strengths.
Neosho
First there was Neosho. The Wildcats were led by a huge group of seniors, six of whom signed college letters of intent to continue playing baseball after high school. Neosho landed three individuals on this year’s all-area roster. Alex Wise is featured as both a first-team shortstop and a second-team pitcher. Wise was a terror on the base paths for most of the season. Not only did he have a stretch where he was stealing two or three bags a game, he constantly put pressure on infielders on routine ground balls with his athleticism and intelligence. Jacob Patterson came off of an injury from his junior year and had a tremendous senior campaign en route to earning a nod as a first-team outfielder. Patterson not only hit for a good average, he was clutch in big situations. Against Joplin, Patterson smacked a lead off double in the bottom of the ninth and later scored from second on a bunt single to win the game in walk-off fashion. Patterson was also a defensive stalwart patrolling center field. Jacob Rickman was a valuable part of the Neosho lineup because of his versatility and because of that, he was chosen as a second-team outfielder this season. Rickman bounced between three outfield positions as well as second base for the Wildcats this season. He provided a consistent bat to every spot that he played and was a big part of Neosho’s offensive attack.
Diamond
The Diamond Wildcats landed five players on the all-area team after finishing their season with a 14-6 record and a District Runner-Up trophy. Diamond depended on quality pitching for most of the season as their three-man starting rotation can all be found in the top five in the area in ERA. Third baseman/pitcher Ryan Jinks headlines the group as the 2011 Neosho Daily News All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. Jinks, who played in every game as either the third baseman or the starting pitcher for Nathan Cook’s Wildcats, ranked in the top five in the area in six different categories between the plate and the mound. At the dish, Jinks .431 average ranks third in the area, his 23 RBI rank him second overall and his 11 stolen bases put him in fourth in the area. Diamond’s No. 3 hitter also led the area with four triples. As a pitcher, Jinks led the area with five wins and a 2.23 ERA. Another Diamond Wildcat to have a breakout year was freshman Zach Renfro. After batting .345 and slugging four home runs as the Diamond lead off hitter, Renfro has been named the 2011 Neosho Daily News All-Area Freshman Baseball Player of the Year. Renfro broke into the starting lineup during the Mickey Mantle Classic and started every game after that. The freshman drove in 11 runs and stole four bases on the year. Chris Epperson earned first team honors after leading the area with 70 strikeouts, 15 more than the next highest pitcher. Epperson posted a record of 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA. Both his wins mark and ERA were second in the area. First baseman Keith Reiss and outfielder Austin Singleton each earned second team honors. Reiss hit in the middle of the lineup all season and posted a .291 average with a homer and 12 RBI. Reiss also flashed the leather as perhaps the best defensive first baseman in the area. Singleton bounced from the bottom to the top of the lineup and ended the season with a .339 average and six doubles. Six doubles puts Singleton in a six-way tie for fourth in the area. Brodie Bien, another freshman, also earned second team honors after pitching his way to a 3-1 record with a 3.66 ERA and 31 strikeouts. His ERA and strikeouts are fourth and fifth in the area respectively.
East Newton
The Patriots landed two players on the list. Colby Brown made the first team as both a first baseman and a pitcher. At the plate, Brown hit .456 (second in the area) with 22 RBI (fourth in the area). He also hit seven doubles on the season which is the second most in the area. On the mound, Brown struck out 55 batters and led his team with four wins and 48 1/3 innings pitched. Mason Whitman is the other East Newton representative. Whitman made the second team as both an infielder and a pitcher. The senior lefty hit an area leading .458 and had an on-base percentage over .500. Whitman posted a 4.31 ERA and struck out 38 batters.
Seneca
The Indians were well represented with four players on the list. Eric Esposito led the area with 14 stolen bases and batted .342 as the Indians’ lead off man to earn first team honors as a catcher. The three-sport star was also tied for second in the area with seven doubles. Jacob Rhoades earned first team honors as an infielder. The third baseman turned shortstop hit .375 (fifth in the area), drove in 23 runs (tied for second), and stole 10 bases (fifth in the area). The senior also smacked two homers and three triples this season in Seneca. Sophomore outfielder Colton Webber earned first team honors after leading Seneca with a .449 batting average and leading all hitters in the area with 27 RBI. Webber also led the area with 12 doubles. Tim Nimmo and Braxton Graham each earned second team honors. Nimmo, a junior infielder, hit .313 with 18 RBI this season. Graham spent most of the season as the
Indians’ No. 2 hitter until an injury derailed his season. Graham ended up batting .333 with a pair of home runs.
McDonald County
The Mustangs of McDonald County earned four all-area nods. Charlie Bridenstine was the team’s lone first team representative as a designated hitter/utility player. Bridenstine tied for the area lead with five home runs this season. Fellow masher Kaleb Schlessman earned second team honors as a catcher after matching Bridenstine’s five round trippers. Tanner Grab was the second team utility player/designated hitter. Grab smacked four homers this season and the trio formed possibly the most powerful 3-4-5 combination in southwest Missouri in terms of home runs. Sakel Peak bounced between the lead off spot and the No. 2 hole for the Mustangs this season. The senior will continue his playing career at Crowder College next season.
It’s been a lot of fun watching and reporting this baseball season. The best news of all is that Legion baseball starts soon. As a matter of fact, Seneca takes on McDonald County in both teams’ openers on Thursday in McDonald County.
One more special congratulations to All-Area Player of the Year Ryan Jinks and Freshman of the Year Zach Renfro. And once more to all of the players in the area, congratulations on a great spring and good luck this summer.
2011 NDN All-Area Team
1st Team:
C- Eric Esposito, Seneca
INF- Colby Brown, East Newton
INF- Alex Wise, Neosho
INF- Jacob Rhoades, Seneca
INF- Ryan Jinks, Diamond
OF- Colton Webber, Seneca
OF- Jacob Patterson, Neosho
OF- Zach Renfro, Diamond
UTIL- Charlie Bridenstine, McDonald County
P- Ryan Jinks, Diamond
P- Chris Epperson, Diamond
P- Colby Brown, East Newton
2nd Team:
C- Kaleb Schlessman, McDonald County
INF- Mason Whitman, East Newton
INF- Keith Reiss, Diamond
INF- Sakel Peak, McDonald County
INF- Tim Nimmo, Seneca
OF- Jacob Rickman, Neosho
OF- Braxton Graham, Seneca
OF- Austin Singleton, Diamond
UTIL- Tanner Grab, McDonald County
P- Brodie Bien, Diamond
P- Alex Wise, Neosho
P- Mason Whitman, East Newton
Honorable Mention:
Neosho- Tyler Marion, Silas Bohannon, Jared Brown
East Newton- Blake Hill, Brandon White, Cody Bunch
Seneca- Jared Lipe, Payton Rawlins, Marty Mailes
McDonald County- Dusty Stites, Kolby Henson, Kent Keene
Diamond- Jake Henson, Jordan Douglas, Jeremy Morris
