Some Spring time State tournament AWARDS as seen by one observer…
INFANT CHAMPION AWARD… Lee Summit West is the 1st school ever to WIN a state championship in their 1st year. The Titans won the class 2 Girls Soccer Title on Saturday over Incarnate Word.
QUIETEST HERO AWARD… Joe Gaboury, amidst all the talent at Hickman, bangs out 4 hits, drives home 4 runs and scores 2 as Kewpies roll 17-7 in championship game.
FIREMANS' AWARD.. to Brett Greenwell of DeSmet. In the 7th inning as the Spartans hung onto a slim 4-3 lead, runners on 2nd & 3rd and no one out, Greenwell puts out the fire without any more runs scoring in the semifinal game against Mehlville.
CHANGING JET STREAM AWARD … moving both titles from East to West --both winners came from the West side of the STATE (Lee Summit West & St Theresa's Academy) in girls soccer. Again, that is the first time that the East side (especially St Louis soccer) has been shut out from the championship circle in all levels in a year.
SUPERMAN AWARD-CLASS 1… Thomas Veseley (Plato), scores 2 runs, drives home 2 runs in 4-1 semifinal victory for the Eagles. In a thrilling 1-0 championship victory, he pitches a 3 hit gem and scores the only run of the game!
SUPERMAN AWARD-class 3.. to Brayden Drake of Webb City. What about this for a two game total-7 for 7, scored 3 runs, drove home 3 runs AND pitched a complete game victory permitting only a single tally in 9-1 Cardinal win in Championship tilt.
SUPERMAN AWARD-class 2.. to Matt Frevert (Hallsville). Pitches a complete game shutout in the semifinals then in title game he hits long 3 run HR and shuts the door down for the last 2 innings with 6 strikeouts in relief !
IT WAS PLASTIC, NOT GLASS, AWARD… The glass slipper just didn't fit the upstart Mehlville Panthers in Columbia. Kudo's to Coach Jim Kern and his gutsy Panthers for a great playoff run that was based on pitching and defense.
THE MAGIC OF 9 OUTS AWARD… The last 9 outs of every game separates the winners from losers in many games. A classic example is after 4 innings, DeSmet led Hickman 6-5 and lost 17-7. Another example -- Mansfield Lions scores 4 runs in the 6th inning to rally 9-7 over Iberia Rangers.
Coach Bob Ryan - June 7th
