|
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Monster Mash
Collin County, TX
|
|
|
Plano West’s commitment to offense produced a state championship
|
“We wanted to take a strength and make it a monster.” – Coach Kendall Clark
|
|
|
A few days before the UIL state baseball tournament, during a radio show at Country Burger, Plano West leadoff hitter Kale Kiser was asked how many welts he had on his body from the 21 pitches he had been hit by on the season. He said most of them were gone, which if any thing spoke to the fact that the Wolves were still playing baseball in June.
“Every one of them has been worth it,” he said.
Kiser’s willingness to “take one for the team” – or 21 in this case – illustrates the commitment that the entire Plano West team had to winning a state championship, and building on the disappointment of losing a tough three-game series to Georgetown in last year’s regional semifinal.
There was a reason why Plano West finished off a 40-2 season with a 10-8 victory over Southlake Carroll in the 5A state title game at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Everyone, from Kiser at the top of the order to No. 9 hitter Reed Dillard, were committed to being the best team in the state.
“We set the standards high for the younger kids on the team,” shortstop Harrison Holmes said. “We told them we had state title aspirations.”
Plano West coach Kendall Clark set those standards days after the Wolves lost to Georgetown. Knowing that he was losing three of his top pitchers but returning most of his best hitters, he decided to build his team around offense. Plano West spent hours during the offseason and during the season taking batting practice, and then taking more.
It was commonplace to see fathers working with their sons up in the batting cages on their own time.
“We wanted to take a strength and make it a monster,” Clark said.
Godzilla comes to mind. Plano West scored 320 runs, averaging 7.6 runs per game. The Wolves hit 33 home runs as a team with Jason Coats and Ryan Ford leading the team with nine homers each.
Plano West had seven hitters bat better than .300. Eight players scored at least 31 runs. In the state tournament alone, four different Plano West players hit home runs in one of the best power displays in recent state tournament history.
“It’s a tough lineup one through nine,” Carroll coach Larry Hughes said. “It’s mentally draining on a pitcher to have to make great pitches all day long.”
Plano West scored 12 runs or more in three of their first four games to open the season. They reached double digits in runs in six of their 14 District 9-5A games.
In typical Plano West fashion, the Wolves finished off with an offensive explosion – one predicted by Clark before the Saturday massacre of Georgetown when they outscored the team that eliminated them the season before, 22-3. In three of their final four games – once against Georgetown in the regional finals and in both state tournament games – Plano West hit double digits.
Several individual players set standards for years to come. Kiser, who is headed to Nebraska, won the District 9-5A MVP after leading Plano West with a .432 batting average. He had a .571 on-base percentage thanks to the 21 hit by pitches and 24 walks. He upped his on-base average in the playoffs to a mind-boggling .694 in the playoffs and drove in the game-tying run in the Carroll game.
Jason Coats hit his way to TCU with nine home runs at 48 RBIs. He just missed the team batting title with a .429 average.
Sophomore Ryan Ford established himself as the immediate future of Plano West baseball with nine home runs and 62 RBIs.
Third baseman Donald Plant batted. 383. Right fielder Ryan Hughes hit a home run in the state tournament. Catcher Tyler Bruce had 26 RBIs. Dillard had a .330 average and played a great center field. Designated hitter Blake Parker had a home run in the playoffs.
Then there was shortstop Holmes, who had the memorable at-bat on the 2008 5A state championship game. With the scored tied at 7-7 in the top of the sixth and runners at second and third, Holmes got out of the way of an inside pitch. Kiser, who has made getting hit by a pitch an art form, would have gotten hit to load the bases. Holmes instinctively got out of the way. He was briefly frustrated with himself after the pitch.
“We could have had Jason up with the bases loaded,” Holmes said.
Of course, Holmes would come through anyway with a sacrifice fly to score the game-winning run.
“It turned out a little better,” said Holmes, who will play next year at Texas Tech.
These Wolves will be remembered for their slugging offense, but the pitching can’t – and won’t – go unnoticed for Clark, Kiser and Holmes.
Ben Flora was the ace Plano West needed him to be. He was 6-0 in the playoffs. Flora, also headed to Texas Tech, was 13-0 with 0.96 ERA for the season.
Senior Drew Johnson, who transferred from Arlington Lamar, was the state tournament game MVP after earning the win against Carroll. Johnson, who went 13-2 for the season, pitched the final four innings for Plano West.
The Plano West teams have the near future will be built around Ford and sophomore pitchers Andrew Blum and Robert Huber. Blum, who started the state title game, was 6-0 for the season with a 1.67 ERA. Huber had a 2.80 ERA and five saves.
Who knows what the future will hold for Plano West baseball. The commitment to excellence has been established. The road map to preparing to be a state champion will be there from now on for Clark. The celebration after the final out is one Clark and his team will never forget.
“To win it you can’t help but be emotional,” Clark said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three’s Company
by: Mateo Zeske
No, you aren’t seeing double. Mary, Michael and Steven Curtis are 17-year-old triplets heavily involved with diverse extracurricular activities at...
More 
Archives
|
|
|
|
|
The University Interscholastic League divides its football playoffs based on the student enrollment number of qualifying high schools. VYPE asked...
More
Archives
|
|
 ™
|
|
A collection of this month's best action photos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to upgrade your Flash Player to version 9 or newer.
|
|
|
™
®