BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
The NBC pool play winner Great Bend Bat Cats placed starting pitcher Gyeongyu Kim on the Jayhawk League’s first team. The Bat Cats (26-20) won three of four games at the NBC World Series before losing 5-3 to semifinalist Cheney. Kim (6-2, 4.10 ERA) pitched 57 innings with 55 strikeouts and 18 walks.
“Kim led the league in strikeouts. It was well deserved,” said Roger Ward, Great Bend Bat Cats coach. “He had a good ability to change speeds and keep batters off balance.”
Earning second-team honors were Great Bend shortstop Benjamin Sems (.358, 24 R, 25 RBI, 5 HR), first baseman Hunter Romero (.2.87, 19 R, 24 RBI, 4 HR), outfielder Corrigan Bartlett (.318, 36 R, 31 RBI) and starting pitcher Jarrett Seaton (5-1, 3.20 ERA) threw 53 innings with 46 hits, 41 strikeouts and 22 walks.
Bartlett (St. Louis Unversity) and Seaton played for Barton Community College. Sems (University of Kansas); Kim (College of the Ozarks, Mo.) and Romero (Spring Hill College, La.) also played college baseball this spring.
The Bat Cats’ biggest omission was outfielder Jordan Wilkerson (.331, 10 HR, 32 R, 28 RBI). Wilkerson ranked second in the Jayhawk League in home runs with a team-leading .641 slugging percentage. Wilkerson will play at Fort Hays State next year.
“Jordan did a lot of damage at the plate. He was a reliable hitter for us,” Ward said. “I was fighting for him.”
Also bypassed was Brennan Fontenot (Spring Hill College), who played as a designated hitter-catcher. Fontenot (.347, 22 R, 26 RBI, 15 walks) was the Bat Cats’ second-leading hitter.
“We’ll ask all our players to come back next season,” Ward said. “Hopefully, it was a good experience for them this summer.”
JAYHAWK ALL-LEAGUE
FIRST TEAM
Catcher—Colin Simpson, Hays
First base—Cale O’Donnell, Liberal
Second base—Zac Cook, Liberal
Shortstop—Bennett Hostetler, Dodge City
Third base—Trent Maloney, Liberal
Outfield—Trevor Boone, Hays; Clayton Rasbeary, Hays; Tyler Flores, Haysville
DH—Colton Onstott, Liberal
Utility—Jaron Robinson, Liberal
Starter—Gyeongyu Kim, Great Bend; Chandler Coates, Hays; Sam Beattie, Liberal; Alex Lopez, Hays
Reliever—Zach Keller, Liberal; Brock Knoten, Dodge City; Tyler Starks, Hays
Most Valuable Player—Colin Simpson, Hays
Top Hitter—Colin Simpson, Hays
Top Pitcher—Chandler Coates, Hays
SECOND TEAM
Catcher—Logan Brown, Dodge City
First base—Hunter Romero, Great Bend
Second base—Dakota Connors, Dodge City
Shortstop—Benjamin Sems, Great Bend
Third base—Jaret Koin, El Dorado
Outfield—Corrigan Bartlett, Great Bend; Dylan Hutcheson, Hays; Michael Uquiri, Dodge Cty
DH—Troy Konwinski, Haysville
Utility—Tyler Myers, Derby
Starter—Jarrett Seaton, Great Bend; Walter Penningtonm Hays; Josh Riggs, El Dorado; Hunter Larson, El Dorado
Reliever—Chance Carner, Liberal; Garrett Glass, El Dorado; Matt Dallas, Derby
