Tonganoxie Junior tourney puts final touches on season
Youth baseball and softball summer seasons are down to their last at-bats.
As various tournaments are finished or are winding down elsewhere in the area, Tonganoxie’s tournaments are practically finished.
The Midget boys bracket was finished Friday, while the girls’ K-Ball tournament ended Saturday in Tonganoxie. The Junior boys tournament, meanwhile, could end today. The double elimination tournament championship would be played at 6 p.m. at Tonganoxie Recreation Commission Field 2 with a forced second championship game by the losers’ bracket representative. Tuesday’s games started after The Mirror went to press, but results from the championship, either Tuesday or today, can be seen in next week’s edition.
TRC assistant director Ben Cramer said there weren’t any major upsets in tournaments played at the TRC ball fields.
“They all pretty much went, for the most part, how they were supposed to,” Cramer said.
In the Midget boys tournament, top-seeded First State Bank & Trust defeated Knights of Columbus for the title. Midwest Health Center took third.
First State Bank team members were Billy Anderson, Dylan Anderson, Clint Hallgrimson, Matthew Richardson, Nathan Stauch, Lucas Ahart, Parker Dean, Justin Soetaert, Corey Klinkenberg, Brandon Ogden, Ben Higbee, Connor Olson and Jason Espeland. The team was coached by Bill Anderson.
Members of the second-place Knights of Columbus team, which was the No. 4 seed, were Jeremy Wagner, Jeff Sims, Geoff Boyer, Keith Slater, Ian McClellan, Tre Hesselman, Trever Edmonds, Mitchell Dehoff, Nic Irick, Tucker Hollingsworth, Dylan Young, Jared Knipp and Jacob Rains. Gary Wagner coached the Knights of Columbus team.
Midwest Health Center took third place after entering the tournament with the No. 2 seed. Team members were Tyler Erwin, D.J. Lindsay, Jake Woolf, Alex Fox, Zack Kaighin, Zachary Langston, Brandon Criqui, Tanner Smith, Samuel Denholm, Joel Dunning, Colton Tucker, Nick Ward and John Emery. Midwest’s coach was Troy Erwin.
In the K-Ball girls tournament, Tonganoxie Civic Club went in as the No. 1 seed, but came out in second place. Basehor I, the No. 2 seed, swapped places and won the tournament.
Members of the Civic Club team were Maggie Gripka, Brooklyn Kerbaugh, Aubrey Drozinski, Chelsea Ogden, Cassidy Eggebrecht, Bobbi Jo Kissinger, Chantel Sample, Nikole Beggs, Amber Patterson, Alicia Patterson and Christopher Tiner. Paul Gripka coached the team.
Although the boys’ K-ball tournament wasn’t in Tonganoxie, results were available for the tournament that was played in Linwood.
Himpel Homes won the tournament, while Evans Real Estate placed second. Budget Rooters took third. Himpel was the No. 3 seed, Evans the No. 4 and Budget Rooters the No. 2. Linwood II was the top seed in the tournament consisting of teams from Tonganoxie and Linwood.
Himpel Homes, which was coached by Mark Elston, defeated Evans Real Estate on Saturday for the title. Team members were Garret Elston, Bo Pursell, Caleb Himpel, Wyatt Maurer, Ben Edmonds, Dakota Pike, Austin Higgins-Younkin, Tyler Newman, Tyler Bartholomew, Bobby Edmonds Tyler Freeman and Preston Gallagher.
Evans team members were Ben Williams, Colby Yates, Jared Colgrove, Jeffrey Neal, Eric Taylor, Thomas Miller, Luke Faherty, Wesley Williams, Austin Leach, Jacob Spencer and Zackery Parrett. Mark Williams coached the team.
The third-place Budget Rooters were coached by Tommy Harrington. Team members were Dalton Harrington, Kody Campbell, Matthew Soetaert, Torrey Brown, Heath Moore, Jake Owens, Ronnie Myers, Matthew Saathoff, Jesse Kaighin, Austin Slinkard, Payton Vermeesch and Gage Liehy.
In the only Tonganoxie tournament still in progress, the Junior boys’ bracket has three teams left, and they’re all from Tonganoxie. After Monday evening, Mr. Goodcents was still standing on the winners’ bracket, while Vet-Vax Inc. and Quarles Trash Service advanced to the losers’ bracket final.
Cramer, who is in his first year of helping conduct the summer tournaments, has had experience running girls’ softball ASA tournaments in Colby in the past. He said the Tonganoxie tournaments have gone well.
“The Junior boys tournament is probably the most competitive one we’ve had,” Cramer said.
Monday’s game between Mr. Goodcents and Vet-Vax may have been the best example. Goodcents won the game, 1-0.