~Sikeston's Baker named second team infielder
JEFFERSON CITY -- The Missouri Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association recently released the high school all-state baseball teams.
Sikeston senior first baseman Tyler Baker joins an ever-growing list of all-
state performers for the Bulldogs as he was named a second team infielder in Class 3. Since 1998, the Bulldogs have had at least one all-state baseball player every year except 1999.
Baker, a Mineral Area College signee, batted .434 with five home runs, 13 doubles and 34 RBIs for Sikeston's 14-11 team.
"When you consider that we didn't make it out of our district, that says a lot for his accomplishments and the stats he had," said Sikeston coach Kevin Self. "He was our RBI guy and he hit about .440, so that's pretty impressive when you look at the competition we play. You've got to hit the ball pretty consistently all year to keep that kind of average."
Also being named to the Class 3 second team was New Madrid County Central catcher Andy Gantner.
The senior is the first NMCC player to be named all-state since 2001 when Ryan Allen made the team.
Gantner batted .517 with three home runs, seven doubles, two triples and 23 RBIs for the Eagles' 9-9 team.
"It's a pretty good accomplishment for Andy," said NMCC assistant coach Joseph McClarty. "He was a team leader this year and he finally got to complete a whole season. The last two years he's been bitten by the injury bug. For him to come in and step up and be an offensive leader and team leader for us was big for us this season.
"It's a great accomplishment for our program, I just wish we could've had a little better year record-wise. Offensively we hit the ball as well as anybody in Southeast Missouri and Andy was a big part of that."
In Class 2, a year after having three players selected to the all-state team, East Prairie had another one selected this year in second team utility player Taylor White.
White played first base, third base and catcher for the Eagles as he batted .484 with five home runs, six doubles and 31 RBIs for East Prairie's 11-11 team. He also had nine steals.
"He's very deserving of this honor -- he's one of the hardest working kids on our team," said East Prairie coach Gary Scott. "He had a good year for us and the hard work paid off. This is a couple years in a row that we've had some all-staters. It's good for our program and I think it will give the other kids something to shoot for. Maybe if they work hard they can receive the same honor."
In Class 1, third place team Oran had three players selected overall, with sophomore Caleb Seyer making the first team at catcher.
He followed up his monster freshman season with another standout year as he batted .438 with five home runs, eight doubles, two triples, a whopping 56 runs scored and 24 RBIs as the leadoff batter for the Eagles' 26-5 team.
"It's a big thing for him and he had a big year for us again," said Oran coach Mitch Wood. "That's one of those things that after you have such a phenomenal freshman year, it's tough to come back and repeat. But he came back, his numbers probably weren't as good, but overall I thought he did a great job."
Junior pitcher Chase Seyer was selected as a second team pitcher as he posted a 7-1 mark on the mound in 50 1/3 innings. He had a 1.95 earned run average with 42 strikeouts and 11 walks.
"Chase was out for part of the year, but to come back and have the year like he did was great," said Wood.
Senior Austin Dumey was arguably Oran's top all-around player on both the mound, at the plate and on the infield. He was named a second team utility player as he batted .409 with three home runs, six doubles, five triples, 45 RBIs and 34 runs scored.
On the mound Dumey went 6-2 in 59 1/3 innings, posting a 3.30 ERA with 36 strikeouts and 22 walks.
"All three kids were deserving and they had great years," said Wood. "I thought the (Kody) Campbell kid had a great year and probably deserved some mention. But you never know who's looking at what or what they're looking at."
Chaffee sophomore pitcher Steven Dooley also earned first-team honors after striking out 100 batters in 69 innings. His record was just 5-6, but Dooley finished with a 1.93 ERA and walked only 24 batters.