Minnis is All-Metro baseball player of year

Source: The Star

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Minnis

Starling

Longcoy

Richards

Dudenhoeffer

White

Rea

Hannah

Morin

Shockley

Stoker

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When Albert Minnis first joined Lawrence’s baseball team, he didn’t know what to expect.

But it didn’t take Minnis, a junior who transferred from Park Hill this past January, very long to find out just how good the Lions’ baseball team really was.

“It was the first practice, and I saw we had about five or six guys who could really pitch it and seven, eight, nine guys who could really swing it,” Minnis said. “That’s when I realized, wow, we’re really good.”

But the addition of Minnis, a left-handed pitcher who baffled opposing hitters all year with an upper 80s fastball and a dazzling slider, seemed to put Lawrence over the top. As the ace of the Lions’ staff, Minnis went on to lead his team to the Kansas 6A state championship, going 7-0 with two saves and a 0.57 ERA in 49 innings.

And for that, Minnis is The Star’s All-Metro baseball player of the year.

“The best thing he did was fit in with a very established group of kids,” said Lawrence coach Brad Stoll. “He didn’t try to come in here and big-league everybody and tell them he had Kansas, Clemson, LSU, Wichita State, Nebraska and Arkansas all over him. He just came in and was one of the guys.”

Minnis’ season wasn’t without its ups and downs, thanks to a thumb injury he suffered in mid-April. He returned to the mound after about 10 days, but he couldn’t hit for about a month. And when he did, the injury still hindered him enough to affect his offensive output — he hit .283 with two home runs and 13 RBIs.

But when the Lions needed Minnis, he came up big. He picked up the victory in the Lions’ 2-1 win over Free State in the regional final, hit two home runs and shut out Blue Valley in a 17-0 three-inning victory in the first round of state and picked up the save in the Lions’ 3-2 win over Shawnee Mission West in the state championship game by shutting out the Vikings over the final three innings.

And while Minnis has had his fair share of honors this season — he was named to the All-Sunflower League first team and was a first-team all-state selection by the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches — he said nothing will top being on the mound for the final out of a state championship win.

“When I got the last guy out, it was the most amazing feeling of my life,” Minnis said. “The biggest goal was to win state — all the other stuff was just icing on the cake.”

Pitcher FIRST TEAM

•Albert Minnis, Lawrence, junior. Helped the Lions to the Kansas 6A state championship, going 7-0 with two saves and a 0.57 ERA in 49 innings. Minnis recorded 71 strikeouts and walked 10.

•Michael Morin, Shawnee Mission South, senior. Went 7-1 and posted a 1.06 ERA in 59 2/3 innings while striking out 92 and walking 15. Morin, who was drafted in the 40th round by the Royals, will play for North Carolina.

SECOND TEAM

Dylan Jensen, Lee’s Summit North, senior; Brandon Simmons, Turner, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Tyler Henley, Basehor-Linwood, junior; Jake Doller, Rockhurst, senior; Keith Picht, Olathe South, senior; Ryan Scott, Lawrence Free State, junior.

Catcher FIRST TEAM

•Spencer Shockley, Excelsior Springs, senior. Shockley, who was first team All-Metro last year, only got better his senior season. He batted .516 with an astonishing .938 slugging percentage and drove in 25 runs. Behind the plate, Shockley threw out 10 of 24 attempted base stealers and fielded at a .967 percentage.

SECOND TEAM

Joey Goodwin, Blue Valley, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Kyle Clifton, Truman, senior; Harrison Lambert, Olathe Northwest, senior.

First base FIRST TEAM

•Delby Hannah, Harrisonville, senior. Hannah makes a repeat appearance on the first team after leading the Wildcats to a third-place finish in the Missouri Class 3 state playoffs. Hannah hit .440, produced 40 RBIs and hit five home runs.

SECOND TEAM

Kevin Sweeney, St. Thomas Aquinas, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Cody Kukuk, Lawrence Free State, sophomore; Gavin Stark, Lee’s Summit North, senior.

Second base FIRST TEAM

•David Longcoy, Lee’s Summit North, junior. Among the power-hitting Broncos, Longcoy batted .435 through 92 plate appearances. He also contributed 23 RBIs, and Lee’s Summit North finished as the state runner-up in Missouri Class 4.

SECOND TEAM

Joe Ramirez, Bishop Ward, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Chance Crawford, Bonner Springs, senior; Matt Hill, Shawnee Mission East, senior.

Shortstop FIRST TEAM

•Aaron Rea, Lawrence, senior. The Sunflower League player of the year hit .433 with a .558 on-base percentage and .657 slugging percentage in 67 at-bats for the Kansas 6A state champions. Rea scored 27 runs, stole 17 bases and hit four home runs.

SECOND TEAM

Caleb Cole, Lee’s Summit North, junior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Derek Haug, Harrisonville, sophomore; Mike Levine, Shawnee Mission South, senior.

Third base FIRST TEAM

•Jack Dudenhoeffer, Pembroke Hill, senior. Before Dudenhoeffer begins a new stage for Mizzou baseball, he shattered several Raider offensive statistics, including most overall hits and triples in a season. Dudenhoeffer batted .500 with a .986 slugging percentage and produced 32 RBIs. Among his 36 season hits, Dudenhoeffer had seven triples and four home runs.

SECOND TEAM

Taylor Drake, Blue Valley, junior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Andrew Blackwell, Blue Valley West, junior; Brad Phillips, Lee’s Summit North, junior.

Outfield FIRST TEAM

•David Richards, Grain Valley, senior. Richards was a true slugger, slamming 11 home runs and batting .418 last season. He also contributed 38 RBIs and finished with a 1.016 slugging percentage.

•Bubba Starling, Gardner Edgerton, sophomore. Was a dual threat for the Trailblazers, often blowing away hitters with a fastball that ventured in the mid-90s. However, he also did plenty of damage at the plate, batting .580 with nine home runs, eight doubles, 29 runs and 19 RBIs in 50 at-bats.

•Josh White, Washington, senior. The Kansas 5A Player of the Year was spectacular all season for the Wildcats, batting .654 with a .705 on-base percentage, 22 RBIs, three home runs, six doubles, three triples and 34 runs in 52 at-bats. Also went 32 for 32 in stolen bases.

SECOND TEAM

Bubba Dotson, Oak Park, senior; Parker Gibson, Lansing, sophomore; Mitch Ransburg, Olathe Northwest, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Kyle Adams, Olathe Northwest, senior; Storm Bailey, Harrisonville, senior; Sal Belfonte, Rockhurst, junior; Jordan Miller, Spring Hill, junior; Brian Peck, Blue Valley, junior; Matt Ricketts, Shawnee Mission West, senior.

Utility FIRST TEAM

•Beau Stoker, Bishop Ward, senior. A shortstop and part-time pitcher, Stoker batted .462 with a .600 on-base percentage, 34 RBIs, 24 runs, nine doubles, two triples and six home runs in 78 at-bats. He was drafted in the 18th round by the Minnesota Twins and has a scholarship to play at Missouri State.

SECOND TEAM

Eric Dawson, Olathe North, senior.

HONORABLE MENTION

Austin Fisher, Olathe Northwest, sophomore; Mark Sappington, Raymore-Peculiar, senior.

The Star’s selection process The Kansas City Star’s all-metro selections were made by members of the high school sports staff, who consulted coaches’ ballots. An athlete must participate in at least 60 percent of the competition for which the athlete has qualified to be eligible for first-team selection and 50 percent to be eligible for second-team and honorable-mention selection. At least 10 percent of the 103 Kansas City metropolitan area high schools must participate in a sport for a team to be selected. First-team, second-team and honorable mention selections are made in sports with more than 40-percent participation. First-team and second-team selections only are made in sports with between 16- and 40-percent participation. First-team selections only are made in sports with between 10- and 15-percent participation.

submitted by TEREZ A. PAYLOR - 2009-08-01 21:58:01