Sports
Tigers baseball team hosts banquet
Friday, 15 June 2012 by Chuck Kelly
Belton Tiger head baseball coach Eddie Cornblum, his assistant coaches and the players who made up the 2012 state quarterfinalist team gathered at the Wildflower Country Club last week for the annual end-of-season banquet and awards ceremony.
"I was excited about how we finished," commented Cornblum. "Obviously, not so much that we lost but that we finished on a high note, going into the third round (of the state playoffs) and I thought that our kids came together at the end of the season and really played together as a team....that means a lot! Going into next year, they really set the standard high for the kids coming back."
Belton's 19-14 season came to an end against district champion Bryan in a close series in which the Vikings scored a total of only three more runs than the Tigers in two games!
The Tiger talent didn't go unnoticed in the balloting for All-District 12-5A. Ten Tigers were selected for the elite group.
Named to the 1st Team were Blayten Magana (pitcher), Max Hogan (second base) and Shane Ward (outfield).
Chosen for the 2nd Team were Hunter Houston (pitcher), Austin Bishoff (first base) and Jared Janczak (outfield).
Honorable Mention was earned by Walker Winders (shortstop) and Chase Cryer, Jarret Pickens and Juan Lagunas (all outfielders).
Five players were named CTBCA Senior All-Stars: Austin Bishoff (first base), Max Hogan (second base), Blayten Magana (pitcher), Hunter Houston (pitcher) and Shane Ward (outfield).
When the Belton Tiger Baseball Team Awards were presented, senior Shane Ward was named the team's Most Valuable Player of 2012. He earned a total of four honors for the night.
The Big Stick Award went to Austin Bishoff.
The Golden Glove Award was shared by Jarret Pickens and Shane Ward.
The Golden Arm Award went to Hunter Houston and Blayten Magana.
The Hustle Award was earned by Mark Herrington.
The Spirit Award was handed to Joe Pare.
The Tiger Award was presented to Max Hogan.
"They had the community excited and they had a lot of people really fired up about baseball," Cornblum stated. " (It was) their work ethic....they put in a lot of time and effort, a lot of preparation. The kids really battled and came together at the end and you have to be proud of that."
Members of the 2012 Tiger quarterfinalist team included nine seniors: Shane Ward, Max Hogan, Austin Bishoff, Layne Pickens, Taylor Lahey, Jarret Pickens, Ryan King, Blayten Magana and Hunter Houston.
The remainder of the varsity team was: Joey Hogan, Mark Herrington, Joe Pare, Jarred Janczak, Ryan Neimi, Justin Golden, Juan Lagunas, Chase Cryer and Walker Winders.
Assistant coaches for the Tigers are Darin Blomquist, Scott Schroeder, Ryan Lindemann and Ryan Maher and Carlton Rice and Chase Richie served as team managers.
"We are losing some great ones (to graduation) but we have a good core for next year," commented Cornblum. "We have a good group of juniors and sophomores and some freshmen who really played well this year and it's a good group. I'm excited about next a year and the years to come!"
