Tuesday, June 11, 2013
SPORTS
The Fayette County Record
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La Grange baseball team members rush out of the dugout to swarm pitcher Logan Vinklarek after the last out of Thursday’s 10-2 state championship win over Texarkana Pleasant Grove. Photo by Tom Wood
Purple Reign, Gold Rush La Grange Wins Fourth State Baseball Title With 10-2 Win Over Defending Champs By JEFF WICK
The Fayette County Record
AUSTIN – Thanks to a group of guys that didn’t know how to quit and a head coach whose career was only going to last as long as they kept winning, the storied history of La Grange Leopard baseball got an exciting new chapter. After a thrilling 2013 season during which they didn’t even clinch a playoff berth until the last day of the regular season, and then needed three comefrom behind postseason victories just to get to the state tournament, the Leps arrived in Austin and suddenly dominated. La Grange followed Wednesday’s 8-3 state semifinal victory over Silsbee with Thursday’s
“
This was the epitome of a true team championship. It seemed like we had somebody different step up each game.”
– La Grange head coach Brad Harbers
10-2 win over defending champ Texarkana Pleasant Grove. And just like that, the Leps, with gold medals around their necks, were hoisting the Class 3A state title trophy in front of 2,639 fans at UT’s Disch-Falk Field. “We did it,” said La Grange senior Logan Vin-
As each Lep got to the infield, they took a leap and added to the celebratory pile after the game. Photo by Tom Wood
klarek, who was named MVP of the championship game after his complete game six-hitter on the mound and his performance at the plate that included a triple, single, sacrifice fly and walk. Thursday’s state title win came 40 years to the day after La Grange won their first baseball state title back in 1973, and it was the fourth overall baseball title for the Leps – making them one of only six teams in Texas to have claimed that many crowns. “People have called this a fairytale,” said La Grange head coach Brad Harbers, who months ago announced he was retiring after the season to move into school administration here in the town he grew up in. “It very well may be.” “This group of guys understood what the game
of baseball meant to the town of La Grange… We’re going to celebrate this one for a long time.” To claim this crown, the Leps had to beat a Pleasant Grove team that was trying to make its case as the new dynasty of 3A baseball. This was the Hawks’ sixth consecutive trip to the state tournament and they had won it all in 2010 and 2012. But the Hawks hadn’t faced a pitcher like La Grange senior Logan Vinklarek or a lineup as scrappy as the Leps’, which for the second consecutive day at state saw everyone in the starting lineup reach base at least once. “This was the epitome of a true team championship,” Harbers said. See Leps, next page
The La Grange players hoist the championship trophy to show off to their fans. Photo by Jeff Wick
The members of the state championship La Grange baseball team are, from left to right: Kneeling: Assistant coach Ben Ahrens, statistician Adam Kulhanek, Dalton Burton, Landon Gerik, Tanner Fritsch, Austin Colon, Adam Robinson, Dustin Drab; Standing: Trainer Gabrielle Rebecca, Assistant Coach Wayne Schmidt, Will Davidson, Rustin Heger, Riley Grayson, Logan Vinklarek, Kyle Oltmann, Trey Supak, Kolby Kolek, Chris Raborn, Ty Beseda, Blake Harbers, and Head Coach Brad Harbers. Photo by Jeff Wick
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The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Leps Beat Hawks to Win Their First Baseball Title Since 2004 Continued from front
As good as it all ended, the day actually started off rough for Vinklarek as he hit the first batter of the game, Alex Alsup, who ended up coming around to score following a throwing error, a bunt and a groundout. But that half inning would be the only time La Grange trailed in 14 innings here at the state tournament. Vinklarek got out of further trouble in that frame and then the Leps tied the game in the bottom of the first. Tanner Fritsch singled, advanced to second on a Dustin Drab single, went to third when a pick-off throw by Hawks’ starter Trey Jeans sailed into the outfield, and then came home on a Vinklarek sacrifice fly. The game remained tied 1-1 until the fourth when the Leps scored two more – without a hit. After Jeans threw three straight balls to Kolby Kolek to start that inning, Pleasant Grove head coach Craig Jones pulled him (with Kolek still at the plate) in favor of sub-marine thrower Dylan Silvey. But Silvey never found his groove. He finished the walk to Kolek, then Chris Raborn
reached base on a bunt and Landon Gerik walked to load the bases. An Austin Colon groundout plated Kolek and then Raborn scored on a wild pitch. Silvey’s struggles continued in the fifth when Vinklarek tripled off the right field wall before scoring on a Dalton Burton single. Then Silvey hit Kolek and Raborn with pitches to load the bases before surrendering a two-run double to Gerik. That chased Silvey from the game, but the next Hawks pitcher, Marshall McPherson, gave up a two-run double to Fritsch. That put the Leps up 8-1. Pleasant Grove got one run back in the top of the sixth, but no more. “Towards the end of the game, I didn’t have my best stuff but I just had to keep throwing strikes,” Vinklarek said. His performance on the mound completed two-days of dominance by Leps pitching. Junior Trey Supak threw a complete game four-hitter the day before to help led La Grange to the title game. “They were both on their stuff,” said Gerik, who caught both games. “They were both fired up about being here. Theyput everything they had on the line, and we got a state champi-
onship.” Pleasant Grove, by contrast, used four pitchers Thursday after after needing three to win the semifinal Wednesday over Lubbock Cooper. The Leps got two more insurance runs in the sixth. Supak doubled and scored on a Burton single and then Burton came home on Pleasant Grove’s third error of the game. Most of the La Grange fans were on their feet for the top of the seventh inning as Vinklarek closed the door on the Hawks. Almost as soon as La Grange freshmen second baseman Austin Colon threw out Ty Harp at first to end the game, the Leps dugout was emptying for a massive dog-pile on the infield. Then the state championship gold medals were awarded to each player and the massive state title trophy was presented – all as fans cheered and high-fived, and hugged and cried. The purple and gold had become purple in gold – again. “There’s something special about that group of 16 guys over there,” said Harbers, freshly soaked with a celebratory bucket of icewater by his players. “No matter what’s thrown at them, they come out on top.”
La Grange shortstop Tanner Fritsch leaps high to try to snag this throw as Pleasant Grove’s Dylan Silvey steals a base in the first inning Thursday. Photo by Tom Wood
Championship Game Boxscore La Grange 10, Texarkana Pleasant Grove 2 Pleasant Grove La Grange
100 001 0 – 2 5 3 100 252 x – 10 9 2
Pleasant Grove (28-14) Player ab r h rbi bb so po a Alex Alsup 2b 3 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 Casey Rayburn lf/1b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 Ty Harp ss 4 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 Dylan Silvey cf/p 2 1 2 0 1 0 3 0 Trey Jeans p/rf 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 Matthew Johnson pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Jarod Bayless 1b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Marshall McPherson p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Dalton Willige p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hudson Hopkins rf/cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Cason Cordray c 3 0 1 0 0 0 9 0 Blake Roberts pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Joe Pearlman 3b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 26 2 5 1 3 1 18 6
lob 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 7
La Grange (26-9) ab r h rbi bb so po a 4 1 3 2 0 1 3 3 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 2 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 10 1 3 0 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 2 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 27 10 10 8 5 8 21 15
lob 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 7
Player Tanner Fritsch ss Dustin Drab dh Trey Supak 3b Riley Grayson pr Logan Vinklarek p Blake Harbers pr Dalton Burton lf Kolby Kolek cf Chris Raborn 1b Landon Gerik c Ty Beseda pr Austin Colon 2b Adam Robinson rf Totals
La Grange’s Trey Supak reaches out to try to connect with an outside pitch Thursday. Supak had a double and a walk in the title game after pitching a complete game in the semis. Photo by Tom Wood
As the ump leans in to get a good look, La Grange’s Chris Raborn nearly up-ends the Pleasant Grove pitcher as he slides into home for a run following a wild pitch in the championship game. Photo by Jeff Wick
E - Alsup; Jeans; Cordray; Supak; Raborn. DP - LAGRANGE 1. LOB - PGROVE 7; LAGRANGE 7. 2B - Alsup; Fritsch; Gerik, Supak. 3B Vinklarek. HBP - Alsup; Kolek; Raborn. SF - Vinklarek. SB - Silvey; Jeans; Kolek Pitching Pleasant Grove IP Trey Jeans (L, 7-4) 3 Dylan Silvey 1.1 Marshall McPherson .2 Dalton Willige 1.0 La Grange IP Logan Vinklarek (W, 9-2) 7 Time: 2:07; Attendence: 2,639
H 3 4 3 0 H 5
R 1 7 2 0 R 2
ER 1 7 0 0 ER 2
BB SO 3 4 2 2 0 1 0 1 BB SO 3 1
Lep senior Dustin Drab slides in safely to third base, advancing from second on a sacrifice fly by Logan Vinklarek in the first inning Thursday. Drab reached base six of his eight times up at the state tournament. Photo by Tom Wood
Congratulations
TO THE 2013 LEOPARD BASEBALL TEAM ON YOUR STATE CHAMPIONSHIP WIN!
We are very proud of you!
From Ron Voss, Jr., Jody Supak, Mike Sharp, Jr. and the rest of the 1983 La Grange State Runner-up Team!
The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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History Repeats Itself
La Grange Wins Newest Baseball Title 40 Years to the Day After The Leps Won Their First One in 1973 By JEFF WICK
The Fayette County Record
AUSTIN – As the members of the La Grange baseball team were celebrating their state title Thursday night, a man some of the players had never seen before made his way onto the field and gathered all the Leps around him. It was Steve Kovar, a member of the 1973 La Grange state title team and uncle of championship game MVP Logan Vinklarek. As his voice cracked with emotion, here’s what he told the players: “Forty years ago, I was wearing Kolby’s No, 4, and I was playing his position (pointing to Austin Colon), second base. We beat Brenham 3-1 (to win the state title). “This has brought back a lot
of memories. There were five or six guys from the ‘73 state team that were here. We relived the whole story all over again. You can pay to get accepted into clubs, but you can’t be a member of the state championship club unless you win it. It wasn’t one guy that won this, it was all of you guys. “Welcome to the state championship club.” Besides the 1973 and 2013 Leps, teams, the La Grange baseball teams of 2001 and 2004 also won state championships. That puts the La Grange baseball program in another even more rare club. Only six high schools in the state of Texas have won four state baseball titles. Leading that group is Houston Bellaire, Brenham and South San Antonio, which have
all won seven state titles. La Grange assistant coach Wayne Schmidt was a player on three of those Brenham teams in the 1970s. Weimar has won five state titles (La Grange head coach Brad Harbers was an assistant coach on three of those teams) and now Colmesneil and La Grange have won four titles each. Thinking about that history even got La Grange catcher Landon Gerik a little choked up Thursday. “I’ve always loved baseball, It’s been in my family,” he said, “One of my cousins was on the team that last won state, Stetson Hrbacek. I’m just so happy I can be a part of that, to be out here and win a state championship like they did. “It’s really getting to me now the more I think about it.”
La Grange senior Logan Vinklarek fires a pitch to the plate during Thursday’s title game. Photo by Jeff Wick
Logan Vinklarek Named Championship Game MVP By JEFF WICK
The Fayette County Record
La Grange’s Steve Kovar, left, a member of the 1973 La Grange state title baseball team welcomes the members of the 2013 Leps baseball team to the “state championship club” after Thursday’s win. Photo by Jeff Wick
Complete 2013 State Baseball Tourney Results Class 1A Semis Stamford 9. Trenton 4 Price Carlisle 7, Weimar 6 (8 inn.) Finals Price Carlisle 6, Stamford 1
La Grange 8, Silsbee 3 Finals La Grange 10, Pleasant Grove 2 Class 4A Semis Tomball 5, Wichita Falls Rider 2 Corpus Christi Moody 3, Whitehouse 2 Finals Tomball 6, Corpus Christi Moody 1
Class 2A Semis Hughes Springs 5, Bangs 1 Hallettsville 16, Salado 3 (5 inn.) Finals Hallettsville 4, Hughes Springs 2 Class 3A Semis Texarkana Pleasant Grove 7, Lubbock Cooper 3
Class 5A Semis Fort Bend Dulles 3, Arlington Martin 0 The Woodlands 2, Northside O’Connor 1 Finals The Woodlands 9, Foirt Bend Dulles 5
AUSTIN – With the state title on the line, there was no one better for the Leps to have on the mound than Logan Vinklarek. A lifetime on the diamond had made him more than ready for this moment. Vinklarek is the son of Mark and Sharon Vinklarek. In addition to both being longtime tireless advocates of local baseball, Sharon was the head softball coach the last time La Grange won a state title in a team sport. Her Lady Leps won the 3A softball title in 2005. Guess who was in the dugout back then making mental notes of how to win a state title? “I guess I was about 10 years old, I was the bat boy,” Logan said. “I remember them playing that long 13 inning game in the semis just to get into the title game. I watched them stay focused forever. I guess I took it from them to never give up, go out and always play your hardest.” Vinklarek clearly gave it his all Thursday, throwing 95 pitches in the complete game six-hitter that helped earn him championship game MVP honors. That outing came in the heels of three consecutive playoff games that Vinklarek entered in relief to get the Leps out of jams. But Pleasant Grove was the toughest challenge yet, with five players hitting over .300.
UIL Athletic Director Peter Contreras presented La Grange’s Logan Vinlarek with the championship game MVP award after the game. Photo by Jeff Wick
“They were tough outs,” Vinklarek said, “They were going to put the ball in play, but our defense played outstanding. Towards the end of the game, I didn’t have my best stuff but I just had to keep throwing strikes.” “We did it.” The only four-year letterman on the Leps team had saved his biggest game with the Leps for last.
After an appearance in the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star game at Dell Diamond later this month, Vinklarek will go on to college to keep firing away with that right arm – though the ball’s going to change. He’s accepted a scholarship to play quarterback at Blinn Junior College next season. “I’m going to miss it,” he said, of baseball.
Leps Land Six on All-State Tourney Team After the state tournament was over, six La Grange baseball players were selected to the AllState tournament team by the Texas High School baseball coaches Association. Here’s the complete Class 3A team:
One of the huge storylines of this baseball season for the Leps was the return of junior pitcher Trey Supak from a knee injury suffered in football. He missed the first few weeks of baseball season but when he was back to full strength he was huge for the Leps, especially in the postseason. Supak, a University of Houston recruit, was the winning pitcher in the decisive regional semifinal, regional final and state semifinal game. Photo by Jeff Wick
P C 1B 2B 3B SS OF OF OF Utl MVP
Trey Supak Jr. La Grange Landon Gerik Sr. La Grange Chris Raborn Sr. La Grange Alex Alsup Sr. Pleasant Grove Joe Pearlman Fr. Pleasant Grove Tanner Fritsch Sr. La Grange Dylan Silvey Jr. Pleasant Grove Kris Elers Jr. Silsbee Kolby Kolek Sr. La Grange Chase Freeman Jr. Lubbock Cooper Logan Vinklarek Sr. La Grange
Supak threw the complete game four-hitter to get the Leps to the state title game and also hit a double in the title game. Raborn hit a solo homer in the semis, and had two bunts and three runs scored for the tourney. Gerik had two walks in the semis and a twoRBI double in the championship. Fritsch was 3-for-4 in the title game and hit a triple in the semis. Kolek hit that inside-the-park grand slam in the semis, had another hit in that game and scored twice in the final. Vinklarek had an RBI and scored a run in the semis, pitched a complete game in the finals and also had a triple, single and sac fly in that game.
La Grange Leopards
on your State Championship!
150 N. Vail St.• La Grange • 979-968-8915 Located Behind Sonic Drive-In
800.375.6461 • 1605 W. Travis St. • La Grange • 979.968.6461
www.LaGrangeFord.com
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The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Harbers Goes Out in Style
La Grange Head Baseball Coach Ends Career in Dugout With State Title
By JEFF WICK
The Fayette County Record
AUSTIN – As he sits in his new office this fall, Brad Harbers will only have to look down at his hand to see a shiny reminder of his last day in the Leps dugout. “I can start my new life now, but at least I’ll have that (championship) ring to put on,” he said. When Harbers first announced months ago he would be leaving his job as head coach of the La Grange baseball team to become the new assistant principal at La Grange Intermediate School, the Leps were still in a dogfight just to make the playoffs. But he and the seven seniors on the La Grange baseball team made their final season together one to remember with the dramatic run to a state title to add their own story to the long successful baseball history of La Grange. “It was something we all wanted to do for him,” said La Grange shortstop Tanner Fritsch. “We battled for him and we did it.” A La Grange-native, Harbers himself was a former Leopard, though he never enjoyed the team success as a player that he helped craft as a coach – where his teams made the Sweet 16 each of the three seasons. “That’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back home,” said Harbers, who arrived to coach the Leps in 2009 after 10 years at Weimar (where he won three state titles as an assistant coach). “Baseball tradition is so big here, expectations are so high. That’s the situation you wanted to be involved in. You want the pressure, you want the excitement.” After the final out was recorded Thursday, all the La Grange players dog-piled on one another in the infield. One of the last to reach the pile was Harbers, who took a running leap and landed amidst the pile. “What a fitting way to go out,” Harbers said. “You couldn’t write it any better than this.”
La Grange head coach Brad Harbers, holding up cap, is caught in this image of pure bliss, in the middle of the celebratory dog-pile at the end of the championship game. Photo by Tom Wood
Head coach Brad Harbers, right, and shortstop Tanner Fritsch, left, react during the postgame celebration. Photo by Tom Wood
The reaction on the players’ faces tell it all as head coach Brad Harbers shows them an example of what their state championship rings might look like.
Photo by Jeff Wick
The national anthem before the start of the state semifinal game.
Photo by Jeff Wick
Rather than sitting, the La Grange players preferred to stand to watch the game while in the dugout as they waited to bat.
Photo by Jeff Wick
Congratulations to all of the STATE CHAMPION Leopards.
Special Congratulations to Senior first baseman, Chris Raborn #20.
We Love You! Mom, Dad, & Patrick
Congratulations
LADYLEPS We are proud of you!
The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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The 2013 La Grange Leopard Baseball Team District, Area, Regional and State Champs; 26-9 Record
Tanner Fritsch, Sr. Shortstop
Dustin Drab, Sr. DH/OF
Trey Supak, Jr. P/3B
Blake Harbers, Sr., INF
Chris Raborn, Sr., 1B
Landon Gerik, Sr., C
Logan Vinklarek, Sr., P/3B
Rustin Heger, Jr., INF
Dalton Burton, Jr. INF/OF
Kyle Oltmann, So., P/1B
Will Davidson, So., C
Austin Colon, So., 2B
La Grange catcher Landon Gerik snags a pitch from Logan Vinklarek in the title game. Photo by Tom Wood
It’s Not Too Late to Join to All These Business and Individuals That Are Congratulating the Leps on Their State Baseball Title.
Kolby Kolek, Sr., OF
Adam Robinson, Fr., OF
Ty Beseda, Jr., OF/PR
Riley Grayson, Jr., OF/PR
Call Ad Director Becky Weise at 968-3155 to Place Your Special Ad in the Next Edition of the Fayette County Record
s! n o i p m e Cha ff t a t S s ta ion t S a d l n u t a . a Congr D.Neely, M.D Byron Adam Kulhanek, Statistician
Wayne Schmidt, Assistant Coach
Ben Ahrens, Assistant Coach
Brad Harbers, head coach
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The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Road to State Was a Dramatic One for Leps
2013 Results
By JEFF WICK
The Fayette County Record
A state title isn’t won in a day, but it’s a process that for most of the La Grange players actually began when they started playing baseball at five or six years old. But even when this talented group of players got together in January, a state title seemed almost too much to hope for. This was a team that returned just four starters from the season before and had some real question marks that didn’t get answered until late in the season. Neither Trey Supak (injury) nor Chris Raborn (basketball), who both came up so big in the playoffs, were even with the team the first few weeks. Eventual freshman starters Austin Colon and Adam Robinson were unproven youngsters. Nobody knew how Logan Vinlarek’s arm might be after past injury problems. “It’s still going to be a work in progress,” head coach Brad Harbers said before the season. “There will be multiple combinations out there than fans will see. We’re going to try to find a chemistry and combination that works.” Boy did they. After starting the season just 4-3, La Grange rattled off a 10game win-streak and eventually won 14 of 15 games in that span. Then came some late-district woes that nearly cost the Leps a playoff spot, but thanks to a 6-3 win over Cuero in the regular season finale, La Grange not only got in the playoffs, but won the district title. After two tough postseason warm-ups game losses (to then No.1-ranked Sweeny and eventual 2A state champ Hallettsville) La Grange got on a roll that didn’t stop until they were state champs. Here’s a look back at that playoff run, through versions of stories that originally appeared in the Fayette County Record as they were happening:
Area Round
Big Rally Needed to Beat La Vernia SEGUIN – The spark that saved the La Grange baseball season came from an unexpected source. Senior Chris Raborn’s first hit of the entire season was a home run Saturday that jumpstarted a Leps comeback from a five-run deficit against La Vernia. That eventually turned into a 12-7 extra-inning victory for the Leps when Logan Vinklarek hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning to win their 3A area round playoff game against the Bears (22-6). The Leps (208) now advance to play Needville (13-6 overall, which swept Pleasanton 7-4 and 6-1 over the weekend). “At this time of year, when you get an opportunity, you have to make the most of it,” said La Grange head coach Brad Harbers, who was talking about Raborn, but the description applies to any number of Leps, who helped yank themselves back from the brink of elimination. Everything about this se-
From left, La Grange High School principal Bryan Hallmark and Superintedent Randy Albers hand out the state gold medals to the members of the Leps baseball team after Thursday’s win. Photo by Jeff Wick
in the series. It was just enough to vault the Leps into the regional semifinals. 5/17/13 – Baseball Regional Qrts Game 1
La Grange 4, Needville 3
Needville 002 002 0 – 3 7 4 La Grange 100 120 x – 4 5 0 Winning pitcher: Logan Vinklarek (complete game with 9 Ks) LG highligths: Tanner Fritsch 2 hits, 2 runs; Dustin Drab 1 hit; Trey Supak 1 hit, 2B, RBI; Logan Vinklarek HBP, BB, run; Dalton Burton 1 hit, Austin Colon 1 run. 5/18/13 – Baseball Regional Qrts Game 2
Needville 6, La Grange 5
Needville 000 111 3 – 6 6 2 La Grange 005 000 0 – 5 8 2 Losing pitcher: Trey Supak (complete game with 4Ks) LG Highlights: Fritsch 1 hit, 2B 1 run, 2 RBIs; Drab 2 hits, 1 run; Supak 1 hit, 1 RBI; Vinklarek 2B, 2 RBIs; Kolby Kolek 1 hit; Landon Gerik 2 hits; Austin Colon 1 run, 2 BBs; Ty Beseda 1 run, Riley Grayson 1 run. 5/18/13 – Baseball Regional Qrts Game 3
La Grange’s Dalton Burton connects for one of the three hits he had at the state tournament. Photo by Tom Wood
ries was unusual, starting with Friday’s rain-out in Austin that turned this best-of-three matchup into a do-or-die one gamer that was switched to Seguin. And it was La Vernia that came out looking to deliver a knockout punch as they took a 6-1 lead after three innings against Leps starting pitcher Trey Supak, mostly thanks to a grand slam by Colton Parrish. But in the top of the fifth, with that homer to left-center, Raborn sent the message that the Leps weren’t dead yet. “That seemed to ignite the rest of the team,” Harbers said. Following Raborn’s homer, Tanner Fritsch and Dustin Drab hit back-to-back doubles and the Leps batted around in that inning to tie the game at 6-6. “The total perpective of the game changed after that,” Vinklarek said of Raborn’s homer. 5/10/13 – Area Round Baseball
La Grange 12, La Vernia 7 (8 inn.)
La Grange 001 051 05 – 12 15 3 La Vernia 015 010 00 – 7 8 2 Winning pitcher: Logan Vinklarek (four scoreless relief innings, 1 hit allowed) LG Highlights: Chris Raborn HR, 1B, 3 RBIs, Vinklarek go-ahead three-run homer, 3 hits; Trey Supak 3 hits, 2B; Burton 3 hits, 2 2Bs; Fritsch 2B, 3B; Drab 2B, Kolek 1 hit.
La Grange 3, Needville 2
Needville 000 020 0 – 2 6 1 La Grange 010 200 x –3 8 2 Winning pitcher: Chris Raborn (5.2 IP, 6 hits, 2 runs, 3 Ks) Save: Logan Vinklarek 1.1 IP (0 hits, 1 K) LG highlights: Fritsch 2 2Bs; Drab 1 hit; Vinklarek 2B, 1 run, Dalton Burton 1 hit, 1 run; Kolby Kolek 1 hit, 1 run; Landon Gerik 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Rustin Heger BB; Colon BB.
Regional Quarters
Leps Just Edge Needville in Three MAGNOLIA – How could the La Grange baseball team top the drama of their regular season finale district title victory or their come-from-behind extra-inning win in the area round of the playoffs? With a trio of regional quarterfinal games all decided by one run – of course. Somehow the Leps keep upping the suspense factor this season but keep living to tell about it. The La Grange boys wrote their latest cliffhanger in Magnolia over the weekend where they sandwiched 4-3 and 3-2 victories over the Bluejays around a 6-5 Game 2 loss. “I have confidence in myself and in our team that we can pull through any situation,” said La Grange senior Logan Vinklarek after Game 1. “We proved that last week.” This weekend there were again a ton of heroes for the Leps (22-9). Vinklarek threw a complete game in the opener and
Regional Semis La Grange’s Kolby Kolek makes the catch for the final out in the state semifinal game. Photo by Tom Wood
Leopards Get to Hidalgo Ace
then got the save in Game 3. Chris Raborn was the winning pitcher in Game 3, in his first-ever playoff pitching performance. Tanner Fritsch had a teamhigh five hits in the series, and La Grange catcher Landon Gerik drove in two runs in that decisive Game 3 victory and had four hits
CORPUS CHRISTI – On a field near the ocean, even Pirates couldn’t stop the La Grange baseball team, who sailed into the regional finals with a 3-1 win Saturday. The weekend’s stormy weather turned the Leps’ regional semifinal playoff series with the Hidalgo Pirates (26-7) from a best-of-three matchup in Sinton, into a one-gamer hastily
Opponent Score W/L Weimar 12-1 W Bellville 9-5 W Bellville 8-2 W Caldwell 1-3 L Needville 5-6 L Shiner St. Paul 10-9 W Hallettsville 2-7 L Boling 11-1 W Shiner St. Paul 11-0 W Manor 9-0 W Jarrell 2-0 W Yoakum 6-4 W St. Joseph 13-0 W Navasota 11-1 W Yoakum 11-9 W Gonzales 5-1 W Smithville 11-0 W Giddings 6-10 L Yoakum 6-5 W Cuero 4-2 W Gonzales 17-2 W Smithville 11-0 W Giddings 2-4 L Yoakum 5-11 L Cuero 6-3 W Sweeny 1-2 L Hallettsville 0-3 L PLAYOFF GAMES La Vernia 12-7 W Needville 4-3 W Needville 5-6 L Needville 3-2 W Hidalgo 3-1 W Sinton 6-2 W STATE Silsbee 8-3 W Pleasant Grove 10-2 W
relocated to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff High School – one of the few South Texas locales that wasn’t pounded by rain. The changes didn’t bother these Leps a bit. As seagulls flew overhead and a salty breeze blew in throughout the game, La Grange jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then held on thanks to dominant starting pitching by Trey Supak, and another pressure-packed save by reliever Logan Vinklarek. “Nothing phases these kids,” said La Grange head coach Brad Harbers. “We’ve done a super job of handling adversity all year.” Dating back to the final game of the regular season, the Leps (23-9) have now had four mustwin games in the last month, and prevailed in all four. This latest triumph vaults the Leps into the Elite Eight where they will face Sinton (24-7-1) later this week. At stake is a berth in the state tournament. It also means this year’s Leps seniors will be playing ball even after they graduate Thursday night. “We’re excited for it and ready to do it,” said Vinklarek, one of those seniors. “We just have to stay focused whatever See Close Games, next page
Coach Harbers, Thank you for everything!
TannerWe are so very proud of you! A baseball state title-a dream come true! We love youMom, Dad, Blake-Ann and Sydney
The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
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Close Games Got La Grange Ready for State Continued from previous page happens this week.” Saturday’s win also keeps alive the coaching career of Harbers, who will move out of the dugout and into LGISD administration next year, but for now is trying to lead La Grange back to the state baseball tournament for the first time since they won it all in 2004. “It’s been such a honor and a privilege to be the head baseball coach here. I don’t want it to end yet and I know these seniors don’t want it to end yet,” Harbers said. “We’re going to ride this thing as long as we can.” And if the Leps keep playing like they did Saturday, there’s no end in sight. The offense gave La Grange the early momentum. In the bottom of the first a Vinklarek single brought home Dustin Drab, who had singled and Ty Beseda, who was pinch running for Trey Supak, who had reached on a fielders’ choice. Both Drab and Beseda had advanced to third and second on a balk by Hidalgo pitcher Normand Mendoza, one of the few miscues he had on this day. In the third inning La Grange added another run. Beseda (again running for Supak,who reached on a another fielders choice) went from first to third on another Vinklarek single and then came home on a single by Dalton Burton. 3A Regional Semifinal
La Grange 3, Hidalgo 1
Hidalgo 000 010 0 – 1 6 2 La Grange 201 000 x – 3 5 3 Winning pitcher: Trey Supak (6 IP, 6 hits allowed, 1 unearned run, 9 Ks) Save: Logan Vinklarek (1 IP, 0 hits, 1 K) LG highlights: Dustin Drab 1 hit, 1 run; Vinklarek 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Ty Beseda 2 runs; Dalton Burton 2 hits, 2B, 1 RBI, Tanner Fritsch BB, Austin Colon BB.
Regional Finals
Leps Celebrate Supak’s 17th VICTORIA – It was Trey Supak’s birthday, but everyone on the La Grange baseball team chipped-in to get a gift they could all share – a berth in the state baseball tournament. Behind the strong starting pitching of Supak, who turned 17 Friday, another stellar relief
outing by Logan Vinklarek, and a comeback sparked by the bottom of the Leps lineup, La Grange beat Sinton 6-2 to win the Region IV-3A title and advance to this week’s state baseball tournament in Austin. “Best present ever,” said Supak of the win. La Grange (24-9) now becomes only the 12th team in Texas history to make it to the state baseball tournament eight times. Sinton (24-8-1) was also trying to match that feat, but the Leps were too powerful. At times hitting 89 milesper-hour with his fastball, Supak threw six innings of two-run, four-hit baseball before a blister on his throwing hand forced him out of the game after walking the lead-off batter in the seventh. Any Sinton fans glad to see Supak leave the mound were sorely disappointed by Leps reliever Logan Vinklarek. Vinklarek struck out all three Sinton batters he faced to end the game and touch off a wild celebration by the Leps and their fans. “What can you say, our pitching was phenominal again,” said La Grange head coach Brad Harbers. “In these one-game series, our guys thrive on the pressure.” And there was certainly pressure on the Leps in this one as they fell behind 2-0 early on an unearned run in the Sinton first and then a solo homer by the Pirates Tracker Conn. “First two innings, I didn’t hit my spots very well,” Supak said. “After that I settled in, I just threw strikes and let my defense play behind me.” Down 2-0, the Leps started their rally in the bottom of the second. Five-hole hitter Dalton Burton started the frame with a walk. Kolby Kolek then singled, followed by a single by Chris Raborn, which plated Burton. Kolek advanced to third on a fly-out by Landon Gerik and then freshman No. 9 hitter Austin Colon singled in Kolek with the tying run. In the bottom of the third La Grange went up to stay. Supak and Vinklarek hit back-to-back singles before Burton doubled them both home. Kolek scored all the way from first on an error by the Sinton centerfielder and Gerik singled home Raborn,
As the championship celebration winds down, La Grange assistant coach Wayne Schmidt jokes around with his grandkids on the field at Disch-Falk. Schmidt, in his 29th season as a coach at La Grange, has now won two state titles as a player in Brenham and three as a coach in La Grange. Photo by Jeff Wick
La Grange’s Blake Harbers slides into third base during the sixth inning of the title game.
Photo by Tom Wood
who had reached on that error. 5/31/13 – Regional Final
La Grange 6, Sinton 2
Sinton 110 000 0 – 2 4 2 La Grange 024 000 x – 6 7 3 Winning pitcher: Trey Supak (6 IP, 2 runs, 1 earned, 9 Ks, 4 hits) La Grange highlights: Logan Vinklarek 1 relief inning pitched, 3 Ks; Supak 1 hit; Vinklarek 1 hit, 1 run; Dalton Burton 1 hit, 2B, 2 RBIs, 1 run; Kolby Kolek 1 hit, 2 runs; Chris Raborn 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 run; Landon Gerik 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI; Austin Colon 1 hit, 1 RBI; Ty Beseda 1 run.
State Semis
Leps Down Silsbee By Five AUSTIN – With a little help from some pickle juice and what might have been the first insidethe-park grand slam in state baseball tournament history, the La Grange Leps are one win away from a state title. Thanks to a complete game gem by Trey Supak, that grand slam by Kolby Kolek and another homer by Chris Raborn, La Grange beat Silsbee 8-3 Wednesday at UT’s Disch-Falk field to vault the Leps into Thursday night’s 6:30 p.m. Class 3A title game against defending champ Texarkana Pleasant Grove (28-13). “We’ve shown throughout the course of the season, throughout the course of the playoffs, that when the situation arises somebody is going to step up,” said head coach Brad Harbers. Wednesday it wasn’t just somebody that stepped up for the Leps – it was everybody. Every member of the starting lineup reached base for La Grange (25-9), which never trailed in this one. Supak pitched a complete game four-hitter with eight strikeouts as he dominated a Silsbee team that had six players in their lineup hitting over .300. And Supak did it all just four days after a blister on his pitching hand forced him off the mound late in the regional final win over Sinton. But Supak said the blister didn’t bother him a bit Wednesday. The secret treatment? Pickle juice. “We asked everyone around what the best solution was for healing blisters and they said soak it in pickle juice,” Supak said. “So four or five times a day we’d get the pickle juice out and I’d sit there and watch TV with my hand in pickle juice. It worked.”
Austin Colon chases down Pleasant Grove’s Casey Rayburn between second and third. Photo by Jeff Wick
Chris Raborn puts down a bunt in the title game. Photo by Tom Wood
6/5/13 – 3A State Semifinal Baseball
La Grange 8, Silsbee 3
Landon Gerik sticks out his tongue as a pitch goes by Thursday. Photo by Tom Wood
La Grange 104 003 0 – 8 9 3 Silsbee 100 200 0 – 3 4 1 Winning pitcher: Trey Supak (complete game four-hitter with 3 runs, 8 Ks, 3 BBs, 115 pitches) LG highlights: Kolby Kolek 2-for-4, insidethe-park grand slam, 4 RBIs; Chris Raborn solo homer; Tanner Fritsch 3B, 1 run, 1 RBI; Dustin Drab 2-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI; Logan Vinklarek 1 hit, 1 run, 1 BB; Ty Beseda 1 run, Supak BB, Landon Gerik 2 BBs; Austin Colon 1 hit, 1 run, 1 BB.
The La Grange fans give the players a standing ovation after Thursday’s win. Photo by Tom Wood
Congratulations on a Great Season! Round Top-Home Office 301 N. Washington 979-249-3151 La Grange 2010 Hwy. 71 West 979-966-0556
The Fayette County Record, Tuesday, June 11, 2013
3A STATE CHAMPS!
Your Hard Work, Dedication and Team Work Paid Off!
Congratulations
Leopards On Your State Championship! .ADINE s "RYAN s #HRIS s $EBORAH La Grange Office (979) 378-2213
103 N. Main La Grange, Texas 78945 979-968-5300
ON
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Congrats LEPS on your State Championship!
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1701 W. Travis St. La Grange, Texas 78945 979-968-3187 www.kleibertractor.com
143 N. Main St. La Grange, Texas 78945 979-968-9556
State Champs! Congtratulations, Leps!
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Dr. Karen Roberts, Dr. Michael Nondorf & The Team at Cornerstone Dental
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Fayetteville, Texas
1840 E. State Hwy. 71. La Grange, Texas 78945 979-968-2324
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Congratulations La Grange Leopards!
GREAT WIN LEOPARDS!
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279 E. Colorado La Grange, Texas 78945 979-968-9451
2013 3A State Baseball Champions
One St. Mark’s Place La Grange, Texas 78945 979-242-2200 www.smmctx.org