By DOUG EADS, CJ Correspondent
Commonwealth Journal
Somerset —
The 2010 high school baseball season turned out to be a banner year for all three of our local programs, as Somerset, Southwestern, and Pulaski County all qualified for the 12th Regional Baseball Tournament.
That feat in itself had never been done with all three schools advancing to the regional tourney in the same season, but it happened this year thanks to hard work and some outstanding individual efforts.
With that being said, it’s time to unveil The Commonwealth Journal’s All-County Baseball Team for the 2010 season.
Leading our team is our Co-Player’s of the Year.
This year, that distinction goes to a pair of Somerset Briar Jumpers — Otie Manning and Storm Wilson.
Each of these guys had outstanding seasons in helping lead Phil Grundy’s club to a 26-8 record, a 47th District title, and a semi final appearance in the regional tournament.
Manning, a senior in 2010, had a remarkable year at the plate hitting .418 for the season.
The Jumper shortstop finished second on his club with 56 hits, and had the second highest RBI total for the Jumpers with 31.
Wilson meanwhile, arguably the best catcher in the 12th Region, was an absolute monster at the plate in 2010 for Somerset.
The sophomore catcher led the Jumpers with a .512 batting average, and was tops in base hits with 63, while driving in 29 runs and scoring 25 runs.
Joining Wilson and Manning on our squad is a pair of their Somerset teammates — Taylor Sears and Colby Hall.
Sears hit .411 for the year with 53 hits, finishing on top for the Jumpers in runs scored with 33.
The Jumper second baseman also led his club with 32 RBI’s for the year.
Hall meanwhile makes his first appearance on our All-County Team, as all he did this season was come to the diamond every day and notch big hit after big hit for Grundy and company.
The Somerset first baseman hit .408 for the season, driving in 28 runs for the Jumpers while scoring 21 runs.
The Pulaski County Maroons meanwhile place three players on our team for the 2010 season.
Cain Troxell had a brilliant junior season for Kent Mayfield’s club — both at the plate and on the mound.
Thanks to an outstanding year by Troxell, Pulaski County finished with a 20-18 record, ending a six-year drought by making it to the 12th Regional Baseball Tournament for the first time since 2004.
Troxell led PC with a .405 batting average, and he was tops for the Maroons with 5 home runs and led the way with 27 RBI’s.
On the mound, Troxell led PC with an 8-3 record, fanning 57 hitters in his 65 innings on work, while registering a 3.45 ERA.
Mikey Shepherd came out of nowhere this season to enjoy an outstanding senior year.
The PC center fielder hit .374 for the year, scoring 11 runs and driving in 24.
Just like Shepherd, another Maroon player came out of nowhere this season to have a banner year.
First baseman Jake Bales came up with many clutch hits for the Maroons in 2010, hitting .352 for the season.
Bales tallied 23 RBI’s for the year, and scored 17 runs along the way.
Rounding out our All-County Team is a trio of outstanding players from Southwestern.
Senior Isaac Claywell had a solid season for Rodney McAninch and company, as the Warriors once again found themselves on top of the heap in the 48th District, going 22-16 for the year.
Claywell hit .385 for the season, tying for the team lead in homers with 3.
The southpaw finished the year with 14 doubles, 25 RBI’s, and 21 runs scored.
On the mound, Claywell posted a 5-4 record, with an ERA of 3.55.
In 59 innings pitched, he struck out 40 hitters, finishing the year second on the Warrior pitching staff in total wins with 5.
Dustin Hughes also had a solid senior season for the Warriors, hitting .415 for the year.
Hughes led Southwestern with 37 RBI’s, and finished first on his club in hits with 51.
On the mound, Hughes posted a 2-2 record, striking out 28 hitters in his 34 2/3 innings of work.
And rounding out our squad is Southwestern’s Ryan Ray, who like Hughes and Claywell, had a solid season for the blue and orange.
Ray led Southwestern with a .417 batting average, driving in 29 runs while scoring 22.
Ray also paced the Warriors with 16 doubles for the season, and finished with 9 stolen bases.
Congratulations to these 10 outstanding baseball players for a very enjoyable 2010 season.
