By DOUG EADS, CJ Sports Writer
Somerset — The Somerset Briar Jumpers and the Southwestern Warriors were each still standing after the first round of the 2009 12th Regional Baseball Tournament, thanks to outstanding seasons by both Phil Grundy and Rodney McAninch’s clubs.
It’s for that reason that both Somerset and Southwestern are very heavily represented on The Commonwealth Journal 2009 All-County Baseball Team.
Leading the way are the Commonwealth Journal’s Co-Players of the Year for the recently completed season, in Somerset's Taylor Sears and Southwestern’s T.T. Wooldridge.
Sears, to put it mildly, had an absolutely monster season for Somerset, helping lead the Briar Jumpers to a runner-up finish in the regional tourney and a 23-6 overall record.
Sears led the Briar Jumpers in '09 with a .488 batting average, while scoring a team-high 59 runs.
The SHS second baseman led his team in stolen bases, and hit a team-best 18 doubles.
Sears was second on his team in total base hits with 38, and he was second in on-base percentage with a OBP of .628.
Maybe more impressive than all of those stats was the simple fact that Sears played a flawless second base all season long, never committing an error for the entire year.
Wooldridge meanwhile was just as important to the success of the Southwestern Warriors as Sears was to Somerset.
Southwestern advanced all the way to the semi finals of the regional baseball tourney while posting a very respectable, 21-11 record along the way.
Wooldridge led his club with a .471 batting average, was tops in on-base percentage at .621, led the Warriors in slugging at a clip of .683, and led the way with 14 doubles.
Wooldridge finished second in stolen bases with 10, and he led his club with 49 hits and also led the way with 28 RBI's.
On the mound, Wooldridge was just as impressive for coach Rodney McAninch, serving as Southwestern's closer for the entire year.
In his 10 innings of relief work, he allowed only 4 hits, fanned 10 batters, and had an ERA of 0.00.
Also making our squad from Southwestern is three of Wooldridge's teammates, in Tyler Mayer, Aaron Hampton, and Tyler Blair.
Mayer was solid in the field all year long playing at second base, while at the plate, the junior did big-time damage in Southwestern's leadoff spot.
Mayer finished second to Wooldridge with a batting average of .381, and he paced Southwestern in steals with 14.
Mayer led the Warriors with 37 runs scored, and he was also tops in in plate appearances with 133.
Aaron Hampton meanwhile turned in a solid effort, hitting .302 for the season, with an on-base percentage of .453.
On the mound, Hampton fanned 27 hitters in his 30 2/3 innings of work, while posting an ERA of 3.42, while leading Southwestern with a perfect, 6-0 record.
Tyler Blair meanwhile paced Southwestern with 54 1/3 innings pitched, while notching a very respectable, 1.80 ERA.
At the plate, Blair hit .315 for the season while posting 22 RBI's.
Somerset led the way with five players on the 2009 All-County Team, as Jeremy Toohey, Erik Manning, Storm Wilson, and Scott Spears join their teammate Taylor Sears on our team.
Jeremy Toohey played a solid center field all season for coach Grundy, enjoying a monster senior year with a .459 batting average.
Toohey led Somerset in runs scored with 32, and he also led the pack in singles with 28, while hitting two home runs along the way. Toohey also finished tied for second on his club with 9 doubles.
Erik Manning posted a .434 batting average this past season, while leading the Briar Jumpers with 19 runs driven in, to go along with his two home runs for the year.
Storm Wilson, despite being a freshman, displayed all of the skills both at the plate and behind the dish to stake claim that he could very well be one of the best catchers to ever come out of the Pulaski County area.
Wilson hit .410 on the season for the Briar Jumpers, while blasting one home run and posting 13 RBI's.
Scott Spears meanwhile was Somerset's ace on the mound this year, leading the Briar Jumpers with a 7-3 record and an ERA of 1.85.
In his 75 innings pitched in '09, Spears led Somerset with 69 K's, ending his prep career on a very high note.
Meanwhile, the lone player from Pulaski County to make our All-County Team in 2009 is the Maroons Charles "Big'un" Hines.
Hines was just about the lone bright spot this season for coach Kent Mayfield, as a very young PC team struggled mightily through a disappointing, 6-15 season.
Hines hit a very solid .467 for Pulaski County, to go along with a slugging percentage of .670, while driving in 19 runs.
Thanks to these 10 individuals, the 2009 baseball season displayed the kind of baseball talent that fans in our community have come to expect year after year.
