It was a successful weekend to the start of Great Bend Bombers Baseball 16U season. This group of boys just got done playing at the KSHSAA state tournament Thursday, May 25. They took Friday off and enjoyed the success they had during the high school season. However, one day off was all they needed to get back on the diamond and compete in the 18U Big Fire Oklahoma City Memorial Classic.
Coach Chris Umphres stated, “We had this tournament on our schedule early knowing that we would be able to cancel if the boys made it to spring state baseball. However, when the Panthers won regionals, I asked the boys and parents what they wanted to do and the majority wanted to get the Bombers season going right away.”
Bombers Baseball 16U is comprised of sophomores and younger from Great Bend and a player from Hoisington and Ellinwood. This first tournament in OKC over the weekend had other 16U, 17U and 18U teams participating.
Bombers Baseball 16U went 4-1-1 on the weekend and beating the two teams that they lost too and tied in pool play later on in bracket play.
“These young players play with a chip on their shoulder and know that they can compete with anyone. They have been told over the last year or two that they weren’t ready to play at a high level of baseball despite all the success that they have had by playing Bombers Baseball over the years. I have confidence in them and want to put them in situations to learn the game and get better throughout their careers,” Umphres said.
Bombers Baseball 16U pitched 10 different players over the course of six games in two days. The team outscored opponents 45-34, stole 15 bases and threw out three runners.
The best team Bombers played was in the semi-final game against Tulsa Rawlings Tigers. Tigers pitcher was a big lefty throwing 88-90 MPH and had a great breaking ball. The Bombers scored 4 runs on 2 hits and 4 walks against this pitcher. Bombers were able to knock him out of the game after throwing 72 pitches in just two innings. Tigers brought in another good lefty arm for the remainder of the game. The two lefty pitchers struck out Bombers hitters 12 times.
Koehn Ribordy pitched a great game and only allowed 4 earned runs and striking out 6. However, Bombers were able to steal 7 bases over the course of the game. Including Daxton Minton stealing home on the catchers throw back to the pitcher to take the lead and eventually winning 7-6.
Umphres stated, “The Tigers coach told me that a young group of players from a small town in Kansas wasn’t supposed to beat this Tulsa team. That was a great win for our guys and showed them that playing the game aggressively can put pressure on opponents. We really worked on proper stealing techniques offensively and holding runners defensively. The difference in that game was our 7 stolen bases vs 0 stolen bases for the Tigers. Both teams had left handed pitchers throwing which usually shuts down the running game.”