Carey Hintze was named the most valuable baseball player at an awards dessert held Thursday night.
Hintze also won the Big Stick award for hitting. He was named first-team all-league and third-team all-state. He was selected to play in the Oregon All Stars Series.
Hintze and his teammates lost in the first round of state playoffs to Baker City. It was their first appearance at state since 1991.
Bryce Beard and Brent Smith received the pitcher of the year award. Chris Phillips was named best hustler and received the Golden Glove award, selected by the coach for great plays. Lance Carter was rookie of the year and most improved.
The Winford Hackworth Award went to Mark Lewis. The annual award goes to a 15-year-old who shows the qualities of the award’s namesake who died in 1977 at the age of 15. The award recognizes good sportsmanship, “the player who kept his chin up, head high no matter win or lose,” junior varsity Coach Jon Cohrs said.
Beard and Phillips were both second-team all-league. Brandon Martin and Donny Cliver both received honorable mention in league awards.
Coach Dan Tow recognized his seniors as hard workers. They included Joe Rosa, Phillips, Beard, Smith and Hintze.
“Your seniors can really make or break your season,” Coach Tow said. Sometimes, seniors are ready to move on and get out of high school. “They can really dictate how your season goes. These guys are some of the best seniors I’ve coached because of their work ethic.”
They constantly had their own batting practice on weekends, Coach Tow said. “They really were good leaders for us this year. I think in the end, that was what got us over the hump (to state).”
Figuring out who would be MVP this year was difficult, Coach Tow said. “We were a team this year. That’s what really did it for us. We didn’t have any one or two players that just stood out.”
One Hundred Club winners, those who never missed a practice or a game, included Cody Miller, Hintze, Smith, Travis Smith and Joe Rosa on varsity. On junior varsity, the honor went to Jesse Aitken, Matt Morneault, Brian Lindsey, Aaron Forquer and Lewis.
First year letters went to Travis Smith, Lance Carter, Brandon Martin, Tyler Emmert, Donny Cliver and Cody Miller. Second year lettermen were Joe Rosa, Chris Phillips, Bryce Beard, Brent Smith and Carey Hintze.