Leps Big Senior Class of Baseball Players Lead Amazing Turnaround
At one point this season the La Grange baseball team had a 1-13-1 record.
Fast forward six weeks and suddenly the Leps have 7-2 district record and have locked up at least the runner-up spot in District 20-4A going into their regular season finale Friday at Austin LBJ.
It’s been a dramatic turnaround for La Grange, led by one of the biggest senior groups of ballplayers the program has had in several years.
Clay Wolff, Cameron Kruse, Kadyn Hall, Ryder Imhoff, Chase Krnavek, Brendan Maddox and Gunner Jurek had all played big roles in the Leps recent surge.
“We knew how good we could be. I think that rough start helped shape us and make us better.” said Wolff, who has been a key starting pitcher for the Leps.
“Early in the year when things weren’t going right it would have been easy to point fingers at one another and they didn’t do that,” said La Grange head baseball coach Robert Barber. “They picked each other up and they picked our young kids up and without them I don’t know if we make that turnaround.”
Maddox said changing their mindset was the biggest key to the turnaround.
“It was more about dropping the mentality we had early in the year. We just weren’t focused. We had to figure out how to get that back,” Maddox said.
The fun-loving nature of these seniors also helped brush off the early losses.
“These seniors have been a joy to coach,” Barber said. “They are characters. They keep you on your toes. They like to have fun, sometimes they have too much fun and I have to reel them in a little bit.”
In what was the biggest week of the season to date for the Leps last week, La Grange swept then-first place Smithville in a pair of games.
The recent return to health of ace pitcher Trenton Barnes, a junior, only makes the Leps that much more formidable. He struck out 10 in Friday’s game against the Tigers.
“It was an important week but we knew we would take care of business,” Hall said.
“It feels good to know we have that second seed locked down,” Kruse said.
La Grange continued the success Wednesday, bashing Austin LBJ 17-1.
Depending on what happens Friday at LBJ these Leps could even end up in a tie for the district title – such a far cry from the team that lost 13 of it’s first 15 games.
“I knew we could find a way to make it through the struggles,” Krnavek said.
“No matter what our record was, as bad as it was, these guys showed up each and every day and competed,” Barber said. “It’s a group we miss because of their liveliness and their attitudes.”
But this is also a team that is far from done.
District 20-4A Baseball
Giddings 8-1
La Grange 7-2
Smithville 6-3
Manor NT 4-5
Austin LBJ 2-7
Eastside 0-9