Missouri Longhorns earn strong finish to summer

Bat boy Kade Fast, Jonathan Klingaman, Josh Baker, Cory Kerbs, Brendan Fast, Devin Zorich, Richie Peoples, coaches Bob Kerbs and Bob Carrillo, Grant Davis, Trey Barger, Kyle Banes, Gage Belcher, Tyler Cooper and coach Kevin Fast all pose with their first place trophies from the Missouri State 16-and-under championship tournament. --Submitted Photo

The Missouri Longhorns traveling baseball team brought their season to a close with a strong third place finish at the Show-Me Games in Columbia, Mo., July 24-26.

That tournament came just two weeks after the Longhorns took the championship in the 16-and-under Missouri State tournament at Champion Diamonds in Nevada. That tournament was held July 9-12.

That was the seventh tournament the Longhorns have participated in this year and they worked their way through the tournament, taking the win with nine high school freshman and just three sophomores. Through the course of the tournament, the Longhorns put up a total of 55 runs while holding the opposition to just 12 in the five games they played.

That wasn't the first state championship the Longhorns won this year, as they were also able to take home the 15-and-under Missouri State tournament July 2-4. The Longhorns won two other tournaments over the course of the year out of the seven they played on their way to finishing the season with a record of 21-12 overall.

For the season, the Longhorns outscored the opposition 249-76 and fought their way to a No. 2 ranking in the state out of 34 teams. The Longhorns are ranked on the national level as well, holding the No. 6 spot out of 360 teams.

The Longhorns are coached by Bob Kerbs, Nevada; Kevin Fast, El Dorado Springs and Bob Carrillo, Fort Scott, Kan., and would like to send out special thank-yous to all of the sponsors that help keep the team going.