On Thursday, May 27, members of the Ridgewood Spartans baseball team were honored at a banquet at AlWood High School in Woodhull.
Members of the team were Dusty Werner, Jacob Peterson, Chad Leathers, Nick Ragan, Dustin Johnson, Jansen Noble, Derek Beck, Clayton Carr, Tyler Waugh, Alex Main, Mike Welch and Tyler Nimrick. Seth Spivey served as head coach and Nick Sacco as assistant coach. Carr, the only senior on the team, was the team captain.
After a potluck, players and parents watched a short movie featuring highlights of the season.
After a number of thank yous, Spivey spoke about the season.
“We had 12 guys who played hard this year,” he stated. “They played well together and they were a group of great listeners. For being one of the young teams in the area, they gave it all they had, finishing 7-9 for the season and placing fourth in the Lincoln Trail Conference.”
Spivey said the team won their last five conference games of the season and their confidence grew with each and every win.
Spivey called each player up and talked about their contributions to the team. They were also presented their letter or certificate and baseball pin.
Four players earned awards. Dusty Werner took home several awards. He was named the most valuable outfielder, had the best batting average, earned the golden glove award and quality at bat award.
Werner and Clayton Carr were both named most valuable pitchers.
Tyler Waugh was presented the most valuable infielder award and Jansen Noble was presented the purple heart award.
The purple heart award is given to the player who gets hit the most during a single season. Noble had five pitches hit him this year.
Three players were named to the Lincoln Trail Conference All-Academic Team. They were Carr, Peterson and Nimrick. To be named to the LTC All-Academic Team, a player must carry a 3.5 grade point average or higher while competing at a varsity level.
Werner was named to the Lincoln Trail Conference First Team for baseball, while Carr received honorable mention.
