31-0.
We should have seen this coming. The team that coach Kevin Moffat sent out in last June 3’s title game vs. Umpqua Valley Christian featured senior Riley Cantu and eight juniors.
Returning this year were Charlie Beyer, Luke Beyer, Brian Beyer, Ethan Kleinschmit, Andrew Cuff, Owen Bruner, Brett Boen and Matt Hopkins. Sophomore Brody Kleinschmit took over at second base to complete the 2023 lineup.
And it was an exquisitely balanced squad.
The Trojans could hit, run, field, throw, bunt and pitch. They drew walks. They took the extra base. They played with exuberance. The bottom of the lineup often did more damage than the top.
And the run goes back farther than last year’s title team.
Consider that Kennedy finished second in 2019, nobody played in 2020 because of COVID and JFK took second to Glide in the “unofficial” 2021 tournament.
That’s domination.
The baseball title ended a remarkable school year for Kennedy boys teams, with Joe Panuke’s football team taking second in Class 3A in the fall and Karl Schmidtman’s squad finishing third in 2A basketball.
“There was a lot of carryover,” said Cuff, one of eight athletes who played on all three teams.
“We’ve been in a lot of championship moments. That kept our nerves down and kept us under control.”
All eight of those kids have graduated, which means others around the state will be looking for dropoffs come next school year, in baseball as well as the other two sports. Don’t count on it.
“We’ll be young, sure, and no one will be expecting much from us,” Moffatt said.
“But, you know, our JV team was 20-4.”
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