10 Cards Earn All-Conference Honors

FARMINGTON WELL-REPRESENTED IN 5A WEST

MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington baseball coach Jay Harper signals another base runner as Kelton Price rounds third during the Cardinals’ 6-0 win over Alma, 6-0, in April. Price received All-Conference 5A West honors.
MARK HUMPHREY ENTERPRISE-LEADER Farmington baseball coach Jay Harper signals another base runner as Kelton Price rounds third during the Cardinals’ 6-0 win over Alma, 6-0, in April. Price received All-Conference 5A West honors.

FARMINGTON -- Ten Cardinals earned All-Conference recognition following a season in which Farmington (21-11) tied for first place in the 5A West and won a state tournament game.

Led by All-State pitcher Tyler Gregg and All-State third baseman Ryan Larkin, whom Farmington coach Jay Harper called the "heart and soul of the team," Farmington racked up victory after victory beating the likes of 6A schools, Greenwood, Russellville and Siloam Springs.

"Everybody did a great job," Harper said. "Tyler and Ryan were our top two guys, but beyond that everybody contributed in some form or fashion to our baseball team."

The veteran baseball coach, who took the helm at Farmington 13 years ago with only a dozen players on his varsity roster, became emotional while recounting individual efforts and team accomplishments.

In addition to Gregg and Larkin, Blake Putnam, Kelton Price, Cade Fenton, Eric Hill, Logan Bobak, and Tripp Cheney received All-Conference 5A West selection. Two more Cardinals Eric Morales and Trenton McChristian were named All-Conference honorable mention.

Tyler Gregg

Gregg was also selected to the All-Tournament State 5A Baseball team. As a starting pitcher he finished with a .967 ERA.

"Tyler led us in almost every statistical category," Harper said. "He led the State in 5A in home runs with 12."

Gregg led the Cardinals with 47 hits, including 15 doubles and 2 triples. Gregg was frequently replaced by courtesy runners when he pitched. His slot scored 28 times.

"He was one of our best pitchers, good enough to go play college baseball for Crowder College," Harper said.

Ryan Larkin

Larkin led the team in runs scored with 35. He belted 27 singles, 9 doubles and drove in 21 runs.

"He was a steady defender at third base all year long," Harper said. "His sister (Brooke) had success over on the softball side. She was a great player. I don't like to compare Ryan to his sister, but I think he got the most out of the talent he had. He was one of the most coachable players I ever had."

"With Tyler Gregg and Ryan Larkin, we finished first and second in votes (for All-State) on the 5A side. For coaches to say that, it was a great accomplishment for those two."

Blake Putnam

Putnam was third in batting average for the Cardinals, second in runs scored with 31, second in RBIs with 31 and third in hits with 27.

"What I like about him is that he only struck out two times the whole year," Harper said. "Blake was a great second baseman. He probably could play any outfield position we asked him, but we needed a second baseman. I never had to worry about any balls getting hit hard on the right side and having him around Tyler protected Tyler. Blake also did a great job of getting key hits at the time we needed them."

Kelton Price

Harper's career started at Lincoln where he coached Price's dad and uncles in the Wolves' baseball program. Price was third among Cardinals in RBIs with 20 and third in runs scored with 24.

"Kelton probably had the strongest arm on the team other than Tyler," Harper said. "He was our leader in the outfield. He's not a very vocal leader, but he leads by his actions and by the way he conducts himself."

Cade Fenton

Fenton experienced arm troubles at the end of the season and Harper said he underwent Tommy Johns' surgery over the summer.

"Cade did a great job in conference play as far as pitching statistics," Harper said. "The first thing you notice is he was 4-0 in conference."

Fenton was second on the team in strike-outs with 40 and posted a 1.53 ERA. He had 12 hits in 35 plate appearances spread over 13 games.

"He had a big home run in a state tournament game," Harper said. "He got All-Conference for being our No. 2 pitcher, doing what he's supposed to do throughout the year."

Eric Hill

Harper noted Hill was the only Cardinal sophomore to be voted All-Conference. He batted .370 in conference play, fourth best on the roster while playing right field.

"He had 29 hits, which is pretty good for a sophomore," Harper said. "To make All-Conference as a sophomore that's a credit to him and his work ethic."

Logan Bobak

Bobak showed the most improvement defensively between one season and the next of any player Harper has coached during his 13 seasons as Farmington's head baseball coach and 18 total years at the school. Bobak had 19 hits on the season, but his defense was what attained him All-Conference recognition.

"His position play at shortstop was second to none on our side of the conference," Harper said. "He made only one error, maybe two the entire year. He's got one of the strongest arms on the team. He got All-Conference strictly for being a great defensive player."

Tripp Cheney

Cheney was inadvertently left off the list. He received All-Conference working his way into the starting lineup after backing up catchers the previous seasons.

"He managed our pitchers really well, which is hard to do," Harper said, noting Cheney had a calming effect on the pitchers, who tend to be emotional.

"He was even-keeled, he did a great job behind the plate defensively," Harper said. "He's a great kid. There's not very many kids these days who will sit and wait for his opportunity then play as well defensively as he played."

Eric Morales

Morales' brother was a great player, whom Harper describes as one of the purest hitters he's ever coached. Morales was not his brother, yet, none-the-less effective enough to garner honorable mention All-Conference. He batted .550 in conference play while playing first base. Morales had Appendicitis midway through the 2017 season and missed the Spring Break trip to Alabama, but came back strong.

"The 10 seniors were very tight, they were very close," Harper said. "Eric kind of held them together. He was a very steadying factor along with Tripp."

Trenton McChristian

McChristian played centerfield and leadoff hitter, which Harper said is not an easy thing to do. He batted .243 with 18 hits and 9 RBIs.

"His (offensive) stats are not eye-popping," Harper said. "He's one of the fastest outfielders I ever had. Defense was the reason he got honorable mention All-Conference. He did a great job of directing our defense and aligning our defense and of getting baseballs when they were hit into the gap."

Sports on 09/27/2017