Warren tabbed top coach in West; four Cougars earn 1st team honors

Warren tabbed top coach in West; four Cougars earn 1st team honors
T he Barton County Community College baseball team turned in a good season in Jayhawk West action, finishing 2nd in the conference race. Barton, picked 4th in the preseason coaches' poll, was rewarded for its strong West showing in the All Jayhawk West teams announced this week. Coach Mike Warren was named the West Coach of the Year while Erik Whinery, Brent Biggs, Austin Holt, and Chad Lee were selected 1st team All West. Brock Nehls was a 2nd team selection while David Wilson earned honorable mention recognition. Holt was selected as the Freshman of the Year in the West after his stellar rookie campaign at Barton.

Mike Warren – Coach of the Year
Warren's selection as the Coach of the Year in the West was the 4th time in his 22-year career he earned that honor. The last time Warren was tabbed as the top coach was in 2002. Warren had a team that was selected to finish in the middle of the pack but instead competed for the conference title right down to the last weekend. Barton finished 2nd in the West, 3 games ahead of the 3rd place teams. The Cougars finished 21-11 in the West and are currently 34-21 as they prepare for the Region VI double elimination tournament.

In his 22 years at Barton, Warren has a 662-430 career record. He will close in 700 wins at Barton next season. During his entire career – 27 years in all – Warren has a record of 759-540.

Austin Holt – 1st Team Outfielder; Freshman of the Year
Holt emerged as the top hitter for Barton as the season went along. The freshman from the Kansas City area led Barton in numerous hitting categories, including home runs and RBI from his leadoff spot in the order. Holt is hitting .425 this season to top the Cougars with 5 homers and 39 RBI. In addition he leads Barton in hits (81), runs (51), slugging percentage (.611), on base percentage (.507), total bases (116), stolen bases (24), at bats (190), and hit by pitch (9). He is 2nd in doubles (14) and walks (26) and 3rd in triples (3). That put him in the top 3 of every offensive category and the top 2 of in all but 1.

Holt is currently riding a 19-game hitting streak and has at least 2 hits in 13 of those games and 3 hits in 4 of those games. During that time, he is hitting .563 and has raised his average 65 points.

Brent Biggs – 1st team 2nd base
After earning honorable mention status last season, Biggs was tabbed as the 1st team 2nd baseman on the All West squad this year. Biggs hit in the 2-spot behind Holt all season, resulting a several opportunities for run production. Biggs didn't let down, driving in 37 runs for 2nd on the team from his 2-spot in the order. In addition, Biggs led Barton in sacrifice hits this year with 21 – more than double the 2nd highest on the team.

Biggs fielded .958 from his 2nd base spot and hit .300 for the Cougars, recording 11 doubles. The 2-year starter from Great Bend High has played in 106 of a possible 108 games during his 2-year stint, starting in 105 of those games.

Erik Whinery – 1st team catcher
Whinery has also manned the catching duties for 2 seasons for the Cougars. Whinery was one of the top defensive catchers in the league this season, throwing out 19 base runners while allowing just 25 to steal successfully. He has also picked off 2 runners this year. The sophomore has allowed just 1 passed ball all season long as well, starting 44 of the 55 games for Barton this year.

In addition to his defensive abilities, Whinery was the leading hitter for Barton much of the season before Holt's late stretch. Whinery is 2nd on the team, hitting .358 and is 1 of 5 players with more than 30 RBI, driving in 32 runs. He leads the team in doubles with 16 and has a .452 on base percentage.

Chad Lee – 1st team pitcher
Lee brought scouts to ball park a lot this year with mid 90's fastball. Lee missed most of the last season with a knee injury, but returned to have a great season for the Cougars. Lee started the season in the bullpen, made 3 starts in the middle of the year, then returned to the bullpen to finish the season.

The 6-4 right-hander went 5-2 with 5 saves for the Cougars, posting a 4.52 ERA. He struck out 50 batters in just 41 innings of work for Barton. He did struggle with control at time, walking 21 and hitting 4 batters. But opponents hit just .241 off him and of the 38 hits he surrendered, 29 were singles.

Brock Nehls – 2nd team pitcher
Nehls was the unquestioned ace of the starting rotation for the Cougars this season, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.42 ERA. In the 3 of his last 4 outings, Nehls allowed a total of 1 run. The sophomore from Hays High threw 3 complete games including the only 2 complete games shutouts of the season for Barton.

Nehls struck out a team-high 55 batters in 53.1 innings of work this season allowing 19 base on balls. He gave up just 17 earned runs in his 13 appearances – 11 of which were starts. Foes hit just .259 off him this season.

David Wilson – Honorable mention outfield
Wilson, a freshman, is hitting .301 for the Cougars this season and is 2nd on the team with 37 RBI. The Cougar center fielder finished 2nd on the team in runs scored with 44 and was 2nd in stolen bases as well, swiping 12 in 13 attempts.

Wilson, along with Freshman of the Year Holt, were the only two Cougars to start every game this season for Barton. Wilson started 55 times in the Barton outfield, committing just 2 errors while throwing out 6 runners during the year.

All Jayhawk West
Coach Of The Year – Mike Warren, Barton 
Most Valuable Player – Thad Weber, Hutchinson
Freshman Of The Year – Austin Holt, Barton

1st team
C – Erik Whinery, Barton 
1B – Thad Weber, Hutchinson
2B – Brent Biggs, Barton 
SS – Jeff Brewer, Seward County
3B – Toby Davis, Seward County
DH – Andy Preston, Garden City
OF – Andy Dirks, Hutchinson
OF – Austin Holt, Barton 
OF – Dustin Koca, Butler
P – Aaron Breit, Garden City 
P – Chad Lee, Barton 
P – Thad Weber, Hutchinson

2nd team
C – Joe Servais, Garden City
1B – Evan Friedland, Colby 
2B – Jason Chatwood, Colby
SS – Jay Pitschka, Butler 
3B – Ryan Hudgins, Butler
DH – Balin Bergman, Hutchinson
OF – Patrick Norris, Butler
OF – Brian Majors, Seward County
OF – Adam Hills, Colby
P – Michael Jarman, Seward County 
P – Adam Skelton, Colby
P – Brock Nehls, Barton

Honorable Mention
C – Tyler Henry, Seward County
C – Clint Elkins, Hutchinson
1B – Dusty Washburn, Garden City
2B – Zach Kovarna, Hutchinson
SS – Brett Hothan, Cloud County 
SS – Jason Russell, Garden City
3B – Brycen Bell, Garden City
DH – Dabney Rogillio, Dodge City
OF – Erik Hegstad, Seward County
OF – Cory Raczykowski, Colby
OF– David Wilson, Barton 
P – Dustin Koca, Butler 
P – Brett Davis, Seward County 
P – Logan Hoch, Hutchinson

Stats
Complete stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu