Kansas baseball state recap: Blue Valley Southwest baseball team wins school’s first boys team state title

With St. Louis University signee Miller Hogan sidelined with an injury and an 0-4 record earlier this season, Blue Valley Southwest High School’s baseball team’s chances to return to the Kansas Class 5A state championship game looked quite slim.

However, as Hogan worked his way back slowly, ranging from from a few innings at first to last Thursday’s complete game shutout, the Timberwolves followed suit. They won 16 of their next 20 games, including last Friday’s 2-1 victory against Topeka Seaman to win the program’s first state championship.

It was the first boys team state title in the school’s short four-year history.

“It took a lot of mental toughness and a lot of fun personalities to be around,” Blue Valley Southwest coach Rick Sabath said.

Hogan finished the season with a 5-0 record and a 0.00 ERA and the Timberwolves won their final eight games to finish the sesaon with a 16-8 record. They outscored opponents 16-3 during three games at the state tournament at Wichita State’s Eck Stadium.

“We pitched it really well, we played great defense and we were very poised at the game’s most crucial moments,” Sabath said. “Those things really helped us and were the difference.”

Sabath credited the strength of his senior class as a whole, which included a handful of college signees, for the team’s resiliency this season. Among the colleges his seniors signed with are Arkansas, Kansas and a variety of community colleges.

This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Kansas baseball state recap: Blue Valley Southwest baseball team wins school’s first boys team state title."