Derrick Bleeker stands 6-foot-4, but the Niwot (Colo.) Cougars right-hander’s height had nothing to do with the fact that the was the big man for the winner of the 20th annual American Legion Wood Bat Invitational.
Bleeker, who earned tournament MVP and all-tournament shortstop honors, said there was only one trophy that he was interested in checking in at KCI Airport when the Cougars flew back home.
“That’s that big one right over there,” said Bleeker, who threw a five-hit, 10-strikeout gem against the Blue Valley (Kan.) Northwest Huskies to help the Cougars claim a 2-1 victory on a sun-drenched Hidden Valley field Sunday afternoon. “The individual trophies are nice, and I’m happy to be the MVP of such a great tournament, but we came down here with one goal and that was to win the tournament.”
Pitching certainly ruled in the championship game as neither Bleeker nor the Huskies’ Casey Strohl allowed an earned run. Each team committed an uncharacteristic four errors.
“I tell you what, I can’t say enough about the job both pitchers did today,” said Cougars manager Matt Jensen, who was named the tournament’s outstanding manager. “We kicked it around a little bit today, but when we needed a big out or a big defensive play, we got it.”
Bleeker, who will be a senior at Skyline High School in Longmont, Colo., attracted a lot of attention at the tournament.
“The head coach of Arkansas was here to watch him pitch earlier in the week, and I have to go over and talk to a scout from the (Philadelphia) Phillies as soon as we’re done,” Jensen said.
It’s been big back-to-back weekends for the Cougars, who won the Hays (Kan.) Post 173 Wild West Shootout last weekend and the Wood Bat Invitational on Sunday.
“It just worked out that way,” Bleeker said. “We play two out-of-state tournaments, and they just happened to be back-to-back. This was a great tournament. We all had a great time, and the competition was really good, too.”
Bleeker had to pitch out of a potential game-tying jam in the bottom of the seventh inning as a hit and error gave the Huskies runners on first and third base with two outs.
Bleeker struck out lead-off hitter Chris Bell to end the game.
“I wanted to end the game on a strikeout,” Bleeker said. “And it was even more important since the tying and winning runs were on base.”
n Four area players joined Bleeker on the all-tournament team. Blue Springs Rod’s Sports A’s Kyle Barbeck was chosen as the utility player, Hi-Boy Drive-In/Post 340’s Josh Barnes was the third baseman, Hi-Boy’s Christian Velez was the designated hitter and Independence Post 21’s Grant Truster was the second baseman.
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Derrick Bleeker stands 6-foot-4, but the Niwot (Colo.) Cougars right-hander’s height had nothing to do with the fact that the was the big man for the winner of the 20th annual American Legion Wood Bat Invitational.
Bleeker, who earned tournament MVP and all-tournament shortstop honors, said there was only one trophy that he was interested in checking in at KCI Airport when the Cougars flew back home.
“That’s that big one right over there,” said Bleeker, who threw a five-hit, 10-strikeout gem against the Blue Valley (Kan.) Northwest Huskies to help the Cougars claim a 2-1 victory on a sun-drenched Hidden Valley field Sunday afternoon. “The individual trophies are nice, and I’m happy to be the MVP of such a great tournament, but we came down here with one goal and that was to win the tournament.”
Pitching certainly ruled in the championship game as neither Bleeker nor the Huskies’ Casey Strohl allowed an earned run. Each team committed an uncharacteristic four errors.
“I tell you what, I can’t say enough about the job both pitchers did today,” said Cougars manager Matt Jensen, who was named the tournament’s outstanding manager. “We kicked it around a little bit today, but when we needed a big out or a big defensive play, we got it.”
Bleeker, who will be a senior at Skyline High School in Longmont, Colo., attracted a lot of attention at the tournament.
“The head coach of Arkansas was here to watch him pitch earlier in the week, and I have to go over and talk to a scout from the (Philadelphia) Phillies as soon as we’re done,” Jensen said.
It’s been big back-to-back weekends for the Cougars, who won the Hays (Kan.) Post 173 Wild West Shootout last weekend and the Wood Bat Invitational on Sunday.
“It just worked out that way,” Bleeker said. “We play two out-of-state tournaments, and they just happened to be back-to-back. This was a great tournament. We all had a great time, and the competition was really good, too.”
Bleeker had to pitch out of a potential game-tying jam in the bottom of the seventh inning as a hit and error gave the Huskies runners on first and third base with two outs.
Bleeker struck out lead-off hitter Chris Bell to end the game.
“I wanted to end the game on a strikeout,” Bleeker said. “And it was even more important since the tying and winning runs were on base.”
n Four area players joined Bleeker on the all-tournament team. Blue Springs Rod’s Sports A’s Kyle Barbeck was chosen as the utility player, Hi-Boy Drive-In/Post 340’s Josh Barnes was the third baseman, Hi-Boy’s Christian Velez was the designated hitter and Independence Post 21’s Grant Truster was the second baseman.
