2010 State Championship

2010 GISA Class AA Baseball State Champions
Lynn Huffstickler
Head Coach

What a season! After making it to the State Championship game for two years and coming up short, we were hoping the third time would be the charm. It was!
This season was a total team effort from start to finish. Our parents and supporters helped throughout the season as gatekeepers, concession workers, photographers, and field decorators. Susan Ebersbach, Karen Jackson, Lori Alvarez, Darrell Bonner, B. J. Kimsey, and many others were instrumental in organizing our fan base to keep operations functioning smoothly. A big thank you goes to Mr. Guy Arnall who provided financial support to decorate the stands and surrounding area for the state playoffs. The season was well documented in pictures by Susan Ebersbach, Paula Vandersluis, and others. Our parents, both Middle School and Varsity, remained faithful throughout the year, providing taxi service for non-driving players, working concessions, attending games, and cheering on the players. The encouragement of our Hawks Nation, both on the field and off, spurred us to victory! Congratulations go to each member of the 2010 Hawks baseball team. Our seniors, Garrett Okun, Grant Alvarez, Jack Duffey, Evan Graybill, Seth Bonner, and Cody Yarbrough, provided the leadership to this championship team. Our underclassmen, Kyle Kimsey, Ben Dudley, Ryan Lynch, Reed Jackson, Joe Bonner, Richard Ebersbach, Candler Rich, J. J. Avery, Elliott Smith, Patrick McKee, and Dalton Trammell, worked as a team as they followed the leadership of the seniors. These 17 players were faithful and committed to their two season goals: to win the region championship and to win the state championship. They accomplished both.
Sports writers claim that defense wins championships, and that is certainly true with our team this year. Jack Duffey, Evan Graybill, and Kyle Kimsey’s pitching led our defense with the one, two, three punch which was feared by every opponent. Ben Dudley and Duffey commanded the action at first base. Joe Bonner, Reed Jackson, and Cody Yarbrough shared duty at second base. Kimsey was our Golden Glove at shortstop. Evan Graybill and Joe Bonner anchored third base. Our outfield, Seth Bonner, Candler Rich, and Garrett Okun, provided speed, agility, and accuracy. The best catcher in the GISA, Grant Alvarez, quarterbacked behind the plate. This defense kept us winning from the season opener to the state championship.
You cannot win games without scoring. This year’s team scored 332 runs in 30 games! We averaged 10.4 runs per game. We had 21 games with double digit scores. Garrett Okun and Kyle Kimsey, our lead-off and number two hitter, set the stage for our trio of power hitters, Grant Alvarez, Jack Duffey, and Evan Graybill. Candler Rich’s ability to hit the baseball usually resulted in driving in the power group. Seth Bonner, Joe Bonner, and Cody Yarbrough closed out the line-up by getting on base, advancing runners, and driving in runs. Their efforts created a line-up feared by pitchers throughout the state.
Our coaching staff deserves thanks for their time and commitment to the Hawks baseball program. Our coaches serve as grounds crew, teachers, trainers, and motivators.
Bobby Totten and Carl Brown worked throughout the season with the Varsity team while Jeff Avery assisted with the JV and Reese Barnett with the Middle School team. All four of these coaches worked with the Varsity team during the playoffs. Their support was instrumental in helping the team achieve its goals.
When I came to Heritage in the fall of 2001, the baseball program, despite enthusiastic support, had had limited success. They had never celebrated a winning season. During the past eight years, we had seven winning seasons. We won our region championship in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. We have had state playoff appearances six times. We were second in the state in 2008 and 2009, and we all know what happened on May 29, 2010, at 5:08 p.m.!
As Stuart Crosby said, “The recipe for a championship team includes good pitching, defense, timely hitting, intelligent base-running, and fan support.”
We had all of these. The dedication of our players and their parents mixed with the commitment of our coaches and the noise of our fans produced this prize-winning season! “Third time is the charm!”

2010 AA State Champions

2010 AA State Champions
What a year.

2010 Trophy Presentation

2010 Trophy Presentation
Total team effort!

2010 State Champioship

2010 State Champioship
Let the fun begin.

2010 State Championship

2010 State Championship
Hawks of yesterday!

2010 Heritage Hawks in Black

2010 Heritage Hawks in Black

2010 Heritage Hawks

2010 Heritage Hawks

Opening Weekend 2010

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Alvarez and Duffey Sign With Gulf Coast

Congratulations to Grant Alvarez and Jack Duffey. Both will sign early with Gulf Coast College in Panama City, Florida. Both players were named to the 2009 All State AA Team last year in the GISA. Signing pictures will happen next week at school.
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