Occasionally, coaches have the luxury of coaching an all-star team, a squad of the best players around.
Crest High head coach Roland Weir nearly had that experience every time his Lancer squad suited up on the baseball diamond this season.
As can be expected, Crest’s 22-2 romp through the season brought several postseason accolades for his Lancers.
Eight of the nine Crest starters earned at least honorable mention for the All-Three Rivers League postseason team.
Four players — Holden Barker, Trevor Church, Tyson Hermreck and Stetson Setter — earned first-team all-league honors. Four others — Avery Blaufuss, Stratton McGhee, Kobey Miller and Rogan Weir — received honorable mention.
Funny thing is, Coach Weir expressed disappointment afterward that all of Crest’s starters warranted recognition.
The only player not included, Jack White, was deserving as well, Coach Weir said.
“I called him and told him that,” he said. “I thought we could have been deserving of one more all-league player, and that way Jack could have slid up to receive honorable mention.”
The Three Rivers League baseball honors included a pair of Yates Center High standouts as well. Sean Hurst and Tyler Green both earned honorable mention.
FROM ALL appearances, it looks like Crest will have ample opportunity to add to its hardware.
Three of the four first-teamers, Barker, Church and Setter, are sophomores.
As it so happens, those three also earned all-state recognition.
Barker earned first-team All-Class 2-1A as a designated hitter. Setter earned first-team all-state honors as an outfielder. Church was named to the second team all-state class as a pitcher.
Setter led Crest with a .522 average, racking up 36 hits in 69 at bats. He also pounded a team-high 11 doubles and tied for the team lead with h33 RBIs and 44 runs scored, while smacking three home runs and stealing 17 bases. He also started five games as a pitcher, and won all five, with a 1.54 ERA. Setter allowed 14 hits over 22 innings, with 39 strikeouts. Opponents batted .173 against Setter..
Barker hit at a .420 clip, with 29 hits in 69 at bats, with 33 RBIs and 44 runs. He smacked eight doubles and five triples, with two home runs. He also stole 13 bases.
