Missouri Longhorns 11U Black: Welcome

The Missouri Longhorns 11U Black took the championship at the Game 7 Baseball Midwest Mayhem tournament this weekend, held at The Woodlands in St. Peters.

The Horns had a win and a loss on Saturday.  They lost the first game to the Missouri Chargers 9-6, then came back to defeat the Lincoln County Young Guns 5-4 in the twilight finale to the opening day.  In the evening victory, Kobe Knisley, Charlie Mooneyham and Alec Talbot combined to hold the Young Guns, and David Schwartz, Charlie Mooneyham and Jaden Althoff all contributed doubles.

Sunday was initially hampered by a two hour rain delay, but when the Longhorns finally got on the field at 4pm they were ready to play.  They opened against the O’Fallon Sharks with a 14-5 victory, highlighted by a towering left field home run by Cody Bagby, ten stolen bases (four by Kobe Knisley).  Caleb Conedera combined at the mound for the victory, striking out two and walking one.

The Horns then took the field for the championship game against the Chargers, still stinging from being defeated by them the day before.  This time the bats came out strong and the gloves were solid.  The Horns tore up the basepaths, with 13 steals – highlighted by 4 from Jaden Althoff.  David Schwartz pitched a solid three innings and Cal Hagin closed the books on this tournament in the final inning.

The Longhorns next tournament will be the Game 7 Cinco de Mayo tourney May 4-7.

The Longhorns 11U Black opened up the 2012 season with a great showing at the BC Baseball Gateway Opener at Ozzie Smith Park in O'Fallon, MO.

The Horns opened with a 12-3 victory over the STL Naturals.  Evan Mead opened the season pitching, with a solid performance.  Kobe Knisley came in for the save, with an 80% strike count to seal the Naturals fate.  Cody Bagby was 3-for-3 with a triple and a double, and Alec Talbot drove in 3 runs.  The Longhorns victory was accented with 14 total stolen bases, led with 3 by Caleb Conedera.

The Horns then delivered a decisive 9-2 victory over the Bluff City Sox.  Conedera, Jaden Althoff and Charlie Mooneyham combined for the solid pitching effort.  Bagby's bat was on fire again, hitting 2-for-3 with a triple, double and team-leading 3 RBI's.  Knisley and Conedera both contributed doubles, and Mooneyham sparked with an additional triple.

 On Sunday, the Horns opnened with an action-packed 18-11 victory over the Diamond Stars.  Bagby and Knisley combined for a whopping 112 pitches in 3 innings, holding on to shut down the Diamond Stars in the last two innings.  Conedera was 2-for-2 with a team leading 3 RBI's,  complemented by contributions of doubles from Althoff, Talbot and Mead.

The Longhorns progressed to the championship game, where they were edged out 11-7 by the Bluff City Sox in a well-fought effort.   Talbot, Mead, Joel Hagemeier and Mooneyham combined the pitching effort.  Mooneyham led the hitting effort for the Horns, 3-for-3 with a double and 2 RBI's.  Talbot and Knisley also contributed doubles, and Conedera slammed a triple.

The Longhorns will return to the tournament arena in the second half of April.

What makes Missouri Longhorns Baseball Club different from most competitive youth baseball teams is our commitment to values. Missouri Longhorns’ players are expected to maintain solid standing in school, and are recognized for academic achievement. Our players are expected to participate in charitable events, and encouraged to give back to the communities in which they live and play

On Sunday, November 20, the 11U Black Longhorns players and parents volunteered their afternoon for the Samaritan's purse charity.

The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) gives a clear picture of God's desire for us to help those in desperate need wherever we find them. For 35 years, Samaritan's Purse has followed Christ's command by aiding the world's poor, sick, and suffering.

The Longhorns worked at Wentzville Christian Church which is a regional collection point for the Samaritan's Purse Christmas project. In addition to bringing our own Christmas boxes for international recipients, the players and parents spent the afternoon receiving thousands of individual boxes from area churches and packing them into shipping boxes and loading them onto semi-trailers for transportation to national distribution points.

The event was initiated by a very moving story from Longhorns player Joel Hagemeier's older sister who was in the past a recipient of this program when she was an orphan with no other Christmas presents than the Samaritan's Purse shoebox. (see photos).

This is just one example of the Missouri Longhorns 11U Black team commitment to total personal development to our players. Our players are not disposable and we are using activities like this to build very competitive athletes who are also solid contributors to our communities.