The Dufur baseball team was one bad inning from picking up a 2A/1A state semifinals berth, but had its season cut short in a 6-4 loss to undefeated Knappa on May 29 in Astoria.
However, the Rangers finished ranked No. 7 in the state after being amongst the top-2 for the vast majority of the season and had the state’s fifth-best offense with 287 runs scored in 30 games.
For those numbers, the Rangers had seven players named to the Blue Mountain Conference all-league team, led by senior infielder and pitcher Trever Tibbets, who was first-team winner as an infielder and earned Player of the Year recognition from opposing coaches.
In addition to Tibbets, Bryson Caldwell, Jake Kortge, Nick Little and Kolbe Bales each chalked up first-team bids for their play, and the underclassmen duo of Bailey Keever and Connor Uhalde were honorable mention selections.
“We’ve had quite a representation for quite a while,” said Dufur head coach C.S. Little. “This is a pretty good showing this year. That was indicative of the success we had. That is why we had the success because we had some good ballplayers.”
On the season, Tibbets had a .500 batting average with a team-high four home runs and 42 RBIs.
The righty scored 46 runs, swiped 17 of 18 bases and had an on-base percentage of .559, a team-best.
From the mound, the senior tossed 57 innings and allowed 57 hits with 69 strikeouts and 17 walks. He went 6-4 with six complete games and held opponents to a .241 batting average.
“Trever has an excellent skill set. He swung it well for us all season,” coach Little said. “He had batted .600 for most of the year and he did a good job of getting on base. He is a gifted hitter and was our RBI leader. He scored a lot of runs and he did a great job of knocking them in.”
Caldwell, the 6-foot-3 inch senior pitcher, had nine starts on the season and won seven of them with four complete games.
He allowed 40 runs, 17 earned in 53 innings pitched, struck out 73 batters and walked 23.
After missing the first portion of the season, Kortge regained his first-team all-league status as catcher and hit .355 overall with a home run and 29 RBIs in 91 official plate appearances.
The senior scored 25 runs, had a .477 on-base percentage and gunned down six of 20 on stolen base attempts with no errors.
Nick Little, the centerfielder boasted a .363 batting average and scored 31 runs on 33 hits.
He slugged two home runs, tied for the team-high with two triples, walked 15 times and reached base 48 percent of the time and went a perfect 18 for 18 on stolen base attempts.
Bales did a little bit of everything whether it was in the batter’s box, on the mound or at first base.
Bales had a .986 fielding percentage with two errors on 148 chances, and was part of nine double plays.
On the mound, the sophomore southpaw had a 6-0 record in 10 appearances with two complete games and one shutout.
In 39 1/3 innings, he allowed 20 hits, 11 earned runs with 70 strikeouts and 21 walks. Opponents hit a scant .147 off him.
Bales added a .372 batting average with 14 doubles, two home runs, 35 hits and 41 RBIs.
He finished fourth on the team with 41 RBIs, received 17 walks and was second on the team in slugging percentage at .585.
As a sophomore, Keever showed his versatility, as he was honorable mention.
Keever hit .345 overall with two home runs, 19 runs scored and 38 RBIs in his 112 plate appearances. He had 17 walks, struck out 16 times, had a .477 on-base percentage and was a 10 for 10 on stolen bases.
Keever tossed 17 innings and allowed two unearned runs on nine hits with 28 strikeouts and seven walks.
He had two starts and both ended up in complete-game shutouts.
At second base, Uhalde had a .904 fielding percentage with nine errors on 94 chances, and he helped turn seven double plays.
Offensively, he hit .343 with 48 runs scored.
He drove in 20, walked a team-leading 23 times and was 17 for 17 on stolen bases. He had an on-base percentage of .4477 and a slugging average of .490 in 30 games played.
While the bulk of the awards went to four seniors, Bales, Keever and Uhalde give hope to the Dufur program.
“We had quite a number of young guys on the first team and as honorable mention,” coach Little said. “They are going to jump right up there and be first-team all-league, all-state type kids next year. The future is looking good.”
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