Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 22, 2014 Page: 4 of 10
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Mineral Wells Index / Thursday, May 22, 2014
Call Classifieds at 940-327-0838
PAGE 4
Santo superlatives
MVPs Nemeth, Swinney lead 10 'Cats on Al-District 10-1A team
By CLINT FOSTER
cfoster@mineralwellsindex.com
SANTO - After a 2014 baseball
campaign that saw the Santo
Wildcats claw their way into second
place in District 10-1A and claim a
16th straight playoff appearance,
the ’Cats were vindicated by earn-
ing 10 spots on their all-district
team last week, including two
superlative awards.
Of Santo’s 10 selections, eight
were juniors and nine will return
for next season.
Senior catcher Garrett Nemeth
was named the district’s Most
Valuable Player and junior pitcher
Dylan Swinney took the title of
Defensive MVP.
In his final season at Santo,
Nemeth was nothing short of
incredible at the plate. Batting a
jaw-dropping .636 on the year, he
led the team in average, on-base
percentage (.700) and home runs
and tied for the team leads in RBI,
with 30, and runs scored, with 36.
He had a team-high 16 extra-base
hits, including 11 doubles, and struck
out the fewest times of any Santo hit-
ter with at least 10 at-bats, registering
just three Ks on the season.
As bright as Santo’s baseball future
looks with so many returning start-
ers, there is little doubt that Nemeth’s
production will be sorely missed.
"Nemeth was our big bat this
year hitting in the three hole,” head
coach Brandon Young said. "He was
very consistent at the plate and also
did a good job calling pitches
behind the plate."
In his senior season, Nemeth caught
no pitcher more than Swinney, District
10’s Defensive MVP. Through a team-
high 35-2/3 innings, the junior posted
a perfect 6-0 record and a team-high
72 strikeouts.
Swinney had a 4.12 ERA and 1.43
WHIP, both the best of any Santo
pitcher with at least five game
appearances.
Swinney was the foundation of a
pitching staff that Young said had a
lot of question marks heading into
the 2014 season. Now he has estab-
lished himself truly as a force to be
reckoned with heading into his
senior year.
"[Swinney] was our ace this year,"
Young said. "He’s got great potential
looking forward to next year."
On first-team all-district were utili-
ty player Dylan Price, outfielder Kyle
Moore and infielder Keith Chalker.
Price filled holes at multiple posi-
tions for the ’Cats on any given day.
A key member of Santo’s high-pow-
ered offense, he hit .464 with eight
doubles and 27 RBIs and tied
Nemeth’s run total, crossing the
plate 36 times.
He also saw time as a relief pitch-
er late in the year, posting a 1.50
ERA, 3.00 WHIP and six strikeouts
through 4-2/3 innings of work.
"Price is just an all-around great
player," Young said. "He played
multiple positions for us. You can
always count on him."
Moore excelled as the Wildcats’
leadoff hitter, batting .471 with a
.561 on-base percentage and 30 runs
scored. He showed both speed and
power on offense, stealing six bases
and hitting five doubles and five
triples, while knocking two homers
out of the yard.
Moore benefited from a transi-
tion to the outfield, which Young
said made him feel more comfort-
able on defense.
Chalker dealt with an injury dur-
ing the season, but still showed
enough skill as Santo’s cleanup hit-
Santo Wildcats
All-District 10-1A
• Most Valuable Player:
Garrett Nemeth, senior.
• Defensive MVP: Dylan
Swinney, junior.
First Team:
• IF Keith Chalker, junior.
• OF Kyle Moore, junior.
• Utility Dylan Price, junior.
Second Team:
• 1B Grant Gilbert, junior.
• DH Jordan Edwards,
junior.
Honorable Mention:
• Grant Read, junior.
• Ty Hunter, junior.
• Kyle Mercer, sophomore.
ter to lead district coaches to vote
him onto the first team.
Chalker hit .455 with 26 RBIs and
three home runs.
"[Chalker] is a great competitor,"
Young said. "He didn’t really get a
chance to get hot at the plate, but I
expect he will next year."
First baseman Grant Gilbert and
designated hitter Jordan Edwards
earned second-team honors from
the district coaches.
Although Gilbert didn’t have the
gaudy hitting statistics of many of
his teammates - he hit .250 on the
year - he was still an on-base
machine with a team-high 16 walks
and a .483 OBP.
He had seven extra-base hits, 11
RBIs and scored 23 runs, many of
which were in key situations.
"Grant came around late in dis-
trict and really kept us alive in a
couple games with his bat," Young
said. "He was always consistent at
first base. He can snag just about
anything out of the dirt."
As Santo’s DH, Edwards was
third on the team with a .480 bat-
ting average. He posted an OBP of
.567, drove in 15 runs and scored 21
of his own.
But, while it was his hitting that
earned him a spot on the all-district
squad, Edwards saw a lot of devel-
opment as a pitcher in 2014.
Through 22-2/3 innings, he posted
a 2-3 record, second-best 4.32 ERA,
2.55 WHIP and 34 strikeouts.
Young hopes that Edwards will
continue to improve as a pitching
option for the ’Cats in his senior year.
"Jordan’s a guy with potential on
the mound," Young said. "He ended
up being our DH this year, but he’s
a guy that will be expected to fill
some holes [next year]."
Earning honorable mention were
Grant Read, Ty Hunter and Santo’s
only sophomore on the list, Kyle
Mercer, who was second only to
Nemeth in batting average with .487.
With 90 percent of Santo’s all-dis-
trict selections returning next year,
it’s easy to be optimistic about how
the Wildcats’ next season may end
up. A new home in District 13-2A
will both reunite Santo with famil-
iar foes and introduce new ones,
but the hope is that what promises
to be a stellar senior class and
another potent offense will be up to
the challenge.
"We’re just going to have to con-
tinue to get better in the offseason,"
Young said. "Well get some new
district competition next year and
well see where it goes from there."
COURTESY SAMANTHA NEMETH
Catcher Garrett Nemeth’s stunning senior year earned him the title of District
10-IA’s Most Valuable Player. He led Santo in batting average, on-base percent-
age, stolen bases, home runs, extra-base hits, RBIs and runs scored.
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May, David. Mineral Wells Index (Mineral Wells, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 13, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 22, 2014, newspaper, May 22, 2014; Mineral Wells, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth707234/m1/4/: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boyce Ditto Public Library.