The 2018 All-Bi-City Small School Baseball Team is here. See who made the list.

The smaller schools in the Bi-City area made a lot of noise on the baseball diamond this spring. A quick look at the 2018 All-Bi-City team makes it clear these teams’ talent was just as dangerous as their counterparts in Class 4A on up.

Glenwood senior Slade James took home Player of the Year honors for efforts on the mound and in the batter’s box for the Gators. James was one of the toughest outs for a Glenwood team that finished runner-up in Class 3A, hitting .336 with 5 home runs and 41 RBIs. James was arguably more troublesome for opponents on the mound, going 11-2 with 98 strikeouts and a 0.72 ERA.

James joined elite company at Glenwood by setting a new program record with 87 innings pitched. His ERA placed him fourth all-time in school history, while his strikeout mark put him fifth.

“Daniel Holley came through here and got Pitcher of the Year. There were other guys like Carson Hicks and Lawson Humphries. It feels really good to be in the running with them and to be associated with them,” James said. “For me, it was about being able to pound the strike zone and letting my defense work for me. I knew I could trust all eight guys out there.”

As James ended his Gators career on a high note, Calvary Christian’s Nick Morgan was busy making the most of his freshman year. In 73.1 innings, Morgan posted a 11-3 record with 69 strikeouts and a 1.91 ERA. He was lights out for the Knights in the playoffs, going 5-0 to help win the first state title in program history.

Morgan’s efforts have earned him Pitcher of the Year honors.

“We knew that there was a lot we were going to face, but the fact we gelled together as a family was probably more important than winning to state,” Morgan said. “When I pitched the ball (in the final at-bat of Game 2), he hit it to our shortstop Jesse Donohoe and he made the play. When he got it in his hand, I knew all he had to do was make a throw. He’s so good at just making the routine plays, I just knew we had it. We had made history right there and then.”

Morgan’s head coach, Steve Smith, has been chosen as the Coach of the Year. The Knights had been knocking on the door of a state title in the first four seasons under Smith’s guidance, which included losing by one run in the final game of the state series in 2015.

Despite losing a considerable portion of the 2017 squad, the Knights went on a playoff run the likes of which had not been seen before at the school. It ultimately ended with a 15-9 win in the state title-clinching game against Covenant Academy.

“We knew coming in we were going to be very young, so there was a lack of experience at the varsity level. We had lost 85 percent of our innings pitched from the previous year, so we knew we had some big holes to fill,” Smith said. “It just all came together at the end of the year.

“It’s just unexplainable — the emotion and seeing the work from the last seven or eight months come to fruition with a state championship. It’s awesome.”

Player of the Year

Slade James, Glenwood

Pitcher of the Year

Nick Morgan, Calvary Christian

Coach of the Year

Steve Smith, Calvary Christian

First Team

P - Garrett Brown, Manchester

P - John Kropaczewski, Jordan

P - Jack Little, Brookstone

C - Brandon Redd, Manchester

1B - Jalen Williams, Glenwood

2B - Noah Braddy, Manchester

3B - Tyler Wakins, Calvary Christian

SS - Trey Sanders, Brookstone

OF - Jeremiah Burgess, Brookstone

OF - Richard Hill, Brookstone

OF - Nick Adams, Glenwood

OF - Colin Dixon, Jordan

OF - Zachary Garcia, Calvary Christian

UTIL - Austin Bedsole, Jordan

UTIL - Banks Massey, Brookstone

Second Team

P - Ben Sloan, Brookstone

C - Trey Lingo, Brookstone

1B - Max Eikelberry, Calvary Christian

2B - Caden Shirah, Calvary Christian

3B - Stephen Smith, Calvary Christian

SS - Jesse Donohoe, Calvary Christian

INF - Bryce Long, Jordan

OF - Jax Dyer, Calvary Christian

OF - Brett Chandler, Calvary Christian

OF - Colby Dehart, Jordan

OF - Peyton Holloway, Calvary Christian

OF - Aspen Williams, Manchester

UTIL - Hunter Qualls, Calvary Christian

UTIL - Luke Norman, Calvary Christian

This story was originally published June 16, 2018 at 3:30 PM with the headline "The 2018 All-Bi-City Small School Baseball Team is here. See who made the list.."