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CMWS hardware handed out

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Arizona Firebirds shortstop Doug Stankiewicz crosses home plate

FARMINGTON — The Midland Redskins left the 2011 Connie Mack World Series with their 13th championship trophy, and six of the team’s players will have to pack a little lighter on their way home to accommodate All-Tournament hardware.

The three-time national champions placed second baseman Max Kuhn, catcher John Clay Reeves, outfielder Boo Vazquez and pitchers Dillon Peters and Eric Martin on the All-Tournament list, while outfielder Dakota Smith took home the Comcast Big Stick and Lincoln Hackim Most Valuable Player awards.

“There is no ‘I’ in them,” Redskins manager Joe Hayden said. “Nobody wanted to know their batting average, nobody wanted to know their ERA, they just wanted to win. I’m proud of each and every one of them. I admire them all.”

Smith, a Leavenworth, Kan., native and a future Jayhawk, led all players at the CMWS with 15 total bases, including two home runs and eight RBI.

“I thought I had a pretty good tournament, but I didn’t know it was this good,” Smith said, looking at his MVP and Big Stick trophies.

Smith lead the tournament with two home runs.

“After the second one I kind of realized I was having a good tournament,” Smith said. “Sometimes you get lucky in a tournament, but two home runs is pretty good.”

Aside from his hitting, Smith also became known as “the guy with the pink bat” at Ricketts Park.

“They’re just my thing. I started swinging them about a year ago and I really liked them. I only brought one to Farmington and I broke it in batting practice of all places. So we had to next-day ship them so I could keep using them. … They were the heart and soul of this team,” Smith said with a laugh.

The Arizona Firebirds finished the 2011 CMWS as runners-up but had first baseman Willie Ethington, shortstop Drew Stankiewicz, outfielders Jake Peeveyhouse and Michael Howard, and pitcher Stephen Tarpley named to the All-Tournament team.

Stankiewicz, an Arizona State signee, was also awarded the Comcast Big Stick Award after hitting an even .500 (10 for 20 at the plate).

“This has been surreal. I’ve never played in front of this many people, and the whole week I’ve just been soaking it all in,” Stankiewicz said after the championship game on Friday night. “I was just playing my game. I am so grateful for these awards.”

Farmington’s own Strike Zone Cardinals had two players named to the list — New Mexico Junior College signee Dillon Bibo (designated hitter) and pitcher Phillip Wilson.

Bibo was a large part offensively of the Cardinals’ run to the final four, hitting a go-ahead three-run home run in the Cardinals’ 6-3 win over the Arecibo (Puerto Rico) Lobos and a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning against the South Troy Dodgers in the second round. Bibo finished the tournament with a .375 batting average.

“There are some great baseball guys on that list and it’s really an honor to be on there with them,” Bibo said.
Bibo was an All-State selection in high school, and his hitting hasn’t cooled any since.

“I made some minor changes over the summer but overall just tried to carry what I did in high school to summer. Now I’ll just try to carry what I did in the summer to college and, hopefully, beyond that.”

Wilson was a regional pick-up for the Cardinals in both the 2010 and 2011 CMWS. Wilson threw every pitch in a nine-inning win over the South Troy Dodgers in the second round. The win gave the Cardinals a third-round bye and placed the host team in the final days of the tournament for the first time since the 90s.

“The All-Tournament team is a great honor. It’s something you strive for in every tournament but to get it at such a big, national tournament, it’s unreal,” Wilson said.

The Owasso, Okla., native threw just one game but was third in the tournament in innings pitched with nine behind Farmington’s Dominic Moreno (11.1) and Dillon Peters (9.2). He also finished second in ERA (.78) and third in opposing batting average (.156).

It was a real roller coaster ride,” Wilson said of the extra-inning game he threw. “(Shilo McCall) hit a two-run home run to put us ahead and then I gave up a two-run home run, but I was just telling myself to keep fighting, something will go my way. After the seventh inning, coach (Don Lorett) told me I was at 100 pitches and told me good job, basically telling me I was done and I told him I wasn’t coming out. He let me go and overall, the win and playing for the host team, it was the experience of a lifetime. I wasn’t expecting it when I came (to Farmington) but it really was the stuff you always dream of.”

Rounding out the All-Tournament list are third baseman David Thompson, utility player Jack Lopez and Richard Amion, all of the La Ley (Fla.) Legends.

The Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Diamondbacks were also awarded the C.O. Brown Team Sportsmanship Award despite leaving the tournament winless.

“It is a reflection of what type of guys we had this year. We would have loved to win a few ballgames and made a run to play Friday night, but the award is nice consolation and it is a reflection of the kids and their good morals,” Diamondbacks coach Dustin Smith said.


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