EudoraNews.com

The Midwest Rebels are a unique concoction of 15- and 16-year-old boys from Eudora, Baldwin and Lawrence. The merging of these fierce rivals into summer chums is not an easy assignment. Although Rebels manager John Griffin and his coaching staff -- Dirk Kinney, Brian Ash and Phil Hannon -- have done just that.

During the weekend, the coaching staff took that merger a step further. They combined Ash's 15-year-olds and Kinney's 16-year-olds to form a collective group to compete in the 16U Wood Bat Tournament at Johnson County 3-and-2. The combined roster included everyone except Luke Abel, Mark Abel and Brendon Jackson, who were attending a basketball camp in Oklahoma. Paul Smith and Rod Evinger were held out because of injury.

The tournament is the last on the Rebels schedule other than the quickly approaching state championships. Griffin does, however, intend to bring some teams to Eudora to scrimmage his boys prior to the state tournament.

The unified Rebels opened Friday at noon against a 16U team from Olathe North. The Rebels soared past the Eagles 11-3. Pitching and defense coupled with patient and timely hitting have been the mantra of Griffin's teams.

"It was a close game through three innings," Griffin said. "Pitching and defense allowed the bats to come alive, and we prevailed."

The victory over the Olathe North squad set the stage for a match with another united group called Maurer's Angels. The Rebels' second round opponent was made up of freshmen and sophomores from the Belton and Blue Valley school districts.

"They are a very good club," Griffin said of the Angels. "They don't beat themselves. They don't make mistakes. Unfortunately we did. It wasn't our best showing of the year."

The poor showing netted a 9-1 loss.

The Rebels would then trade the Belton/Blue Valley mix for a group hailing from the Kansas City area. The Rebs squared up against the KC club -- known as the Blue Devils -- Saturday morning.

An 11-2 victory over the Blue Devils advanced the Rebels to a Saturday matinee against another Kansas City club -- the A's. The game developed into a classic pitcher's duel. The sensational hurlers kept the scoreboard clear through seven innings. The A's managed a pair of runs late, pulling out the highly contested victory.

"This was a great ballgame," Griffin said. "Cory Wright pitched great. We had our chances, but mental mistakes and lost opportunities cost us against a very good pitcher.

The combined team finished the weekend Saturday with an even 2-2 mark.

"We could have very easily gone 3-1 and advanced to Sunday," a disappointed Griffin said. "That's the way the game goes."

The Rebels continued their state tournament tune-up Tuesday and Wednesday at Eudora High School.

Kinney's Rebels played a pair with the Topeka Flyers Tuesday. The Rebels lost the opener 10-5 but rebounded to take the nightcap 5-2.

"In the first game we made a couple of key mental errors that hurt us," Griffin said. "Coach Kinney challenged the kids between games to play fundamentally sound baseball."

Kinney connected. Cole Massey provided an offensive spark while Kyle Brouhard's arm cooled the Flyers' bats going the distance for the victory.

"After calming down and realizing fundamentals never change, the kids responded and performed much better in the second game," Griffin said. "The effort was there and the end result showed."

Ash's Rebs played a pair with Topeka's Cutters Wednesday night. Results weren't available as of press time.

The 15-year-olds have a week to prepare for their championship run in Ottawa July 10-13. They'll take the holiday weekend off then play a single game Monday at Eudora.

The 16-year-olds have an extra week of preparation before taking their shot at the state title July17-20 at Johnson County 3-and-2. Griffin said the team planned to rest and heal in the meantime.

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