Month: August 2018

KCKCC’s Foerschler joining Central Missouri baseball staff

Winning the 2015 Rawlings Gold Glove as the best fielding community college first baseman in the nation and being named the Mike Haen Hustle Award recipient highlighted Tanner Foerschler’s two years as a player and one season as an assistant coach at Kansas City Kansas Community College. (KCKCC photo by Jason Browar)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

A former Kansas City Kansas Community College standout is on his way up the collegiate coaching ladder.

A Gold Glove winner at KCKCC in 2015, Tanner Foerschler is joining the baseball coaching staff at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg as a graduate assistant coach. The move will enable Foerschler to continue his pursuit of a master’s degree in kinesiology.

A two-year starter at KCKCC in 2014-2015, Foerschler played two years at William Jewell College and then returned to KCKCC as a graduate assistant coach.

“I’m really looking forward for the opportunity to coach at a different level – and at a good college,” Foerschler said. Newly married, he was wed to Kourtney McKinnis June 7.

As a sophomore at KCKCC in 2015, Foerschler was awarded the Rawlings Golf Glove for being the best fielding first baseman in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) with a .995 fielding percentage. In addition, he was named the recipient of the Mike Haen Hustle Award given annually to a player selected by the coaching staff for leadership and other contributions to the program.

“A good coach now, great coach later,” said Steve Burleson, an NJCAA Hall of Fame coach who was head coach during Foerschler’s two years as a player. “As a player, he was our Swiss Army knife. He could and would play any position for use. A dream to coach, he took everything we gave him and added an incredible amount of work ethic to become the player he became.

“The Gold Glove at first base given by Rawlings as the best fielding first baseman in the country speaks for itself. As for the Mike Haen Hustle Award, we had a bunch of good players that season but what separated Tanner was that he brought it every day for two years. His best tool is his integrity and that will carry him a long way in any profession.”

“He will be missed,” said current KCKCC head coach Matt Goldbeck. “He did a great job with our infielders and infielders. An outstanding young man, he’s going to be a great young coach. Very passionate about the game, he has a high moral value about doing what’s right.”

A graduate of Harrisonville High School, Foerschler hit just .211 and drove in 19 runs in 53 games as a freshman but then blossomed at a sophomore, hitting .376 and driving in 52 runs in 57 games. Playing second base at William Jewell, Foerschler hit .267 as a junior and .308 as a sophomore. Third in hitting for the Cardinals, he had 57 hits in 49 games.

At Central Missouri, Foerschler will be reunited with another former KCKCC assistant, Damian Stambersky. The Mules are coming off an outstanding spring season, finishing 39-17 and winning the MIAA tournament championship. Advancing to the NCAA Division II regional tournament, UCM won its first two games before being eliminated by No. 1 ranked Southern Arkansas.

Looking back at his years at KCKCC, Foerschler said: “A great place to grow and really develop yourself as a person, player and coach. I learned the importance of paying attention to the little details and playing for a Hall of Fame coach like Coach Burleson was a great influence on my life.”

T-Bones rattle birdcage in 12-5 win over Canaries

The Kansas City T-Bones rattled the birdcage for the second night with a score of 12-5 at Sioux Falls Stadium on Wednesday night at T-Bones Stadium.

The T-Bones secured another road series win with their strong performance that included an impressive 17 hits.

The first day of August brought lovely weather for the birds, but the T-Bones started to sizzle first in the third inning when Logan Moon reached base on a lead-off error by Patrick Fiala.

Dylan Tice followed with a double, and a fielders choice by Mason Davis brought home Moon for an early 1-0 score. Todd Cunningham then hit a ground ball fielder choice toward third that brought in Tice, putting the T-Bones ahead, 2-0.

The Canaries answered as Mitch Glasser hit a ground ball base hit to get the birds in the air.

Kansas City pitcher Tommy Collier struggled with back-to-back hits by a pitch, and an RBI single by Chris Grayson made the score 2-1. A follow-up bases-loaded walk by Maxx Garret left the score at the end of the second inning an even 2-2.

The fourth inning brought more offense for Kansas City as Moon and Dylan Tice both got base hits.

Davis then hit a two-run home run, his sixth of the year, making the score 4-2 KC. Cunningham followed with another home run, bringing the KC lead to 5-2.

The Canaries kept the T-Bones on the grill though with another hit by a pitch by Collier. Glasser followed with a double and then Mike Hart popped up a long ball for a three-run home run to tie the score at 5-5 at the end of the fourth inning.

The fifth inning proved successful for the T-Bones as a single by Noah Perio Jr., a hit for Adrian Nieto and a walk for Alay Lago started the action. Then a double off pitcher Tyler Wolfe by Keith Curcio gave the lead back to KC, 6-5. Lago then came home on a wild pitch, making the score 7-5, KC.

A bunt by Davis got the sixth inning rolling. A balk by Wolfe put Davis on second, and another base hit by Cunningham put runners at the corners.

Closing the inning out, Davis stole home on a double steal and shut the cage door on the Canaries in the sixth inning.

Collier managed to dodge a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth, but he kept the birds in the cage. Joe Filomeno came to the mound in the seventh and tossed three strikeouts to clip the wings of the Canaries.

The ninth inning continued to ruffle the feathers of the Canaries. A hit by Nieto and a double by Lago that scored Nieto made the score 9-5, KC.

Curcio hit a ground ball to first that was out but that scored Lago on a fielder’s choice, and it was 10-5, KC.

Ryan Fritze walked Dylan Tice before Trevor Jaunich took over on the mound for the Canaries. Cunningham hit a base hit off Jaunich to score Tice, bringing the score to 11-5. Colin Walsh’s RBI base hit brought home Davis whose run made the final score 12-5.

Collier (7-3) notched the win for the T-Bones and Dylan Thompson (4-7) earned the loss for the Canaries.

The T-Bones secured a new franchise all-time high of 22 games above .500 and a record of 45-23. The T-Bones are now two and a half games clear of Wichita in the Southern Division for second place and the wild card spot for post season play. The Canaries dropped to 26-42.

The teams will meet again at 7:05 p.m. Thursday with John Straka starting for Sioux Falls and a pitcher to be announced for Kansas City.

The game can be heard on the T-Bones Broadcast Network on MixLR at http://mixlr.com/t-bones-baseball/.

Season, group, mini-plans and nightly party suites are on sale and can be purchased by visiting the box office at T-Bones Stadium. Call the box office at 913-328-5618 or purchase and print at www.tbonesbaseball.com. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

– Story from T-Bones