Central marks 20-year anniversary of state baseball title

~ A daring Tigers team won the Class 4 state baseball title in 1994

Twenty years after leading Central to the Missouri Class 4A baseball championship, former Tigers coach Steve Williams still remembers the talent and dedication his team had leading up to that memorable 1994 season.

"We had the player of the year in Missouri, an all-state shortstop and three guys that went on to pitch college ball at Division I schools," Williams recalled about the 1994 championship team. "Going into that season, we should have won, but you can't take that for granted. Myself, the guys on my coaching staff and our players never did."

Williams, who retired in 2013 after 20 years as coach of the Tigers, threw out the first pitch to commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the team's championship run before Central's game against New Madrid County Central on Tuesday.

One play that defined the season for the Tigers in 1994 came in the district championship game against Sikeston.

The Tigers were down to their last strike with a man on third in a one-run game against the Bulldogs. Williams called time, walked towards third base and asked baserunner Lance Craft to do something that would provide a momentum swing for his team.

"We were down to our last strike and our last out, and I didn't want to see the game end with him standing on third base," Williams said. "So I asked him if he thought he could steal home. Without hesitation he said, "yes," so I said, "Let's go."

Shawn Pemberton stood in at the plate not knowing what was about to take place. On a 2-2 count, Pemberton took ball three in the dirt allowing Craft to score easily at home, knotting the game 3-3.

In the 10th inning, the Tigers scored another run on a similar play. Greg Hellwege stood at third with two outs. The batter at the plate, Chris Davis, swung at an inside pitch that nearly hit him for a strikeout. The catcher could not corral the ball as it rolled toward the Sikeston dugout, and Davis reached first before the catcher could make a play on the dropped third strike. Hellwege scored on the play to secure a trip to the sectional round.

Former bench coach Chris Stanfield recalled that play being one that could have gone bad for Central.

"It was a curveball that almost hit [Davis]," Stanfield said. "I'm thankful he swung because if it hits him, nobody goes anywhere and we move to the 11th where it's a completely different game."

After its win over Sikeston, Central handily defeated its next three opponents to win the school's third state baseball championship. Hellwege and Tom Bolen, both players on the championship roster, remember it being a rather easy road to state after the win over Sikeston.

"They were always difficult for us," Bolen said about Sikeston. "Once we got past them, it was almost like we knew we were going to win and the other games weren't even that close. It gave us that extra momentum and made us more confident."

Central went on to defeat notable St. Louis schools such as Christian Brothers College, Vianney, Parkway West and Hazelwood Central.

Bolen recalled reading an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch leading up to the game against Parkway West. Bolen said the article depicted Central as a team that, "used rocks for a ball and sticks for bats."

The article didn't bother the Central players, but instead increased the will to win for Hellwege and Bolen.

"We didn't say anything to them, but something like that really sticks out to you and we used it as motivation," Bolen said. "They could've said whatever they wanted about us, but there was nothing that was going to get in our way."

Central went on to beat Joplin in the state championship by a score of 8-1, capping off a 23-4 season.

Current Central coach Tatum Kitchen was in eighth grade in 1994, but he said he remembers the season and the kind of coach Williams was. Kitchen later played under Williams for four years and went on to serve as an assistant for five years.

"The unbelievable thing about him is that he never gets flustered," Kitchen said. "It's hard to deal with high school kids, but he did it well and taught me how to do it. I think everyone really enjoyed playing for him and got to know the game as he taught it."

From the onset of the season, the players of that 1994 team saw the dedication Williams and his coaching staff had. Hellwege said he and his teammates noticed and wanted to be just as dedicated.

"I still remember when we got together before the season in my parents basement and said, 'If we don't win state, that's it, it's a failure,'" Hellwege said. "That was all of us getting together to come to a common goal and make it happen because we knew we had what it took to make it a reality."

Williams and his staff noted the dedication of the players early in the season.

"The one thing that stuck out to me is that they were focused from day one of preseason workouts all the way through," Stanfield said. "They had it set that they wanted to achieve this and they did."

The hard work on defense resulted in 24 double plays in the 1994 season, a school record that still stands. Pitching was also a virtue for Central in its championship run. Three of its five starters won at least six games. David Michael, Tally Haines and Brandon West all went on to pitch for Division I colleges. Haines was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in 1998 and pitched eight seasons in the minor leagues.

All eight seniors on the 1994 team went on to play college baseball. The Tigers center fielder, Leroy McCauley, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants the day of Central's win over Sikeston. McCauley played one season in the Giants' farm system before quitting baseball for good. Robert Kern was named the player of the year in Missouri in 1994 and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1995.

Although Central lost 5-2 to New Madrid County Central on Tuesday in the anniversary game, Williams said he was glad to see the faces of coaches and players he had not seen in a long time. Williams also said he cherishes the memories and is proud of the work he accomplished during his time at Central.

"It's the most balanced team I've ever coached," Williams said. "I've never been around a harder working team. Those guys lived and died on the field. They quit at nothing, and for that I will be forever grateful to them."