Rattlers Triumph Monday Night

From the Capital Journal:

Zach Holmes returned to his high school ballpark to lead the Rossville Rattlers to a 16-3 Mid-Plains League victory over the Topeka Senators on Monday at Jerry Robertson Field.

Holmes, a graduate of Shawnee Heights, threw five innings of one-hit ball to earn the victory for the Rattlers. With the win, Rossville improved to 16-11 on the season.

The Rossville starting pitcher, who plans to begin his freshman season at Cloud County Community College this fall, recorded three strikeouts and induced six groundball outs. He walked one and hit a batter. He gave up two runs— only one of which was earned.

“I was just going out there and trying to throw strikes,” Holmes said. “I just really wanted to fill up the zone. My slider was working pretty good and it always helps to have a secondary pitch to go to.”

The Rattlers struck first with a run in the second inning. Colton Kooser singled to right field, stole second base, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly hit by catcher Matthew Nerz.

Kooser went on to have a solid offensive night, hitting two doubles as part of a 4-for-4 performance at the plate. He also drew a walk and scored four runs.

“I just felt really relaxed at the plate today,” Kooser said. “Pitchers were throwing strikes and that just makes it easier to make contact.”

Oklahoma State catcher Michael Higgins continued his hot summer. Higgins crushed a fastball offered up by reliever Jesse Correll in the sixth inning for a three-run home run. It was Higgins’ sixth home run of the season and tied him for the all-time season home run record in the history of the Rossville program.

“If they throw him a fastball and he gets wood on it, it usually travels a pretty long ways,” Rattlers coach Tobi Cowdin said. “He’s just fun to watch, is a great kid and we’re sure glad to have him.”

Higgins finished with four RBIs and two runs scored. Every batter in the Rossville lineup either scored or drove in at least one run. Cade Bunnell and Collin Scribner joined Higgins and Kooser in scoring multiple runs in the contest.

“The guys came out on an extremely hot day, maybe the hottest day of the season and really just played a good game,” Cowdin said. “We had a good batting practice and put together a really good game. I’m really proud of them and it was just a really fun day.”

The Senators (8-19) managed just five hits. Chase Knott and Corey Wright each had one RBI in the loss.

The two teams will meet in Game 2 of a three-game set Tuesday with a first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.

Rattlers 010 514 5 — 16 14 3

Senators 000 111 0 — 3 5 3

Holmes, McGreevy (6) and Nerz. Woodcock, Correll (6) and Srna. W — Holmes. L — Woodcock. 2B — Rattlers: Kooser 2, Bunell. 3B — Rattlers: Bunell, Christen. HR — Rattlers: Higgins.

Rattlers Roll To 16-3 Win

    The Rattlers disposed of the Topeka Senators with a barrage of 18 hits and 16 runs in seven innings while the host team managed only 3 runs.

Rattlers     0 1 0 5 1 4 5       16    18    2
Senators    0 0 0 1 1 1 0        3      6     4

     The Rattler offense was led by Cade Bunnell (3B) with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 1 RBI;  Michael Higgins (DH) with 1 hit (a home run), 2 runs and 4 RBI; Colton Kooser (LF) with 3 hits, 4 runs, and 1 RBI; Matthew Nerz (C) with 2 hits, 1 run and 2 RBIs.
      Zach Holmes pitched the first 5 innings allowing 2 hits, 2 R(1 ER), 3 strikeouts and 1 walk.  Derrick McGreevey pitched the final two innings allowing 4 hits, 1 ER, no walks, and 2 strike-outs.

Mid Plains League Standings

Team	GP	W	L	T	W %	RF	RA
Midwest Athletics	26	18	8	0	.692	151	82
Rossville Rattlers	26	15	11	0	.577	149	133
Junction City Brigade	33	19	14	0	.576	154	111
Liberty Monarchs	23	12	11	0	.522	131	129
Topeka Golden Giants	29	13	16	0	.448	155	167
Baldwin City Blues	28	10	18	0	.357	156	216
Topeka Senators	27	9	18	0	.333	122	158

Rattlers Next Six Games.

    The Rossville Rattlers will be playing in Topeka at the Jerry Robertson Field for the next six nights at 7:00 PM.  Mon-Thur the opponent will be be Topeka Senators.  Thur-Sat.,  it will be the Golden Giants.   The MPL season is nearing the end.  Time to get out there to support the Rattlers and see some good baseball.

    The Senators and Golden Giants are in the bottom half of the league.  If the Rattlers do well against these two teams,  they could possibly move into the lead as they are only three games out of first according to currently posted standings.

TCF Tractor Pull Aug. 9

Rossville 1909 Baseball Team

The 1909 Rossville Base Ball team managed by I.B. Wilt. Back row players, left to right, are "Frog" Baird, Frank or Melvin Hartzell, Cy Higginbotham, Jack Parr, and Guy Berkey. Front row players, left to right, are Charles Berkey, Pete Cless, Fred Hook, and Clarence McPherson. This photograph is provided by the Rossville Community Library and the Kansas Historical Society.

Rattlers Lose Night Cap to Monarchs

    The Rattlers allowed six runs in the top of the sixth inning to fall behind 9-2.  However,  a seventh inning rally of five runs brought them to within two runs, which were stranded on base at the end of the game.

Liberty        0   2   0   0   1   6   0      9    10    3
Rattlers       0   0   0   1   1   0   5      7      7    0

    Colton Kooser (2b) led the offense with two hits and three RBIs.  Alex Head (LF) added two RBIs.
    Tyler Davis pitched four innings allowing five hits, two runs, one walk and seven strike-outs.       Bryce Girdner pitched one inning allowing two hits, one run, one walk, and two strike-outs.  Jake Hozey pitched the last two innings allowing three hits, four runs, two walks and three strike-outs.   The published pitching  stats show only seven runs allowed,  but there were actually nine.   When Jake Hozey replaced Girdner in the fifth inning with no outs,  there were two base runners.  Those two runners scored,  but did not count as earned runs or runs against Hozey,

Rattlers Defeat Monarchs

    The Rattlers defeated the Liberty Monarchs in game one of the Sat. night double header 7-2.

Tall Corn Fesitval Aug. 7-9

    This year's Tall Corn Festival will be the weekend of  Aug. 7-9.
    Below is a registration form for the 5K and one mile runs on Sat., Aug. 8.

2014 Football Team Article

From the July 9, 2015 CatchItKansas

      Since 2011, the Rossville football team had a record of 31-6. A solid record right? The only problem, the Bulldogs were 1-5 against Silver Lake, including two straight losses in Sub-State. In fact, the Bulldogs had not lost to another school since 2011.
      2014 represented the start of another strong Bulldog squad as Rossville opened the year 8-0, outscoring opponents by an average of 48 points per game. There was one opponent standing in the way of a perfect regular season record, and it was none other than Silver Lake.
      In front of their home crowd, the Bulldogs were able to finally get the proverbial monkey off their backs with a 24-14 victory. Quarterback Tucker Horak played a part in all three touchdowns, throwing for one and rushing for two more on his way to tallying 251 of the team's 304 total yards on offense.
      Horak blossomed into one of the state's best quarterbacks, and best leaders in 2014. After an up and down sophomore season under center, Horak tallied more than 2,000 yards rushing and 1,600 yards passing while scoring more than 30% of the Bulldogs touchdowns in 2014. Not to be outdone, fellow Horak's Thatcher and Corbin earned All-State honors for their efforts on offense, combining for 28 touchdowns and 1,919 total yards. Thatcher averaged more than 12 yards per carry, while Corbin averaged more than 14 yards per catch.
      After the victory over Silver Lake, Rossville dominated in their first three playoff games, outscoring their opponents 147-33. With a 56-19 victory over St. Marys Colgan, the Bulldogs advanced to Sub-State for the third straight season. As though it were written in a cheesy Hollywood script, the Bulldogs would have to yet again face Silver Lake for the third straight season for their chance to advance to a state title game.
      In an almost identical finish to their first meeting in the season, Rossville would ride another strong performance by Tucker and Thatcher Horak who combined to rush for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns.
      As efficient as the rushing attack had been, the dominant Bulldog defense stepped up in a huge way, forcing two turnovers and applying constant pressure in the backfield. Sophomore Dawson Hammes totaled 20 tackles on the game, including 4 of them for a loss, while Thatcher and Corbin Horak each tallied an interception.
      While the Horaks garnered plenty of attention for their offensive efforts, the Bulldog defense may have been the stronger side of the ball in 2014. Allowing just over 11 points per game, the defense only allowed two teams to score more than 20 points, and one of those games came in a 91-22 victory over Osage City. All-State linebacker Nick Reesor led the team with 109 total tackles, while teammates Lake Schultz-Pruner (101) and Hammes (81) each tallied more than 80 tackles on the season. Terrence Sowers was a constant disruption in opponents backfield, tallying 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks in 2014.
      When the defense wasn't ending the play at the line of scrimmage, the secondary was forcing turnovers. With 16 interceptions and 7 fumble recoveries, the Bulldogs defense helped win the season long turnover margin 23-9.
      After winning arguably the biggest game in program history, some were wondering if the Bulldogs had enough left in the tank to defeat 4 time state champion Scott City.
      After trailing 14-7 with less than 9 minutes remaining in the game, it was Tucker Horak who decided to put the team on his shoulders and lead by example. After a third down, 16 yard highlight reel run where Horak seemed to be swallowed up by several defenders on several occasions, the Bulldogs would tie the game on a Reesor touchdown run.
      Sure enough, with less than four minutes remaining, Tucker broke through the Scott City defense for another rushing touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 21-14 lead with less than a minute remaining.
      With their fate in their own hands, the Bulldogs defense knew they had to make just one more stop. With the Scott City offense nearing mid-field, Schultz-Pruner would come up with a huge interception, essentially ending the game and winning the Bulldogs their first football state title.
      “Becoming state champions is something that has never happened at our school, and that was something that really drove us to work hard all year,” said Tucker Horak.
      Tucker would finish with 212 yards rushing on 27 carries, and contributed 267 of Rossville’s 342 total yards of offense.
      The Rossville signal caller and youngest of three Horak’s on the team, was able to celebrate the school’s biggest win with his teammates and the rest of the Rossville community.

Brat Night At The Joe (Updated)

Game Postponed because of rain!!

There will be a double header on Sat. at 5:00 against Liverty.

Two games and $5 meal tonight

Mid Plains League Standings

League	GP	W	L	T	W %	RF	RA
Midwest Athletics	21	16	5	0	.762	133	59
Rossville Rattlers	24	14	10	0	.583	135	122
Junction City Brigade	30	17	13	0	.567	143	103
Liberty Monarchs	19	10	9	0	.526	108	104
Topeka Golden Giants	26	11	15	0	.423	140	147
Baldwin City Blues	28	10	18	0	.357	156	216
Topeka Senators	24	8	16	0	.333	102	143

Rosa Reimers Passes Away

    She's not from Rossville,  but after 105 years in the St. Marys area,  I figure that Rosie Reimers deserves a mention in her passing.
http://piperfuneralhome.com/obituaries/rosa-m-rosie-reiners/

Rattlers Take Game Two

    The Rattlers continued their domination of the Balwin City Blues by winning their second game of the Wed. night double header to sweep the series 3-0.

Baldwin     0   0   0   0   0   1   0     1   6   0
Rossville   0   0   4   0   1   0   -      5   8   2

    The offense was led by RF Jacob Head who had two hits and one run;  1B Garett Weber with one hit, one run, and one RBI; C Matthew Nerz with two hits and DH Michael Higgins with two hits and one RBI.
    Zach Holmes spent four innings on the mound allowing three hits, no runs, three strike-outs and no walks.  Derrick McGreevy threw for the final two innings allowing two hits (one a home run),  one earned run, no strike-outs or walks.  Jaren Kutzke pitched the fifth inning allowing one hit and no strike-outs or walks.