The Emporia Blues attended Tuesday’s American Legion Class A State title game, but instead of playing, the Blues were in the stands.
The State champion was Manhattan Manko, a team the Blues have beaten three times this season, including a run-rule win in the Jock’s Nitch Invitational championship.
But that same Blues team didn’t show up last weekend at State, and they were eliminated after just two games.
“There was just a feeling of disappointment,” Blues pitcher/third baseman Jacob Loucks said. “We knew we should have been playing in that spot. It just hurts to watch that, because we know what kind of team we are and we didn’t show up this past weekend.”
Luckily for the Blues, they get their shot at redemption starting tonight at 6 p.m. against the Fargo Jets at the Regional tournament. With Soden’s Grove hosting the regional, the Blues got an automatic bid.
The Blues were more embarrassed by how they played than by their early elimination at state. They committed seven errors in a 4-1 loss to the Wichita Sox, and in their elimination game against Nickerson, a team that was run-ruled in its first game, the Blues left 12 runners on base in an 8-7 loss.
The team has practiced every day this week and gone back to the fundamentals. They’ve also played games to keep the team’s spirits up, Loucks said. Loucks said he thought some of his team’s struggles were because of a lack of preparation, and that should not be the case at Regionals.
“We came in and knew what we could do,” he said. “We just didn’t perform.”
Emporia’s performance was not only surprising to the team and its fans, but also the opponents.
“They’re a great team and they’ve got great ballplayers,” Manhattan Manko coach Aaron Wall said. “It was a shock to me and everybody that they got knocked out. We were planning on playing them the second day if both teams could win, and it’s unfortunate, and I’m sure they’ll bounce back well at Regionals.”
The Blues will have to bounce back quickly, because the competition certainly isn’t going to get any worse. State champions from Colorado, Nevada, North Dakota, Minnesota, Missouri and Kansas are all in the field.
Even though the Blues didn’t win their state crown, they know they have a team that’s capable.
“I think if we show up to play and play like we’ve played in games this year where we’ve really come together and beat teams by a good amount, I think we have a really legitimate chance of winning it,” Loucks said. “It comes down to the mentality that we can do it. If some people show up thinking we’re not going to win, then that just brings the team down, so everybody’s got to be on the same page, everybody’s got to stay intense and we’ve got to make sure our mindset’s there and we’ve just got to execute when the situations come up.”
Loucks is starting at pitcher tonight against Fargo and will get his chance to put his stamp on the tournament immediately. He pitched like the team’s ace in the state opener, throwing a two-hitter, but the seven errors allowed Wichita to score four unearned runs.
“Hopefully I bring my A-game,” he said. “I brought it last time; we just had a few errors and a couple mental setbacks. I’m going to give everything I can for this team, because I know what we’re capable of and it would be really good to start off this tournament with a win.”
A win would also go a long way in getting the Blues their confidence back. But a lack of confidence isn’t the Blues’ main concern. They feel like they have something to prove.
“We’re going to have the same fans come out this weekend, and we want to show them last weekend wasn’t how we’ve been playing all this year,” Loucks said. “We want to show them what we’ve been playing like when we’ve been playing really good during the season.”