Kinder’s seniors have dealt with their fair share of adversity in their baseball careers.
The five players have dealt with a global pandemic that prematurely ended their freshmen season, witnessed one of their younger teammates Will Fontenot battle cancer not once but twice, and had another hospitalized after being shot at a back-to-school party.
Yet, Kinder’s senior class has helped guide their team to the No. 1 playoff seed, and back in the semifinals for the first time since 2019 when the team won the LHSAA Class 2A state championship.
Which is why those five Yellow Jackets are relishing the opportunity that is in front of them this week in Sulphur.
“I couldn’t ask for a better squad especially for my last team having a shot at the title. It’s definitely exciting for us,” Kinder senior center fielder-pitcher Griffin Cooley. “We’ve had a year full of ups and downs but stuck to the system and trusted our coaches and that’s why we are where we are now.”
“It means everything to me,” Kinder senior catcher Tanner Mohout added. “All I have ever wanted to do since being on this team was to win a state championship. To have a shot like we do, makes me want to win it more.”
“I’m excited because I know this is our last chance to win a state championship,” Kinder senior shortstop Lance LeBouef said. “I feel that we have the talent and coaching to do so.”
No. 1 Kinder was scheduled to take on No. 9 Berwick in the LHSAA Division III Non-Select semifinals on Wednesday at McMurry Park. If they win, Kinder would face the winner of No. 3 Doyle vs. No. 2 South Beauregard in Friday’s state championship game.
For Kinder baseball coach Rick Whittington, he couldn’t be more proud of what his team — and his five seniors have been able to accomplish.
“This group’s desire to take coaching, accept responsibility and to realize we only will go as far as they take us is impressive,” Whittington said. “I really admire the seniors for what they have gone through – so much this year. I call them my baseball sons and I treat them with love and also hard love. They have given so much to Kinder High baseball. They will be missed. They are a talented bunch but talent only gets you so far. Attitude and effort is what means the most. It is there now.”
In two short years at the helm of the program — one that he built into a state contender decades earlier, Whittington has the Yellow Jackets on the brink of winning a state championship.
The impact he has made on the program — and the seniors that lead the program — is significant.
“He has changed this program completely,” Kinder senior catcher Tanner Mohout said. “He’s shaped us into 10 times the players we were during our freshman year. Personally, he’s made us all better not just with baseball but with life in general. He has helped teach us what being a role model and leader is all about. If he wouldn’t have come here, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
“Coach has made a huge impact on our program and with turning it around,” Kinder third baseman Jhyran King said. “He’s also made me a better person over the past year playing for him.”
Whittington’s focus for his team is always to execute the game plan and win the games, but it is also about being held accountable and setting the right example for the younger players. To serve as the leaders of Kinder High’s baseball program.
“I knew it was a role I was going to have to take on coming into this season,” Cooley said. “I pride myself on my work ethic and playing the game the right way. I know our younger guys are always watching so I do my best to set the right example for them to follow and replicate.”
“For me, it is all about not putting myself above any of my teammates and making sure to always pick up my teammates whether it is good or bad,” King said.
The seniors did just that as the team dealt with a pair of difficult situations. The first being Fontenot’s continued battle with cancer which has kept him off the field the entire season. The other is what happened back in August.
That is when Schmitz was shot while trying to break up a fight at a back-to-school party.
Despite having a bullet go through his stomach, small intestine and out his back, Schmitz survived the ordeal. The Kinder pitcher did lose muscle and weight and had to go through months of extensive rehabilitation.
It was the support of his fellow seniors and his coach that helped him through the daunting process.
“At the beginning, I was thinking that I would never touch the football field and baseball field,’ Schmitz said. “I had great support around me. God gave me a chance to be on the field again with my brothers.”
Schmitz added, “It wasn’t easy at first. I was really lost. It took a lot and wearing the black and gold means a lot to me. It means more than anyone to know.”
“Very proud of him,” Whittington said. “Not many young men have gone through what he has in life, especially before the age of 18. Very proud of him coming back and giving it his all this season.”
This group of seniors will now look to bring home the program’s first state championship since 2019. So what does this group need to do to bring home that esteemed piece of hardware?
“Everyone is in Sulphur to win a state championship,” Cooley said. “The job isn’t finished and as awesome as it is to get to Sulphur, there’s no better feeling than knowing you did everything you could and came out on top.”
“Stay together as one and stay locked in,” LeBouef added. “When we are playing our best and we do that then nobody can beat us.”
