Rodriguez named all-state for fourth time: Jameson named Wyoming Coach of the Year

Make it a four-peat for Lovell Mustangs standout Carlos Rodriguez. The shortstop/pitcher from Greybull was named to the Wyoming Class A All-State baseball team for the fourth time in an announcement made at the single-A all-star game in Green River over the weekend.

Lovell outfielder and pitcher Tucker Jackson was named to the first team for the second time.

Also named first team all-state was Lafe Files, moving up from the second team a year ago. Alex Hedges repeated as a second-team all-state selection.

Rodriguez, Jackson, Files and Hedges were named to the first team West Class A All-Conference team, and Jacob Bischoff and Cash Wassmer were named to the all-conference second team.

And as a final honor, Mustangs manager Michael Jameson was named Wyoming Coach of the Year for Class A Baseball.

The players

Rodriguez has been a mainstay of the Mustang infield and batting order for four years, and he had another stellar season this year. He led the team with a .403 batting average and had a .527 slugging percentage and a 1.018 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). He drove in 27 runs and had nine doubles, three triples and one home run on the season. He struck out only eight times in 173 plate appearances and walked 17 times. He also stole 27 bases to lead the team.

Rodriguez developed as a pitcher this season and was fourth on the club in earned run average at 4.20 while recording a 2-0 record with one save. He walked 17 and struck out 57 in 35 innings of work.

Lovell manager Jameson said Rodriguez is the only member of the Lovell squad to be named all-state for four seasons that he knows of, noting that the honor is well deserved.

“Carlos is one of those kids, I mean, just a remarkable young man first and foremost, and then just a phenomenal baseball player,” Jameson said, “The things he does and his instincts, those things that you just can’t coach and things that just come so natural for him. And you know what he’s done for our program.

 “I’ve said it before. There’s not very many people around the state that are just known by their first name. And everywhere you go, everybody knows Carlos and what he’s meant for the Mustangs and for the baseball community in our area. We’re just lucky to have had the opportunity to have him around.”

Rodriguez and a very few others are the type of players that “don’t come around every day,” Jameson said, adding, “You kind of take them for granted until they’re gone. And, you know, Carlos just meant so much to our team, just the leadership and the qualities that he has. He’s just a great young man.”

When he wasn’t playing shortstop or pitching, Rodriguez could be seen behind the plate at catcher or even playing the outfield.

“The thing we’ve always said about Carlos is you can put him anywhere on the field, and he’s going to look like he fits in like that’s his natural position. He’s just that good,” Jameson said, noting that Rodriguez “just puts his head down and goes to work and does things the right way.”

Jackson, a center fielder and pitcher, hit .391 this season and led the team in slugging percentage (.602) and OPS (1.092). He ripped 12 doubles, five triples and four home runs and tied for the team lead in RBIs with 41. He also scored a team high 52 runs, drew 30 walks and stole 17 bases.

He was a workhorse on the mound for the Mustangs, pitching a team high 67.2 innings and forging a 5-5 record with a 3.72 ERA and a team-leading 116 strikeouts. Opposing batters only hit .221 against Jackson.

Jameson said Jackson was a good player who got even better this season with maturity and experience.

“Tucker was an excellent player for us last year, and one of the things we focused on was his hitting,” Jameson said. “I think he really took it to heart and worked on hitting the ball to all fields and with power. And I think he really took to that and was understanding that, to be a complete hitter, he needed to make some more adjustments. And he did a phenomenal job.

“He’s just a kid that just competes every time he comes out there and works hard and is a leader for us out there vocally. He leads by example in the way he plays and how he does things, as well. He’s an excellent outfielder and, obviously, one of our stud pitchers.”

Jameson noted that Jackson, as a team ace, always sees an opponent’s best lineup.

“He’s one of those guys that’s always throwing against the best team, so his pitching stats are even more impressive,” he said. “He’s always throwing in those conference games and against some of the tougher teams we play. It’s always him and Lafe.”

Files slashed .355/.391/.849 in average, slugging percentage and OPS, and he drove in 29 runs while scoring 28. He stole 14 bases and drew 21 walks.

A versatile player, he could play just about anywhere: left field, third base, first base and even catcher.

On the mound, Files led the team with six wins (6-4) and ERA at 3.44. He struck out 55 batters in 59 innings and walked 35.

“Lafe is just a smart pitcher and really understands his strengths on the mound and just really understands pitching,” Jameson said. “He’s just done a great job pitching to his strengths, not necessarily being a guy that’s going to overpower people. He can strike guys out but at the same time pitch to contact, realizing that he doesn’t have that top end velocity. And so he’s smart about where he’s locating pitches and mixing them up and keeping them off balance, and then pitching to contact and trusting in the defense behind him.

“He’s another guy that seemed like every time we put him out there, he gave us an excellent start. He’s also one of those guys that’s pitching against the top teams we play, and it’s just phenomenal for us, just his determination and his heart.”

Power hitting infielder and pitcher Hedges led the team with five home runs while slashing .335/.506/.917. He hit 12 doubles and tied with Jackson for the team lead in RBIs with 41. He scored 26 runs and stole 16 bases.

Hedges pitched in a team high 20 games and recorded a 2-4 record with two saves. He struck out 53 in 48.1 innings of work and had an ERA of 4.05. Opposing batters hit only .215 against Hedges.

“Alex is a kid that can play anywhere on the field and fill in nicely,” Jameson said. “He did a great job for us on the mound at times. Offensively, he had a lot of pop in his bat and at any time could hit a double or a home run. He’s done a great job just continuing his success from last year and playing that leadership role, as well. He’s one of those guys that’s pretty quiet and through his example and things like that does a nice job for us.”

Bischoff hit .320 and scored 45 runs while hitting eight doubles and drawing a team high 34 walks.

“Jacob was just a kid that saw a tremendous growth this year, all the way around,” Jameson said. “He just improved and did such a good job for us. On the mound, he was just kind of a dog out there. It seemed like we’d always bring him in in some of those tough situations, and he did a great job getting us out of it.

“Defensively, we moved him all over the field to start the season, and then he settled in at second base. He did a great job for us there. He’s a kid that really understood the lead-off position and how to get on base and what to do in that spot. He’s a kid that, hands down, saw the most pitches on the team. Probably one of my favorite things with him was watching him get down in an 0-2 count and then work it all the way back and draw a walk on eight, nine, 10 pitches. I don’t know how many times he did that, but it was always fun to watch. He’s just a high energy kid. And he just always had a lot of fun and definitely a kid we’re going to miss.”

Wassmer was a rock at catcher for the Mustangs and came on as a hitter this season, slashing .380/.587/1.030. He hit 20 doubles, four triples and one home run and drove in 29 runs while scoring 35.

“Cash was phenomenal for his first year playing full time at the A level. He did a great job handling our pitchers,” Jameson said. “Cash is a kid that just absolutely loves baseball and studies it and understands it and watches it. And so he’s a kid that’s always going to be successful, just because he’s always aware of situations and taking advantage of any break he gets.

“He just plays hard. That’s one thing that a lot of opposing coaches always remarked about Cash, just how hard he plays and how he does things the right way. He’s just a kid that loves baseball, loves every part of it, loves watching it, loves playing it, loves talking about it; he just loves baseball. And we’re excited to have him back for a few more years.”

The coach

Jameson was named by his peers as the American Legion Baseball Wyoming Coach of the Year for the Class A Division.

“Munch is absolutely one of the top two coaches in the whole state, and what he was able to do down the stretch with the Lovell Mustangs this year is unreal,” Green River Knights head coach Ben Lail said Saturday as he presented the award to Jameson. “This award is absolutely deserved, and I look up to this man very much.”

Added good friend and Powell Pioneers coach Jason Borders, “Michael is like my family. We have coached together for a long time, and I was very proud of everything he accomplished this season. That it all worked out where I could be there to coach with him at the all-star game and actually give him his plaque in person was pretty special to me.”

Season wrap-up

The Mustangs finished 24-25-2 this season, and Jameson said the future is bright, even with three players aging out in Bischoff, Rodriguez and Blake Wilson.

“We definitely have a strong core coming back,” he said. “The biggest thing is just getting everybody back and bought in. The sooner we can get them back and bought into things, the sooner we can get to that point and progress and get to where we need to be and compete for the state championship.

“A lot of guys are excited to start playing baseball again, and I hope we can get some more offseason stuff and get those guys going. Obviously, we’ll need some guys to step up and try to fill those holes left by Carlos and JB and Blake, but I think we have a strong core overall.”

Jameson said he had a lot of help this season.

“I just want to thank the coaches and their wives and their families for all the time that they give up and the support that they give us,” he said. “I know it’s not easy. I want to just thank them and (wife) Stormy and my family and all the support we get from the community and also from the Chronicle and from everybody.”

Coaching with Jameson this year on the A and C squads were Brandon Mangus, Les Files, Greg Rael, Jonathan Morgan, Nick Wilson and Stan Hedges.