A consistent winner for the bulk of Dan Hypse’s 35-year tenure as head baseball coach, Jefferson West is no stranger to success.
 
Double-digit win seasons are the norm and since dropping to Class 3A in 2019, the Tigers have reached the regional championship game three times in five seasons.
 
But for all the regular-season success the Tigers have enjoyed, postseason rewards have been tougher to come by. Each of those last three regional finals appearances ended shy of a state tournament appearance, something the program hasn’t experienced since 2012 when it qualified in Class 4A.
 
“We’ve been right there, but we’ve just come up short,” Hypse said. “A lot of these kids have experienced some of that. They’ve been there. They want to finish it. Doesn’t mean they will, but right now they have the attitude and work ethic to succeed.”
 
While the path to the Class 3A state tournament doesn’t appear any easier this season with Jefferson West grouped with perennial power Bishop Ward, which has gone to state three of the past four seasons, as well as the likes of consistent winners Perry-Lecompton, Wellsville and Santa Fe Trail, the Tigers have gotten off to the kind of start that instills confidence that this could be the year the state drought comes to an end.
 
After winning the title at the Golden Eagle Gold Glove Challenge at Silver Lake last weekend and sweeping Big East League rival Royal Valley on Monday, Jefferson West is 13-0. The Tigers are just four wins from matching last year’s 17-win total.
 
“I was just telling my coaches the other night, 13-0 at this point would I have thought we’d be that at the beginning of the year, I wouldn’t have thought that at all,” Hypse said. “We got into the new (Big East League) with adding Rossville, Riley County, Silver Lake and St. Marys and so there are some good teams there. To get off to the start we have, it’s huge. Right now the kids have confidence.”
 
West beat Atchison County 14-7 and Hiawatha 11-1 on Friday at the tourney in Silver Lake before topping the host Eagles 7-5 in Saturday’s championship game. The Tigers built a 7-2 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, helped by a big three-run home run from Brady Thelen, and then weathered a two-out, three-run home run from the Eagles to take the win and the tourney title.
 
“That was a great environment and a great tournament,” Hypse said. “Some good teams there and Silver Lake had a nice crowd on Saturday and it turned out to be a very good game. I felt like we were in control most of the game and it was fun to be a part of.”
 
West jump-started its season with a season-opening sweep of Rossville in which the Tigers pulled out narrow 2-0 and 6-5 victories over the Bulldawgs. They’ve added sweeps of Hiawatha, St. Marys, Riley County and Royal Valley with only two of those wins by less than five runs, a 6-4 win over Hiawatha and a 4-0 shutout of Riley County.
 
Pitching has keyed the start with the Tigers sporting a team ERA of 2.66. Cooper Watkins leads the staff with an ERA of 1.40 and has struck out 38 while walking just one. But he’s been backed by solid showings from Thelen, Corbin Mayer and Tucker Holthaus with Mayer holding a 1.71 ERA.
 
“We’ve got good pitching,” Hypse said. “I feel Cooper is one of the best pitchers in 3A. I’ve felt like I’ve always had a good No. 1, like we have in Cooper, but have been searching for that No. 2 to give us a good chance. This year, with Cooper we can play with anybody. And then with Corbin and Brody, Tucker and Drew (Beilman), all those guys have come in and done a good job on the hill. Our pitching has been our strength and everybody’s hitting, putting the ball in play and any time you put the ball in play, you give yourself a chance.”
 
Beilman leads the Tigers with a .375 average while Thelen has driven in 20 runs. Holthaus, Max Tuck, Brady Skahan, Colin Crowson and Ryan Pressler have all contributed at the plate as well for a West team that’s averaging 8.5 runs per game.
 
West’s undefeated start will have some of its biggest tests coming up, starting with Thursday’s return to Silver Lake for a league doubleheader. The Eagles had won nine of their first 10 games before falling in the tourney finals to West.
 
In addition to Silver Lake (10-3), West still has doubleheaders left with Valley Falls, Sabetha, Perry-Lecompton, Holton and Nemaha Central. Valley Falls is 11-2 and though the remainder of those foes are right around .500, Sabetha has long been a thorn in the Tigers’ side, knocking them out in the postseason two of the past three seasons.
 
“The second half of our season is going to be tough,” Hypse said. “You’re only as good as the next game and I guarantee you the intensity we see from Silver Lake (on Thursday) is going to be good and we’re going to have to match it. We have to be ready to go play every single game and take advantage of the opportunity, embrace it and go have fun and play.”
 

 
OTHER BASEBALL STANDOUTS

• Defending Class 4A state champion Rock Creek is off to a 9-4 start, splitting with Hays, Abilene and Concordia and dropped a one-game clash with last year’s Class 3A state champion Hayden, which is 10-0. Ryker Zoeller and Brock Lubbers each threw shutouts against Wamego in a 1-0, 9-0 sweep with Lubbers striking out 10 and Zoeller 8. Cooper Sieben added a shutout win over Chapman, striking out 10.
• Hayden’s 10-0 start includes a 4-0 mark in Centennial League play as the Wildcats swept Manhattan and Emporia.
• In winning three of four games against Marysville and Russell/Victoria, Chapman’s Aven Woods had a huge week. Woods went 4-for-6 against Marysville with 5 RBI and a stolen base and then went 5-for-7 against Russell with 3 doubles, a home run, 9 RBI and two stolen bases. He owns a .636 batting average for the season with a 1.999 OPS.
• Little River’s Spencer Strecker threw a three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts against Marion last week, also getting two hits and two RBI in the game. The Redskins are 10-0 this season.
• Lansing’s Reid Oakley finished last week going 8-for-11 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. He homered twice in the same inning against Bishop Ward and then finished off the second game with a save.
• Topeka West’s Todd Franklin hit .667 with two home runs (including a grand slam) and 12 RBI last week.
• Shawnee Heights is 9-1 with its lone loss coming in a 15-10 slugfest with Shawnee Mission East. The T-Birds have won their last two games in extra innings, beating Leavenworth 5-3 and Lansing 9-7.
• Seaman has won 10 of its last 11 after starting the season 2-2. The Vikings are 9-1 in United Kansas Conference play, sitting a game behind league unbeaten Shawnee Heights.
• Concordia’s split with Rock Creek gave the Panthers’ their only loss in a 9-1 start. 
• Clay Center’s Cole Pladson belted eight home runs in the Tigers’ first nine game, including four against Chapman. The Tigers are 8-3 overall.
• Emporia’s Owen Ruge scattered two hits over eight innings in a 2-1 win over Washburn Rural. Ruge struck out 12.
• Iola is 10-0 overall and 8-0 in Pioneer League play with sweeps of Burlington, Santa Fe Trail, Prairie View and Anderson County. 
• West Franklin is 8-0 overall.