COLONY — Roland Weir insisted to anyone who would listen that, despite losing a storied senior class to graduation — which included back-to-back state baseball tournament appearances — he didn’t expect his Crest High Lancers to have much of a drop-off in 2024.
Sure enough, the Lancers capped a perfect run through the Three Rivers League with a 15-0, 15-0 doubleheader sweep over Pleasanton.
The victories secured Crest’s fourth consecutive TRL crown.
The Lancers (17-7) will now look to another run in the postseason, with the Class 2-1A Regional Playoffs opening Wednesday at home against Northern Heights (5-15).
The winner advances to the semifinal round May 13 at Central Heights High School. The championship game follows that same evening for a berth in the upcoming state tournament on the line.
“We lost a lot from last year, but I knew the type of players we had coming back,” Weir said. “Granted, we didn’t have a whole lot of returning starters, but six or seven of them played a lot of junior varsity, and I knew what they were capable of.”
Weir pointed to players like senior Jerry Rodriguez, who in his first year of varsity play is batting a whopping .523, while classmates Rogan Weir and Ryan Golden are batting .458 and .432, respectively.
“Logan Kistner is another kid who’s waited three years to get his chance,” Weir said. “Henry White’s another one.”
Tack on Drake Weir, and you have six Lancers all batting above .400.
Crest also has five pitchers with earned-run averages below 3.00, giving a hint of what Coach Weir hopes is an extended playoff run.
He noted the schedule features regional powers like Iola, Anderson County and Kansas City Christian, which accounted for six of Crest’s seven losses.
IF FRIDAY’S doubleheader is any indication, the Lancers aren’t looking past anyone.
Crest pounded out 11 hits in the opener, including home runs from Drake Weir, White and Rodriguez, while Kade Nilges was keeping the Blu-Jay lineup at bay. Nilges allowed two hits with six strikeouts over four innings. He aided his own cause with a pair of singles at the plate.
Meanwhile, Rogan Weir doubled twice, while Jensen Barker had a double and single for the Lancers. Golden and Brayden Goodell added singles.
THE HOME RUN barrage continued in Friday’s nightcap. Rogan Weir went deep twice, Rodriguez had a home run and triple and five RBIs, and Barker went 3-for-3 with two doubles.
The Lancers led 2-0 after two innings before ending the game with a 13-run fourth inning.
Golden was the beneficiary. He struck out seven in four shutout innings, allowing three hits. White, Golden, Drake Weir and Nilges also had singles.
