Sunday, October 4, 2015
Though it ended before they would've liked, the Selects put together another successful campaign in 2015, outscoring opponents 148-91 to finish fifth in the KFL at 15-9. They then punched their ticket to the semi-finals for the ninth time in 10 years with a minor upset over the Classics, thanks to a thrilling come-from-behind 5-4 win in their quarterfinal's deciding game, before losing to the two-time defending champion Diamond Jaxx. The squad also had solid weekends in both their tourneys, going 3-1 in Woodstock and finishing as runners up in Brussels.
All things considered, it wasn't a bad showing in a year when the team lost three players before the first game and two more for significant stretches of the year. Many thanks go out to the handful of Selects new and old who helped fill the void, including Steven Riepert, Marcos Osorio, Brody Stevenson, Glen Hall, Trevor Botting, and Chris Withers.
Offensively, nine Selects hit 0.333 or better in 2015, led by youngster Darren Strickland, who batted 0.491 in his sophomore campaign while playing tremendous defense at first base. Meanwhile, Shayne Riepert anchored the pitching staff, racking up 145 strikeouts in 108 1/3 innings between the regular season and playoffs.
Riepert also established new franchise records for at-bats (72, besting Kevin Ryrie's 2008 mark of 62) and RBIs (22, edging the previous best of 21, shared by Reed Laughlin in 2010 and Riepert himself in 2014). In his second year as a Select, Brett Pfeifer's six home runs doubled the previous Selects' record, held by Riepert in 2014 and Laughlin in 2010. He also set a new mark for runs scored with 23, improving upon Ryrie's record of 21 (in both 2008 and 2014). Lastly, Selects' veteran Brad Cleasby established a new franchise-best for walks with 13, edging Doug Hoffman's 12-walk season in 2006.
The Selects wish all the best to all of the KFL's players, umpires, and fans this winter, and look forward to another successful season in 2016.