Even after the Derby Twins made an early exit by losing their first two games of the National Baseball Congress Midwest Regional this past week, Derby fans had something to cheer for as two homegrown players helped another team take a championship title.
The Haysville Heat, one of the Twins’ top rivals, went on to win the championship of the 12-team Midwest Regional with solid pitching from former Derby High School pitchers Drew Rainey and David Ormiston.
Rainey recorded his first win of the year on the mound for Haysville, allowing two runs over 5-2/3 innings of work in the Heats’ 7-5 win over El Dorado on July 18 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Rainey struck out four batters, walked one and surrendered eight hits in the win.
After stops at Kansas City Community College and Cowley College, Rainey ended his college career this past season as a relief pitcher for Wichita State University. The lefty had seven relief appearances on the mound in his senior season for the Shockers, pitching just over six innings and striking out five batters.
Ormiston was called to the mound twice as a relief pitcher during the Midwest Regional. He pitched one inning on July 14 in a 6-4 win against the Valley Center Diamond Dawgs, striking out one and giving up one hit against five batters. He pitched a perfect inning three days later against the Kansas Cannons, striking out another batter without giving up a hit, run or walk.
In his senior season, Ormiston went 9-2 as a starter and helped Tabor College to a 44-15 record and a share of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season title. Ormiston pitched one out shy of 85 complete innings and struck out 77 batters, including a four-game stretch where he had 32 K’s.
Jordan Jenkins and Zach Ashford both saw some action for the Wichita Wheat Kings at the Midwest Regional. The Wheat Kings were eliminated early in the tournament, but both players had some minor offensive success.
Jenkins had a hit, run and RBI in seven at-bats across a two-game span in the tournament. Ashford had one hit on four at-bats against the Hutchinson Monarchs on July 15.
Jenkins put up steady numbers at the plate in his sophomore season at Pratt Community College. Jenkins compiled 48 hits, 35 runs and two homers across 46 games. He also had 27 RBIs and a .316 batting average.
Ashford saw significant playing time in his first season at the college level. The freshman played in 29 games for Friends University, hitting .317 with 21 hits, 14 RBIs and a home run as a freshman.
The NBC World Series begins this Saturday. Teams have the week to earn spots into the tournament. Haysville clinched a guaranteed spot in the World Series by winning the Midwest Regional.