State’s best player

Published 7:30 am Thursday, June 8, 2017

G.T. Blackman is still on cloud nine from La Grande’s victory in Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game.

So much so that the junior, who Tuesday was named co-state player of the year, said the title meant more to him than the personal accolade.

“It’s a cool individual award, but I’m more excited about the state championship,” he said.

Blackman shared the accolade with Philomath’s Austin Gerding. He was also named a first-team all-state pitcher after posting a 6-0 record with a 1.54 ERA this season. Two of those victories came during the Tigers’ playoff push.

Blackman credited his performance on the mound to the defense behind him.

“My success comes off of those guys,” he said. “It helps me up on the mound. When you have a defense behind you like we had, it definitely correlates. I had the confidence to pitch like that. I can throw what I want. Those guys make great plays behind me. It shows my ability, but it also correlates with my team and them behind me. I wouldn’t call it a player award. It’s more of a team award for me to get this.”

Head coach Parker McKinley said he was hopeful the other coaches in the state would see what Blackman brought to the table, and they responded in kind.

“To have a young man who had a year like he had, be a leader on the team, and be able to have the success in the postseason that he had, has been incredible,” McKinley said. “His numbers are top notch. He’s had a phenomenal year.”

Blackman also got it done at the plate for La Grande. He finished with a .415 batting average and a .524 on-base percentage — both led the team among anyone with at least 25 at-bats — scored 25 runs and drove in 13 runs.

He was among six LHS baseball players who were named to the all-state team. Blackman was joined on the first team by Aaron Goss (.369 average, 23 RBIs), who earned the accolade at first base. Outfielder Zack Jacobs (.271, 25 RBIs) and pitcher Brad Bell (5-2 record) were both named to the third team. Garrett Vaughn (.382, 18 RBIs) was an honorable mention utility player, and Jon Gonzalez (.323, 15 RBIs) was an honorable mention infielder.

Goss said there was a sense of disbelief when he found out about the award.

“One thing that went through my mind is, ‘Is this really happening right now?’ A lot of excitement, a lot of emotion,” he said. “It showed my hard work had paid off.”

He added that the honor on top of the state championship makes it “a little bit sweeter.”

“It just really put the cap on this season,” he said.

Blackman said that the number of Tigers on the all-state team was representative of how deep the team was.

“To have that many people on our team get those awards shows the completeness of the team and how good of a team we really were,” he said. “We couldn’t have done all of this as individuals.”

McKinley said it’s yet another reflection of the time and effort put in by the team in 2017.

“The season just kind of continues to bring light to all of their hard work. All of their hard work is (getting) recognized. The team success is what those guys were working for, (but) they’re getting individual recognition from outside as well.”

McKinley was also honored as the 4A coach of the year, which he said shocked him.

“I was very honored to just look at my name amongst the names that were eligible for voting,” he said. “When I saw the list of coaches I was like, ‘Holy smokes, my name is in there.’”

He said winning the coach of the year honor, though, is because of the work of the players.

“Those awards come with the kids’ success,” he said. “I think I am more proud of the success that the kids have had and that they’ve been doing it the right way.”

Goss said that McKinley brings a knowledge and dedication to his position.

“He knows his stuff about the game. The one thing he brought is a type of energy as a coach,” he said. “He brings that to the table and his honesty and respect to the players.”

Blackman added that the coach’s interaction with players is key.

“He really relates to the kids well and he knows how to interact with them in situations and how to coach with them,” Blackman said. “All kids are different and he knows how to work with all of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets more awards and more state championships.”