As the middle child of three boys in a competitive family, Kyle Tuepker finds himself in a unique predicament.Having just finished his junior year at Wright City, he is still chasing the standards set by his older brother, Tyler, while trying to be an exemplary role model for his younger sibling.But those pressure situations are nothing new for Tuepker, who has been cast in high-responsibility roles in the past.He was forced to quickly become adapted to a varsity quarterback role after the Wildcats scrambled to move players into new positions with three games remaining in his sophomore season. Even if Tuepker wasn’t ready, his athleticism was a natural fit.But Tuepker’s first love is baseball, a trade which he spends much of his time mastering.Last season he was moved into the starting pitching rotation, but his favorite position is third base, which he plays during the summer. For the Wildcats, he primarily plays shortstop and second base.Tuepker led Wright City this season with a .455 batting average and 40 hits. He had 29 RBIs and scored 31 runs.In the summertime he plays for the Washington Post 218 Legion team, with which he has enjoyed perennial success.Outside of sports, Tuepker enjoys hunting and fishing.He aspires to play college baseball but hasn’t narrowed down his list of schools yet.Q: How did you develop your love for baseball?“My dad got us into baseball. He taught my brother a lot about the game, and Tyler taught me.”Q: What traits did you take away from your older brother, Tyler?“Tyler has one of the greatest work ethics ever, and he really taught me how to work hard. He still does that. He’ll text me before every game and tells me to make the family proud.”Q: What kind of example do you hope to leave for your younger brother?“I’m going to try to teach him the same things Tyler taught me — about working hard and keeping your head in it and to go for your goals. Even if the team is not doing well, just keep pushing as hard as you can.”Q: How do you feel the team performed this season?“During the regular season we beat some teams that nobody thought we were going to beat. I think we played down to our opponents sometimes, like against Community and Christian O’Fallon. I wanted to be conference champs and district champs. I thought we were a better team than Lutheran South, but it just didn’t work out in our favor.”Q: What do you feel the team is capable of achieving next year?“Next year I’ll be disappointed if we don’t make it to the Final Four. I honestly think we have that much talent. Our pitching will need to be filled with Devin (Telkamp) and Adam (North) leaving.”Q: Why do you feel like you’re a good fit at shortstop?“Shortstop is fun because you’re usually involved in all the action, rolling double plays. I like to talk on the field and playing short involves a lot of talking.”Q: What position would you be worst at?“I probably wouldn’t be a very good centerfielder. I haven’t ever really practiced at that position, and I’m not the best at getting reads on the balls when they come off the bat.”Q: What was the most memorable play of the season?“When Donovan (Mozee) hit the walk-off home run to beat Warrenton, and I was able to score.”Q: What is the most challenging part of your quarterback role?“The older kids didn’t look at me as a leader early on, so it was kind of hard to tell them what to do. Since I was an underclassman, it was hard to have any authority.”Q: In what areas do you feel like you improved the most last season?“Probably just running the ball. I got faster and stronger, so running the football came easier for me. I think I became a better leader than my sophomore year, especially when it got rough at the end of the year.”Q: What areas would you still like to improve upon?“My passing game for sure. And probably becoming a smarter player overall and becoming more aware of what’s going on.”Q: Who has had the greatest influence in your life?“My older brother, Tyler. Whenever I would get down, he would always pick me back up. He always kept me out of trouble and kept my mind on track.”Q: Which Major League player do you pattern your game after?“I’d probably want to be like Matt Carpenter, if I could mimic a baseball player.”Favorite Food: “Pizza.”Favorite Restaurant: “Joe’s Crab Shack.”Favorite TV Show: “Sportscenter.”Favorite Movie: “Friday Night Lights.”Favorite Song: “Cinderella Man by Eminem.”Favorite Musician: “Eminem.”TUEPKER LED WILDCATS IN BATTING AVERAGEDerrick Forsythe photo.