Even though the final pitch has been thrown, a trio of Warrenton baseball players is still coming through in the clutch.

Ric Standley, Jake Kirkpatrick and Keegan Lehmkuhl were each recently honored with Gateway Athletic Conference North honors and Class 5 District 4 recognition.

Standley, a junior, earned first-team all-conference and first-team all-district recognition as an infielder. He did so by tying for the fifth-best batting average in the region (.511) while adding 11 doubles, three triples, a home run and 17 RBI for the Warriors (13-15). The season ended with a first-round loss to Fort Zumwalt South in the district tournament.

He earned the all-conference nod for a second straight season and was second-team all-district a year ago.

“The honors mean a lot to me,” Standley said. “It feels like all the late nights in the cages and training over the offseason have paid off and are showing on the field. I feel like the season went well. There were definitely some rough patches, but that's expected with the youth on the team. I feel like everyone gained much-needed experience over the season and we are in a much better situation for next year.”

Warrenton Coach Eric Burle cited the historical significance of Standley’s contribution this season.

He said that his success on offense was only part of the story, though. The coach said that the junior locked things down at third base.

“(Ric had) one of the best all-around offensive seasons we have had at Warrenton for some time,” Burle said. “When he (batted), there was a good chance he was getting on base. He is also one of the better, if not the best, defensive players in our conference.”

Like Standley, fellow junior Kirkpatrick also had an impressive season at the plate and in the field.

He earned an All-GAC first-team all-conference utility spot and was also honored as a first-team all-district pitcher.

Kirkpatrick not only hit .400 with two doubles, a home run and 26 RBI, but he also owned a 5-1 record with a 2.79 earned run average and 32 strikeouts over 42 and two-thirds innings.

“The honors are definitely cool to get,” Kirkpatrick said. “It shows that work is paying off, but ultimately, the goal is to win as a team, not as a person. It’s definitely nice to get those honors.”

Burle said that Kirkpatrick’s innate ability to work hard helped him succeed this season. 

“Not only did he put together another good season on the mound, but he also put together a great offensive season as well,” Burle said. “(He’s) just a kid that grinds and finds a way to win.”

Lehmkuhl, a sophomore, earned second-team all-conference and all-district honors as an outfielder.

“I feel it started slow, then it got better towards the end by trusting myself,” Lehmkuhl said. “And my postseason honors mean to me that all the work that we put in paid off.”

This season, Lehmkuhl hit .298 with four doubles and 14 RBI.

While Lehmkuhl won the honors as an outfielder, Burle said that to mention him in just one spot would be doing a disservice to all the contributions he made this season.

“(Keegan was) a bit of a Swiss Army Knife for us,” Burle said. “(He) played some infield, some outfield and pitched some as well. It's nice to have players who are versatile. Keegan continues to improve offensively.”

Kirkpatrick said that one thing is for sure: this season has done a lot to prepare the Warriors for next year and beyond.

He said he knows he learned plenty this spring, as he is sure his teammates did.

“I feel like the season went decent,” Kirkpatrick said. “We had many ups and downs throughout. I think we improved significantly from the beginning to the end. Since we were so young and had multiple new varsity players, there were many questions heading into the season, but overall, it went pretty well. With all of our starters returning next year, it was important this season to give the young guys that experience and build chemistry as a team, so I think we will be in a very good spot next year.”