By Derrick ForsytheRecord Staff WriterThe win total was not a disappointment, but the end result was somewhat of a letdown for the Wright City baseball team, which finished the season 21-6 before falling to Lutheran St. Charles in the district title game.It was the Wildcats’ best record in over a decade, but their aspirations of a deep postseason run didn’t play out as planned.“The kids were happy with winning the games, but I think they were a little disappointed with not coming away with the district trophy,” said second-year Coach Shannon Wells, whose team packed a punch at the plate the entire season.Wright City won the Eastern Missouri Conference with an 8-2 finish in league play.“Our big goal was winning district and getting into the playoffs,” said Wells. “Even though our record was really good, we felt that our season wasn’t as good as we’d liked.”Eight of Wright City’s starters batted .300 or better, three of those surpassing the .400 mark.Junior Kyle Tuepker batted a team-best .455 with 40 hits, including 10 doubles and five home runs. He was responsible for 29 RBIs and scored 31 runs.The breakout story of the season for the Wildcats was junior Chase Jones, who carried a .440 average and cranked out 37 hits. He scored a team-high 34 runs and collected 28 RBIs.Junior Donovan Mozee was Wright City’s greatest power threat, tying for the Eastern Missouri Conference lead with six home runs. He batted .406 with 26 hits, including five doubles.“Donovan provided us some pop in our lineup,” said Wells. “We knew he was a threat to hit it out every time he stepped to the plate.”Juniors Tyler Brittain and Andrew Pfuhl batted .386 and .355, respectively, each recording 27 hits. Brittain led the Wildcats with 31 stolen bases and scored 30 runs. Pfuhl was third on the team with three home runs.“Our offensive strength was one of the things that carried this year,” said Wells. “We were good at using our speed to get on base and around the base paths.”Wright City relied strongly upon two pitchers who tossed the majority of the innings.“Our pitching was good but it wasn’t anything stellar,” said Wells. “It kept us in games. Our guys weren’t going to overpower anybody. They were mostly they were contact pitchers. If our defense was playing well behind them, we were really good.”Senior Devin Telkamp threw a team-high 40 innings, sporting a 3.33 ERA and going 7-1 as a starter. He struck out 38 batters and walked 15.The second-most used pitcher was senior Adam North, who carried a 2.45 ERA through 25.7 innings pitched. He went 3-1 as a starter, striking out 18 and walking six.Wells was also pleased with the emergence of sophomore Michael Holmes, who managed a 1.45 ERA through 19.3 innings. He finished 4-0 as a starter, whiffing 17 batters.“I think Holmes can help us out a lot in the future,” said Wells. “He’s good at locating his pitches and nice to have a lefty.”The Wildcats opened the season with seven consecutive victories, before losing three straight and rattling off another six wins in a row.“Early in the season we played really well together as a team,” said Wells. “They didn’t really care about their stats quite as much. When we were playing good, our pitching was good and defense was good behind them.”

Wright City's Troy Muse watches a fly ball soar into the outfield. Muse helped the Wildcats to 21-6 record this spring.

Bill Barrett photo.