DANVILLE — Today, the Eastern and Western Conference championships for the Prospect League will be decided.
But the Eastern Conference title will not have the team the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference.
The Danville Dans — who ended up with a 31-23 record overall — fell second to the Dubois County Bombers in the first half and the Terre Haute Rex in the second half. The Rex will play the Lafayette Aviators for the Eastern title today.
“I think it is crazy to me that a team can have the be best record in the division and the Eastern Conference and not get to the playoffs,” Dans coach Cam Gross said. “There were some things we did to shoot ourselves in the foot and also Terre haute had a good second half. It sucks that we had two good halves and did not get rewarded for it. If you would have told me that we would have the best record in the conference, I would have taken that but I would not have known what came with it.”
But Gross said the team’s effort in the last week of the season, which included three wins in their last four games.
“I am still proud of the guys and what they did throughout the year, especially in the last week even when we were down two games to Terre Haute,” Gross said. “They could have packed up, but we won three games with two games at home.”
The Dans were supposed to have a game against the Decatur Bean Ballers, but rains cancelled the game and put a premature end to the Dans’ season.
“It was real unfortunate, but it was like a monsoon in the last few days,” Gross said. “We had a lot of families come up like Nick Palmi’s family, Will Burke’s family and numerous other families showed up for the game. It would have been packed out and we would have played a hell of a game because we still had some arms left to use. It sucks that we didn’t get to honor the fans that way and sometimes Mother Nature has different plans.”
Gross said it was chemistry that helped the Dans have the success they had, along with a lot of comeback victories.
“I think that is something that myself and my staff (hitting coach Justin Carcini and pitching coach Jacob Ferguson) did well. We just had a good way to click with the guys and I did have guys who I coached before,” Gross said. “They know what to expect for me and that set the tone for everyone else.
“Even guys who came in partway through the year clicked. We had Jacob May come in and he spoke maybe 10 words the first few games he was here and by the end of the year, you can’t get this guy to shut up and that’s a guy that want to come back an extra year. It is about establishing a culture early on to let them know that I care about them as people as well and see them as my family.”
Gross had quite a few team members he coached become Dans, but also had Division I talent who saw a new experience .
JJ Baysinger, Carson Brady Will Burke, Palmi, Mason McReynolds, Cooper Pumphrey Jackson Wagener were all coached by me,” Gross said. “These guys meant a lot to me and I showed them that. The staff loved these guys and I hope we have them back next season.
“These guys had a really positive experience. With our Division I players, they don’t see crowd like that unless you are playing a big team like Alabama. They don’t see these crowds like this anywhere else. I would love to re-sign a good core of this group. I had some of these guys before and it helped other players fall in line.”
The Dans also had a lot of local talent on the team, mostly on the pitching side with Salt Fork product Pedro Rangel IV, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin Alvin’s Caden Keleminic, Armstrong-Potomac’s Kollin Asbury and Schlarman Academy’s Miles Crosby.
“I know there is some great talent here. It comes from trusting guys like (Post 210 baseball coach) Brent Hart,” Gross said. “He was a huge help in getting all of the local guys in. It brings a great aspect to the team because they know where the best places to eat and they have grown up watching these games, so it means something more. When Rangel was going into a game there was a small eruption when he came into a game. It brings energy in and brings in familiarity and it means more.”
The Dans’ final game was on Friday with a 5-0 win over the Bombers. Amir Streeter had two hits and two RBIs, while Chase Bays had two hits and an RBI, Palmi and Nik Nelson each had one RBI, May had two hits and Burke had three hits.
Kaleb Thompkins ended up getting the win with three strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings in relief of starter Hayden Trier, who had five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings. Drake Hoffa pitched 1 1/3 innings, Nolan Hataway pitched 1/3 innings and Asbury got his first save with getting the last two outs.