Danbury tops all-district selections

[Martin DeBerry]

Danbury tops all-district selections
Joel Luna ~The Facts
June 3, 2009

After winning the District 29-2A title with a 10-0 record, the Danbury Panthers loaded up the all-district selections.

The Panthers then advanced further in the playoffs than any previous season in Danbury history, winding up as the Class 2A state champions.

“It was a difficult season in district because we didn’t know what to expect, especially with those two new teams (Tidehaven and Industrial),” Danbury baseball coach Steve Davis said. “Hitchcock and Boling were returning some good kids, but we knew we had what it would take. But of course we had bigger aspirations. I think the great start to district was the first game against Van Vleck when we scored 15 runs in the first inning before an out was recorded. That just kind of gave everyone else a notice what we had.”

Leading the charge was four-year starter Scott Zimmerle, who was voted the district’s most valuable player.

For the season, Zimmerle batted .419 in 93 at-bats with 51 runs scored, 39 hits, eight doubles, 11 home runs and 48 RBI. His slugging percentage was .860 to go along with a .599 on-base percentage. He also finished perfect on the basepaths, going 19-for-19 in steals.

Scott’s fielding percentage was .879 with seven errors as a center fielder, pitcher and first baseman.

On the mound, Scott finished 17-0 with an 0.74 ERA in 85 innings of work. He had 157 strikeouts for the year.

“That is the second year in a row for him, and of course he deserved it,” Davis said. “He was like 6-0 in district and was pitched around the whole year. So that just shows how much respect they had for him this year.”

Also receiving an individual accolade was Davis, who received his third coach of the year honor. This was Davis’ most successful year as the Panthers’ skipper, but it also was his last because he is not being retained as the coach for next year.

“It is the third in the last five years, and that comes from having good kids,” Davis said by phone from San Francisco on Monday afternoon. “If anything, they made me look good and I will take it, especially after everything that happened this year. It is a nice honor and I am humbled to get that again.”

The offensive player of the year was Industrial’s Jordan Chovanec; defensive player of the year honors went to Boling’s Sean Hollis and the newcomer of the year was Industrial’s Micah Montes.

Danbury also placed six starters on the all-district first team, with five landing there by unanimous decision. Seniors Jake DeBerry, Trey Noak and Matt Dees, juniors Dakota Sebesta and Dillon Peltier as well as sophomore Garrett Zimmerle all made the first team.

Rounding out the first-team picks were Tidehaven’s Chade Jones; Hitchcock’s Morris Tuck, Sam Johnson, Nick Newsom and Caleb Johnson; Industrial’s Lucas Robinson; Van Vleck’s Van Wie, Lance Maxey and Dalton Rodriguez and Boling’s Jacob Copeland and Justin Hobbs.

On the second team were Van Vleck’s Dane Evans and Kade Kucera; Tidehaven’s Michael Alvarado, Adam Webernick, Jeff Crawford and Jacob Krenek; Boling’s Koby Sanchez, Dustin Ortiz, Caleb Henson, Brent Stidevent and Justin Henson; Hitchcock’s Kenny Navarro and Brandon Scott; Industrial’s David Hudson, Rene Morales and Tyler Chovanec.

Honorable mentions for Danbury were Nick Dees, Jack Marek and Colton Novak. For Van Vleck, honorable mentions were Robert Tabares, Elvis Cortinas, Will McGonagle and Aaron McCreary.



Joel Luna is the sports editor for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0160.