Last baseball post of the year?

Let's relive Dunedin's state title just one more time, shall we?

The game story.

Alex Norris makes one heckuva pitch. But just one.

Photo gallery.

Oh, and cast your vote in the comments. Who was the MVP of the state finals for Dunedin. I think the top four candidates would have to be:

Max Kreuter: Homered and was winning pitcher in semifinal with complete game. Went 3-for-6 and drove in winning run with a 10th inning single in the championship game.
Clay Kollenbaum: Had five RBI, and a homer, in semifinals. Had two more hits in final, and pitched six strong innings and struck out eight.
Jake Rogers: Homered in semifinal and made a nice over-the-shoulder catch that was overlooked. In the final, came in and was awesome on the hill, getting the win with 3.2 innings of dominant pitching.
Tom Hilbert: I think his calm and cool went a long way to making this Dunedin team as good as it turned out to be. And he was pretty good with his pitching staff too, making the right moves by bringing in Norris for a huge out in the final and then Rogers (and then sticking with Rogers for the rest of the game). The guy can coach, and before anyone says "but anyone can win at Dunedin", he took Dixie Hollins to the playoffs five straight years. 'Nuff said.

(My vote goes to Kreuter, who had the game-winning RBI in each game and beat a team with a 16-game winning streak with a masterful and gutsy pitching performance.)

Comments

[weber]

Great game- Max Kreuter for Player of the Year!!

[la]

Kreuter, Kollenbaum & Rogers probably all deserve MVP - they held up under incredible pressure - but could they have done it without their coach? Thanks, Cotey, for noting it's not just a "Dunedin thing" and recognizing Hilbert's coaching ability.

[foreman]

Wow! Great Game - Mad Max is the MVP for the tourney and probably the year!

[foreman]

P.S. I want to thank the coach from southfork for not looking up the definition of a squeeze play until after he arrived back home this morning!!!!!

Kreuter easily MVP of tourney and year.

Hilbert gets my vote as coach of the year. Yes he had a ton of talent, but he also had some serious egos that hampered the club early. If the Yankees need someone to handle their egos, Coach Hilbert proved he is up to the task.

[Falcon Follower]

If you think about it all 9 players contributed:
Krueter-10th inning hit
Turgeon-Great dbl play
Rogers-Closing pitching
Sweat-Single w/RBI + scored as runner
Kollenbaum-pitched 6 innings/8K's
Schnieder-Wall at catcher
Fischer-Triple-Made last out
Priest-Scored winning run
Kumbat-Greatest bunt ever

All are ESPN top 10 moments from the game last night. To bad Catch 47 didn't cover the entire game. Would love to watch it over & over again.

Coach Hilbert you & your staff are the reason why these boys blossomed this year. Enjoy this moment, the memories will always be there!-Congrat's to all Falcons

[Vinnie]

It's always a great feeling to win the championship. Especially a State Championship.
Congrats to Dunedin. Enjoy your moment. You won and won in a tight game. You brought honor to both your school and this county.
Be proud. you earned it.

coach carden is 100 times better then the dunedin coach
carden will win 5 state titles in 3 years

carden once coached a checkers team to 5 national titles in 1 month
he is that great
just ask him he will say
"hew haw hew haw im great"

Most-Jake - never gives less than his most and last night was way more than anyone else could have delivered.
Valuable-Clay - dude has been on fire and a one man wrecking crew and having a lot of fun doing it
Player-Max just your average dude gettin done at every phase of the game when you need someone to get it done

Incredible night

carden once coached for Phil jackson fro 1 minute
the result
4 titles with the bulls

Carden is the 2nd coming of the guy called Jusus Christ
Just ask him

carden could coach Tarpon springs to the NBA championship
just ask him

carden once coached 3 midgets 1 hobbit and 1 elf to the state championship

dunedin would like to thank carden for winning the title
he is the only coach in pinellas county

Coach Carden once foreclosed on his house because he couldnt make the payments

the same guy has been making carden jokes for 20 minutes straight

One of the best games ever. Congrat's to both teams. It's sad only one could win, but Dunedin and Pinellas county can stand proud today

How about all of the Dunedin coaches???
Great pitching, Thanks Coach Cisco!!!!

Congrats Dunedin - Great Job - from private school sector.

[peabody]

everyone deserves the credit! It is a shame that 10 kids were not allowed to dress and had to sit in the stands. They were as much as part of the team as everyone else, maybe even more!

Jake deserves it - Clay and Max are duds.

10 kids weren't allowed to dress because the team is TOOOOOOOOOO big! It's not football guys.

EVERYONE INCLUDING THOSE KIDS KNOWS THE RULES ABOUT AMOUNT OF KIDS ALLOWED ON THE BENCH
THEY WILL GET THEIR TURN
CHANCES ARE YOU CARE MORE ABOUT THAT THAN YOUR SON

What are you talking about??? I don't even have a son on the team - I just know what I see when I look around - and no other school and/or coach would saddle themselves with that many kids on a team.

if carden dont win a state title next year cabino should get the job

carden is coaching the lakers tonight

ALL 33 STUDENT/ATHLETES WON THIS STATE TITLE FOR DUNEDIN!!!-IF YOU DIDN'T NOTICE COACH HILBERT WENT AND GAVE PROPS TO ALL THE PLAYERS AND ONE COACH (BY STATE RULES) THAT COULDN'T BE IN THE DUGOUT BEFORE HE EVEN WENT ON THE FIELD TO SEE ONE OF HIS STARTERS!!! SO LET'S GIVE CREDIT TO WHERE IT IS DUE - THE WHOLE FALCON BASEBALL FAMILY SHOWED HUGE GUTS!!!

They just saddled these fine young men with a state championship - something that these boys will never forget and no one can take away from them!!! The kids that we are talking about would have not played on most teams in the county - but they are ALL outstanding men -- so let them enjoy this moment!
Way to go falcons!!!

get pinellas county to allow jv programs like most high schools have in the country, then theres no need for 33 players on a team!!!

congrats Dunedin

[Falcon Fever Fan]

T-Cisco-Gino-Duncan-DHilbert & all the coaches are awesome at DHS...to bad the rest of the players in this county never were exposed to your talented coaching skills-you were insturmental in getting these boys the BIG win!!

Bravo!!

I agree we need J.V. baseball - now just 2 public school championships in how many years?... (seminole 2001 and dunedin)? Way 2 much talent for that 2 happen. Congrats to the falcons where your rings proud

Gino and the falcons rule!

Gino for president!!

T & Gino should take on Obama & Clinton

Chuck Norris would be scared to walk on the Falcons Diamond!

IF THEY DON'T WANT TO SIT ON THE BENCH THEY COULD QUIT THE TEAM

MOST SCHOOLS DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FOR JV
DUNEDIN IS THE EXCEPTION

WOW, CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S OVER GUYS. THANKS FOR AN EXCITING SEASON !! YOU KNOW, THERE WAS NOT A TEAM OUT THERE THIS YEAR THAT DIDN'T REALISE THAT IF YOU ALL PLAYED YOUR INDIVIDUAL TALENTS AT THE SAME TIME THAT YOU WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT."ALOT OF YOUR COMPETITOR EITHER PLAYED WITH YOU OR AGAINST SEVERAL OF YOU IN AAU/SCOUT TEAMS & KNEW ABOUT YOUR TALENTS.FOR THE TEAMS THAT BEAT YOU THIS YEAR "CONGRADULATIONS" THEY CAUGHT YOU ON UNBALANCED NIGHTS.WHEN THE TIME WAS RIGHT YOU ALL BECAME VERY BALANCED & PERCIVERED. WE WILL MISS YOU GUYS & YOUR COMRADERY.GOOD LUCK TO YOU GUYS IN YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVORS & FUTURE FALCONS,WE BELIEVE YOUR FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHT AS WELL.

[Kevin Kunnen]

As a rival player to Dunedin for 4 years, I can't argue the fact that Dunedin Baseball is as classy as it gets. With my younger brother being on the team, I have realized why Dunedin is the best baseball program in the state. Congrats players and coaches! You guys deserved it and you made your hometown proud!

[peabody]

party at Turgeons house tonight at 7pm!

I heard it is at rogers tonight

Congrats to Coach Hilbert, his staff, and his players. The coaches did a masterful job and their players played extremely hard. Clay Kollenbaum pitched a very gutty game although I think he ran out of gas after the 6th inning. The coaches made many positives adjustments with Kollenbaum, because he didn't throw real well until the last 2 or 3 weeks of the season. The players executed the fundamentals, and it looks like there could be more state titles to come in the future.

Breaking news.......this just in, another baseball job opens up in Pinellas county at a public school in the north district, that now brings the total to 5 baseball head coaches job in Pinellas County

[Lou]

I see Kollenbaum, Rogers, and Kreuter going on to have great careers at Jacksonville, UCF, and Tampa respectively. Those schools will be lucky to have those three. The players will look back on 2008 with such fond memories, similar to what Seminole did when they won the state title in 2001. People for years will be talking the key players Dunedin had when they won this title, winning a state title at any time is very difficult as one can see by the few teams that have actually won a title in baseball. In the area, I think only CCC, Dunedin, Seminole, and St. Petersburg College have won state baseball titles.

if jv was available varsity coaches could build continuity within their programs by developing the freshman rather than cutting them.
the way it is today whats the insentive for sophomores to come out for the varsity again after they were cut as freshman. no much.

What baseball coach step down?

When will the all p-county, suncoast and state come out?

I know this is not the way this works, but I think as someone mentioned above the whole team deserves MVP . Think about it !! almost every player had a moment that if mis played would have cost them that game. I don't think I have ever seen such a team effort win a game & that comment very much so includes coaching. Incredible job Dunedin !! you deserve this. And as the CCC t-shirts read, GOT RINGS ? Yes we do !!!

Will Sweat be using his architecture skills leanred at Dunedin to design the rings?

gino for president