April 22 wasn’t just a night where Manhattan Indians baseball split a pair of games against Washburn Rural. It was a historic night, in more ways than one.
Before the Indians beat Rural 3-2 in game one and lost 12-5 to them in game two, Indians head coach Don Hess was honored for winning his 500th career game as HC after the Indians’ notched two wins in a quad in Garden City on April 17 and 18.
“It’s a personal goal,” Hess said. “But there are so many other team goals and aspirations that will always come first. [The 500 wins] can mean a lot of different things. It could mean you’ve done a good job, or it can mean you’ve had great players or great coaches, or combination of any of those. So it’s humbling. Makes me feel extremely old, but at the same time, it’s a nice accomplishment for the program and all the former players and coaches that have been in the program.”
Hess has been with the MHS baseball program for 37 years now, dating back to 1989 when he served as head coach of J.V. In 1997, Hess took over as Varsity head coach and a year later assistant coach Lon Ostrom joined the program as Hess’s right-hand man. Hess and Ostrom are still in the same positions today.
“I can’t imagine doing this job without Coach O,” Hess said. “I mean, we’ve been together for about 30 years now, and I can’t imagine doing it with anybody else. What he has brought to this program, not only in terms of the technique, but also the ability to communicate with the players, I don’t know how you can even measure that. I think we figured out we’ve been together for over 650 games, that’s a long time and we still talk to each other.”
The other history made on April 22 was when sophomore Liam Nider blasted a ball deep, marking the first home run the Indians have hit at their new home of CiCo Park.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” Nider said. “I mean, first high school home run for me. To have it here on our new field’s just absolutely cool. All I can do is appreciate the new fields.”
Manhattan High Baseball has put together a solid 10-4 record going into a double-header against Topeka High on April 27.
The Indians split a pair against Emporia on April 24, winning their first game 13-2 and losing their second 3-2.
Their next home double-header is against Liberal on May 2.
“We’re a good team,” Hess said.
