High school baseball: MVPs are all aces

When each of the state baseball champions needed an important win, they turned to their aces.

Spanish Fork's Brock Duke, Mountain Crest's Taylor Larsen, Juan Diego's Caleb Olson and Kanab's Justin Orton usually came through when their teams needed them — and especially in big games. But that's only one reason why Duke, Larsen, Olson and Orton are the Deseret News' state baseball MVPs for the 2009 season.

The four players were leaders, and each brought a calming influence to their teams when they took the mound. Their teammates knew they were favored to win when their big gun threw, and it gave them confidence.

The four MVPs could also provide a big hit and a key play in the field if needed. There were a lot of great players in the state in 2009, but Duke, Larsen, Olson and Orton were relatively easy choices for their respective MVP awards.

BROCK DUKE, Spanish Fork: For several years, Brock Duke has been the most recognizable name among the state's baseball players in his age group. Duke began starting for the Dons as a freshman, and he helped lead Spanish Fork to two state championships during his high school career.

"He was our leader for three years," said Spanish Fork coach Jim "Shoe" Nelson.

Duke saved his best baseball for his senior year. He hit .412 for the Dons and led the team in RBIs with 32. He had an 8-1 pitching record with a 1.98 earned run average. He blasted key home runs in state tournament wins over Jordan and Alta — all while sporting a goofy good-luck mustache.

He's also worn a big target on his chest, just because he is Brock Duke.

"He takes the pressure off of everyone else," Nelson said. "His whole life, he walks into the ballpark and it's, 'Is Brock Duke pitching? Is Brock Duke this? Is Brock Duke that?' He's handled that well, and it's a testament to his mind."

In fact, despite a clutch pitching arm and steady bat, Nelson said Duke's greatest asset is his mind and baseball knowledge.

"He's the smartest player I've ever coached," Nelson said. "He has the best baseball sense of anyone I've ever coached."

Duke won more than 20 games as a pitcher for the Dons during his high school career. He became one of the state's top high school baseball players despite losing his father, Dev, who died in a tragic accident in 2001. That unfortunate incident adds to the tremendous respect Nelson has for Duke as a player and a person.