1A high school baseball: Bobcats' Brooks Leach used bat, arm to earn MVP

Panguitch senior Brooks Leach started the 2009 1A baseball season hardly producing like an elite player.

He was supposed to be the big bat in the Bobcats' lineup. Other players were expected to get on base, and then Leach would drive them in. But it wasn't working that way.

So Panguitch coach Clint Barney made Leach his lead-off hitter, and the senior standout became the table-setter for other players in the lineup. He eventually found his stroke as the season progressed, and Leach earns the Deseret News 1A baseball MVP award for his play at the plate and on the mound.

"I think he had a lot of opportunities to quit and give up, but he kept working really hard throughout the year," Barney said of Leach. "He always had a positive attitude. By the end of the year, he was hitting the way we knew he would be."

Was he ever. Leach saved his best for the state tournament. In a quarterfinal game that was supposed to go down to the late innings, Leach hit a lead-off home run to spark Panguitch to a 14-0 win over Tabiona. In the semifinals, he went 2-for-3 with a double and an inside-the-park home run in an 11-1 win over ICS.

What Leach meant to Panguitch and its state championship season was clear in the team's 13-3 title win over Piute. He pitched a complete game and had a triple and two RBIs from his lead-spot in the batting order.

"He saved his best for last," Barney said.

Leach also pitched in all of Panguitch's big games except for its semifinal win over ICS. He had a 9-3 record after he went 9-0 as a junior. He scattered seven hits in the Bobcats' championship win over Piute. Against Tabiona in the quarters, he allowed three hits and struck out nine.

"He pitched every big game for us and was tough," Barney said.

Leach was also a leader for Panguitch. He kept the team and coaching staff loose with his laid-back personality. He wore a mullet during the state tournament, complete with lines shaved into the sides of his hair, circa 1988. His teammates enjoyed it, and some of them sported the same hairstyle.

"He doesn't let pressure get to him," Barney said. "He's good at relaxing the team. I've learned from him to just relax. He's a fun kid to be around."

The Bobcats certainly had more fun as the season progressed. Along with Leach, they started slowly, losing three of their first four games. They took second place in Region 20 after dropping three league contests.

But they peaked at the exact right time and 10-runned all of their opponents in the state tournament. They scored a total of 23 runs in the first inning of their three state tournament games, with Leach sparking the offense each time.

"It was a fun year," Barney said. "We ended it really strong and the kids can feel really good about what we did."

It was a changing-of-the-guard type of season in 1A baseball, as teams other than Wayne actually had a shot at winning the state title. The Badgers won three straight state championships prior to this year. After graduating six seniors, Wayne ran its winning streak to 57 games — second best in state history — before losing to Tabiona in a preseason tournament. Piute eliminated Wayne from the state tournament in the semifinals.

Leach was a first-team all-state pick in 2008, as were 2009 first-teamers Paul Kesling from Valley and Tabiona's Robbie Giles.

Four players — West Ridge's James Bright, Wayne's Colin Anderson, Tintic's Bowdy Steele and ICS' Broc Christiansen — moved up from second team in 2008 to first team in 2009.

e-mail: aaragon@desnews.com