Inductees

Drive down two-lane Highway 52 east of Lake of the Ozarks, past the blooming springtime dogwoods in the valleys and along the Osage River, and you eventually pull into a town called St. Elizabeth.

Here, they love their baseball. See the banners on the basketball gym wall? It’s decorated with success, including a banner that reads “27-0” and “1997.”

Asked, then, what it means to wear the St. Elizabeth uniform, a member of that team had this response: “A lot of pride,” Chad Green said. “And I still think that pride goes on today.”

Indeed it does, which is why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the St. Elizabeth High School Baseball Program with the Class of 2021.

The Hornets have earned eight trips to the Final Four – that’s tied for sixth-most in state history.

In fact, they’ve won three championships, which cover the 1995, 1997 and 2019 seasons. They also were the state runner-up in 2018, placed third in 1996 and had a trio of fourth-place finishes: 1984, 2010 and 2011.

Chris Jackson coached the 1995 team, Doug Kempker guided the 1997 club, and Caleb Heckemeyer led the 2019 club.

The program also counts five conference championships and 12 district titles, which cover 1980, 1984, 1985, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Plus, it counts more than 40 All-State selections.

All this in a community where boys ride their bikes to friends’ homes or to a playground – with gloves, bats and balls in tow – and play the game that this town has loved for so long.

Green was speaking about the 1997 team when he offered these words, but it could be applied to any Hornets team:

“We played together as a team from T-ball to our senior year, with everybody playing the same position,” Green said. “We knew what everybody was going to do (on each kind of play). When we were on the field, we took it seriously but had a lot of fun.”

Like many successful programs, the Hornets’ began carving out success in the 1970s.

In 1980, with Sid Doerhoff as coach, St. Elizabeth finished one win shy of reaching the Final Four, with its season ending in a loss to eventual state champion Sturgeon. The team featured Frank Struemph, Jim Bax, Stan Struemph and Carl Heckemeyer. That team and the 1984 club were Doerhoff’s best.

The 1984 Hornets featured junior Morris Wilde as the pitcher and Scott Kemna at catcher, along with Tom Bax, David Kesel, Dale Heckemeyer, John Kemna and Shake Hoecker.

That year, St. Elizabeth broke through for the program’s first Final Four by overcoming Marion C. Early (Morrisville) High School and a left-handed pitcher. A semifinal loss to Englewood Christian was nothing to be disappointed about, considering Englewood went on to win the state championship.

The 1995 state champs featured catcher Eric Doerhoff, second baseman Chad Green, shortstop Kyle Kemna, third baseman Derek Bax, left fielder Travis Holtmeyer, center fielder Matt Oligschlaeger, right fielder Todd Doerhoff, designated hitter Trevor Luetkemeyer and reliever Tony Bax.

Those Hornets won the sectional and quarterfinal on the same day in Nevada, with Kemna pitching 10 innings combined in order to save Brian Bax for the semifinal. That became a reality after a 1-0 quarterfinal win in which Todd Doerhoff threw out a runner at third base late in the game. Bax then fired a one-hitter and struck out 14 in the state semifinal vs. Billings before the Hornets won the title game 20-2.

The 1996 team returned many of the same players and lost to eventual state champion New Bloomfield in the semifinals.

The 1997 team featured Green, Trevor Luetkemeyer, Tony Bax, Travis Holtmeyer, Randy Kesel, Tom Oligschlaeger, Brett Holtmeyer, Nathan Wilde and Tim Oligschlaeger. Those Hornets beat New Bloomfield 9-0 in the finals.

“We just had a great group of individuals who had a great passion for the game,” Kempker said.

The 2018 team finished 16-6, rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the sectionals to build momentum. Senior Dakota Kemna hit a game-winning grand slam in the state quarterfinals, earned the save in the semifinal and started the championship game at pitcher. Mason Kemna, Aaron Blomberg, Nolan Heckemeyer, Coltin Green, and Ross Struemph were keys, too.

The 2019 state champs finished 18-4 with a roster that included Aaron Blomberg, Nolan Heckemeyer, Dylan Wobbe, Green, Struemph, Brady Heckemeyer and Brock Lucas. In the quarterfinals, three great defensive plays in the seventh secured the win.

What a tradition indeed.