The Abilene Cowboy baseball team punched their ticket to the 4A State baseball tournament last night with victories over Concordia and Pratt. It will be the 4th straight trip to State for the Cowboys. All 4 trips under HC Travis Bartley. Abilene avenged 2 early season NCKL losses to Concordia with a 7-3 victory in round one. In the Regional Final, Abilene got a rematch with Pratt and came out victorious this year in a 4-2 battle.The Greenbacks edged the Cowboys 3-2 in the 4A State semifinals last year. Pratt entered the game 23-4 and had won 18 straight games. The Cowboys are now 16-10 on the season. Abilene is one of 3 NCKL teams heading to the 4A State Tournament in Salina (Rock Creek and Clay Center). #sportsinkansas
Photo: Brad Anderson
Abilene baseball with hot bats in a double header sweep over Riley County. The Cowboys had 8 home runs on the night. 3 from Ethan Evans, 2 from Jake Bartley including a grand slam, and one a piece from Heath Hoekman, Canyon Taylor, and Thomas Keener. The Cowboys move to 11-7 on the year and will round out their regular season with NCKL matchups with Chapman and Wamego next week. #sportsinkansas
4A Player to Watch: Heath Hoekman of Abilene High School is a junior 3B/SS for the Cowboys and made a name for himself after a standout sophomore season last spring. Hoekman hit .429 on the year with 7 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 HR’s along with 34 RBI’s. He also had a fielding percentage of .889 on the year. Hoekman was a big part of an Abilene team that w4ent 24-3 last year advancing to the 4A State Tournament. WHen asked about this upcoming season Hoekman said, “I’m really excited to watch this team succeed and have success because of the hard work these men have put in. I am excited as the 2025 season kicks off to help contribute to the team to be as successful as possible.” Hoekman is also a standout football player and wrestler for the Cowboys and has a 3.98 GPA as a two year academic letter winner. #sportsinkansas
Photo: Brad Anderson