Shocking run puts English Valleys in state tournament

NORTH ENGLISH - Kendall Gent likes to joke around with his coach that he owns him. That he can't touch him.

Coach admits that's probably true.

"I'm sure he did strike me out," Matt Snakenberg said. "I wasn't a very good hitter. I bunted all the time."

It's an amazing story that the English Valleys baseball team is at the state tournament. The Bears went 5-15 in the regular season before stunning the top three teams in their conference (the South Iowa Cedar League) to win a district title for the first time in 30 years.

They knocked off East Greene last week in a substate final to advance to Des Moines for the first time. EV (9-15) plays Martensdale-St. Mary's (41-0) in a Class 1A quarterfinal Monday at noon at Principal Park.

"It's been our energy and relentless effort," said Gent, a senior pitcher-infielder. "We've never worked so hard in our lives than we have the last three weeks."

They've been worked hard by a coach Gent and fellow seniors Gideon Kluge, Trenton Wiseman and Carsten Parmenter, and juniors Lincoln Parmenter, Tanner Marble and Holdon Westfall actually played against two years ago. Seriously.

Snakenberg is 20 years old, a Kirkwood Community College student who graduated from SICL rival Sigourney High School in 2009. And this is his second season as EV's head coach.

Again, seriously.

"In a way, it feels like he's just one of the guys," Gent said. "But we definitely respect him as our coach."

"At times, I do want to be their friend instead of coaching them," Snakenberg admitted. "I want to goof around with them. But then I always catch myself and realize that I have to be their leader."

He has obviously done a great job of that in the postseason. English Valleys won its final regular-season game for an active five-game win streak, a cool 79 shy of Martensdale's national record of 84.

No one is giving EV a chance to survive five innings Monday, let alone win. The players realize how much of an underdog they are, but insist that's OK.

It's all gravy from here on out. They get to play in a Triple-A ballpark and already have gotten to ride on a firetruck through town to celebrate their district final and substate victories.

"We've had a great run," Gent said. "We'll head up (to Des Moines) and just play the game. It's exactly what Matt has been saying to us. Go up there and have fun."

Snakenberg showed a bit of his youth when reminded what a great story this team is.

"Hey, who knows?" he replied. "Maybe Monday we'll give you an even better story."

ENGLISH VALLEYS (9-15) vs. MARTENSDALE-ST. MARY'S (41-0)

When: Noon Monday

Where: Principal Park, Des Moines

Noteworthy: Talk about David vs. Goliath. On one side, you've got a team that entered the postseason with a 5-15 record that is coached by a 20-year-old (Matt Snakenberg). On the other is a team that has won 84 consecutive games, a national record. Carsten Parmenter (.400 batting average) and Kendall Gent (.373) are EV's leading hitters, with Gent (4-7, 3.39 ERA) its top pitcher. MSM has five guys who hit .400 or better, with every starter at .333 or above. Its closest victory has been by three runs (three times).