How Rock Bridge baseball endured tragedy during a record-setting season

It isn't easy to quantify success in high school sports at times.

Some teams can have the ultimate goal of winning state championships, others shoot for as high as they can possibly go. Rock Bridge baseball was talented enough to aim to win it all.

The Bruins' season ended in the Class 6 District 5 tournament semifinals with a 12-3 loss to Blue Springs. It was a difficult way to end the season.

"It's kind of like that old saying, winning never gets old and losing just really sucks," Rock Bridge head coach Justin Towe said. "For the majority of the teams in the state, you're not going to win that last game of the year."

Still, it doesn't overshadow the success Rock Bridge had in 2023.

The Bruins set a school record with 30 wins. They won a CMAC title. Five players were named first-team all-conference: Ty Thompson, Owen Wise, Dane Gray, Andrew Hill and Will Kimes. They established a core of talented juniors and sophomores to make sure they're ready to compete next year.

They also overcame more tragedy and heartbreak, not just in the last few months but in the two years, as well.

"We've kind of been gut-punched," Towe said.

It hasn't been an easy year for Rock Bridge. On March 6, 2023, the Bruins' community lost Cash Martin. He passed away in a motorcycle accident and was a sophomore on the baseball team. Rock Bridge began its season on March 20.

There wasn't much time to prepare for the season. Rock Bridge played the entire season with its teammates' memory on its mind.

"It brings you closer," Towe said. "It brings your leaders out because they know they're almost like parents at that point in time. They got to take care of their team."

Still, it wasn't simple for the players. The Bruins' sophomore class, as talented as it is and will be for the future of the program, had moments where it struggled after losing a part of itself.

"It was weighing on kids and, as a coach, you can see that," Towe said. "That's where you put your arm around someone and you just talk to them. Let them get it out."

That wasn't the first tragedy Rock Bridge had to overcome.

In September 2021, then-freshman Davis Taylor was injured in an ATV accident that paralyzed him from the chest down. Taylor was a freshman at Rock Bridge at the time and was part of the baseball team.

Towe said these tragedies are a reminder that they're just playing a game.

"It's just a game that some of us are just fortunate enough to play," Towe said. "Unfortunately, our kids have had to grow up a lot sooner than most kids their age. I think the one thing that they start realizing is that they're bigger things than just a game. But a game can bring us all together so that we can heal together with that."

Healing as a team allowed the Bruins to set their goals one week at a time. Towe said the team put a record for each week as a goal, with a specific eye on the teams Rock Bridge would be up against with a difficult schedule.

If Rock Bridge's goal was going 3-2 in a week but achieved a 4-1 record, it had a win it could bank for future weeks if the Bruins didn't achieve their record goal. That didn't happen often this season,

Towe is a believer that achieving multiple short-term goals allow teams to achieve long-term goals.

"We don't talk about a state championship, we don't talk about anything like that," Towe said. "We just talk about districts and our short-term goals and so our kids were really good with that this year."

That led to a 30-win season and the belief that Rock Bridge is set up for success in the future, which the coaching staff saw in a team that came together in the wake of tragedy.

It wasn't because of an easy schedule either, and the Bruins overcame so much along the way personally. Towe beamed with that pride in the wake of Rock Bridge's baseball season.

"I'm so proud of my guys," Towe said. "There's a lot of things that, as a coach, can make you smile, and this has definitely been one of them."