EMERSON, Ga. – The GoWags LumberKings are off to a 4-0-1
start in the 15u PG Summer Showdown at LakePoint and have been led by a quartet
of Wagners, brothers Kyle and Bret on the coaching side and cousins Luke and
Cole on the field.
Twin-brothers Kyle and Bret Wagner founded the GoWags
organization together eight years ago and it has continued to grow each year. They
now feature around 12 teams from all different age groups and have attracted
some of the top talent in the Pennsylvania area.
“Well we’re primarily based out of central Pennsylvania, but
we’ll grab some folks out of our periphery a little bit, but we’ve been around
since 2009 and I think we’ve played a caliber of baseball that is at least
garnered some recognition in the Mid-Atlantic and has allowed us to come down
to Perfect Game in Georgia and Florida and compete with some of the better
organizations in the country,” Kyle Wagner said.
The twins made up the battery for Wake Forest in the early
90s, as Kyle was a standout catcher, while Bret was a standout pitcher. Both
would be drafted by Major League teams out of college and would play
professionally. Bret was drafted 19th overall by the Cardinals in
the 1994 MLB Draft, while Kyle, who was drafted in 1994 but did not sign,
signed after he was selected in the 12th round by the Angels in the
1995 MLB Draft. Having been around baseball and each other for most of their
lives made them a perfect tandem to lead an organization.
“I think coaching is a continuation of just growing up
together, I mean, we’ve been best friends since birth, and I’ve told people
that when he and I get together, there’s no filter, so the unique interaction
there is whatever we think, we say and then we’ve learned to deal with it over
the years, so in that respect it’s more unique than any relationship I could
imagine,” Luke Wagner said.
Their sons, a year apart in age, have followed in their fathers’
baseball footsteps as both play for GoWags. Bret’s son Cole burst onto the
scene in the Little League World Series in 2015 with the Mid-Atlantic team,
blasting a few long home runs on one of the biggest stages in amateur baseball.
The 14-year-old is playing up with the 15u GoWags team in this tournament and
is showing once again that he can handle tough competition. The lefthander went
five innings against the Keowee Cougars on Friday, giving up six hits, two
walks and no runs, while striking out two.
“I didn’t have my best fastball command like usual, so I had
to rely on my off-speed pitches a little more and battle that way,” Cole Wagner
said.
The Lewisberry, Pa., resident has been clocked as high as
87 mph on the mound, and seems to be still growing. Ranked as the No. 3 player
in Pennsylvania in the class of 2021, Cole is coming off a strong 14u WWBA
performance in which he struck out 12 batters in 11 innings while giving up no
runs. His bat plays too, going 9-for-21 at the plate with five doubles and
seven RBIs in the 14u WWBA. Even though he is playing up, Kyle Wagner said the
team gravitates towards him.
“Cole, although he’s our youngest player, his presence is
always felt just because he’s such a big kid,” Kyle Wagner said. “He doesn’t
play with this team a lot, but he’s Luke’s cousin, and everyone knows him and
he’s played with us in the past, so although he’s one of our younger players,
he has a presence about him that’s very comforting for his teammates.”
Kyle’s son Luke, a righthanded hitter and lefthanded thrower,
played on Red Land High School’s varsity team as a freshman this past spring
and hit .291 in 60 plate appearances with four doubles, two triples and two
home runs per MaxPreps. On the mound, the lefty has been clocked as fast as 88 mph,
and posted solid numbers in high school as well.
“He hasn’t thrown yet, but he’s our best pitcher too and he
plays such a good center field that sometimes you hate to take him out of
center field, but he’s had a stretch here over the last month where he’s really
been swinging the bat well,” Kyle Wagner said.
Luke is ranked as the No. 105 best player in the class of
2020, and he has certainly carried his recent hot streak into this tournament,
as he has gone 6-for-13 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and seven RBIs
over five games.
“My approach has been keeping it up the middle and just
trying to see what the pitcher’s doing before I come up. I’m just trying to
stay right center, center and if I catch one up and in, I’ll pull it outside
and inside,” Luke Wagner said.
The LumberKings have shown well this tournament at the plate
and on the mound. They have scored 39 runs over five games, including a 16-2
win over the East Cobb Pride 15u on Sunday. Wyatt Metzger shined at the plate
in that game, launching a double and home run, while knocking in five runs.
“It’s really nice. It’s fun, everyone’s having fun and we’re
winning,” Metzger said. “It’s my first time down here. Nice complex and really
good teams.”
“We’ve just battled,” Cole Wagner said. “We started off a
little slow with our bats, but we started to hit, put together some nice
at-bats, played really good defense, and the pitching’s been really great too.”
A Monday morning tie was the only wrinkle in the GoWags
record so far, but they are still set to make bracket play. The Wagner cousins
are hoping to continue their success on the field in bracket play and bring a
PG championship to the elder Wagners. Moving forward into bracket play, Kyle
Wagner pointed to his team needing to continue to play to the philosophy of
playing to “a standard” rather than against an opponent.
“You can’t really determine how well your opponent plays.
We’re just going to continue to do our best and see where the chips fall,” Kyle
Wagner said. “Our pitching is lined up, so if someone happens to knock us off,
they’ll beat one of our better arms and we’ll tip our cap to them and be thankful
for the opportunity.”