An exceptional state tournament at the plate helped Trey Stenerson become the MVP of the Class ‘A’ State Tournament in Powell, after a late season home run spurt helped propel him offensively.

“It felt pretty cool,” Stenerson said of the MVP honor. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. They played a huge role in my success and everybody else’s, so I give it all to my teammates for that.”

Throughout the season Stenerson was a key part for the Pioneers offensively, but he’d been unable to find a home run after hitting 15 a season ago.

That all changed when he hit two over the fence against Lovell in a pair of home conference games on July 11, setting Stenerson’s bat ablaze over the final three weeks of the season.

“Throughout most of the year I was just focusing on getting base hits, I guess that game it clicked and that kind of propelled me and my teammates to get some more wins,” Stenerson said.

In his final 48 at bats of the season, he had 29 hits — including eight home runs — and accumulated 29 RBIs in that time period. That amounted to a .604 batting average, a 1.25 slugging percentage and a 1.877 OPS.

He ranked just ahead of teammate Cade Queen in home runs and RBIs in that stretch.

At the state tournament, Stenerson continued to excel at the plate, finishing with 10 hits in 19 at bats, with one homer and nine RBIs. In all, he posted a .526 average, .842 slugging percentage and a 1.392 OPS at the tourney.

“I was just sticking to what I’ve been doing my whole life,” Stenerson said. “Trust in what I’ve learned over the years and trust my teammates in the keys they have to help me out and keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

The final hit of Stenerson’s Pioneers career came in the championship game. He broke a tie with Cody in the eighth inning, as his RBI double brought in Ethan Welch and helped give Powell its second straight championship with a 5-4 over the Cubs.

Following that state championship, Stenerson and several of his teammates have been a part of three state championships this past year, two in baseball and one in basketball sandwiched in between.

“Getting to go win basketball and baseball, too, it’s a surreal feeling,” Stenerson said.

While his time on the diamond may be over, Stenerson is now heading to the next level in football, traveling to Chadron State College for fall camp as a wide receiver in Chadron, Nebraska.

“I will just carry that [momentum] on with this win,” Stenerson said.