Sizzling sophomore shortstop helps Needles stay on a roll

When Bobby Stahel moved from Mohave Valley, Ariz., to Needles, Calif., before the season, he was a relative unknown to Class 2A Southern League baseball coaches.

But after batting .808 through 18 games, the sophomore shortstop is developing a reputation as the league’s best player.

And the best part to Needles coach Ken Parker?

“He’s never satisfied with what he’s doing,” Parker said. “Even though he’s hitting .800, he wants to go out and hit .900.”

Stahel was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a doubleheader Thursday to help the Mustangs to a 27-3, 17-6 sweep at Mountain View. He was intentionally walked three times and scored seven runs on the day.

After starring as a freshman at River Valley High, the switch-hitting Stahel has become the cornerstone of a Needles team gunning for its second straight 2A state title.

“When I first came to Needles, they pretty much took me in as one of their own,” Stahel said. “It was way different from (River Valley); no individuality. It’s one big family, and they just took me in.”

Needles (15-3, 9-1) has won eight straight, and Stahel said the Mustangs have what it takes to win another state championship.

“When we play together, I think we’re unstoppable,” he said.

As a freshman, Stahel was a second-team 3A all-state pick in Arizona and played in the 2008 UnderArmour Preseason All-American Tournament.

 

He already has drawn recruiting interest from Arizona State and Arizona, though he said he might wind up at a school in California.

Parker said Stahel’s “baseball instinct” has made his job easy.

“You just can’t teach half the things that he’s picked up along the way,” Parker said. “He makes plays you don’t expect a high school kid to make.”

Stahel said he hasn’t been thinking about his numbers. He also leads the Mustangs in home runs (four) and RBIs (42) and is 1-0 with a 1.24 ERA.

“It’s a great achievement, but I don’t let it get to me,” he said. “If I do, I get big-headed and it affects the way I play, so I don’t even worry about it until the end of the year.”

Also for Needles on Thursday, Matt McAndrews was 7-for-9 with two home runs.

The Mustangs piled up 29 hits in the two games.

Stevie Kidd (7-0) earned a complete-game win in the first game. The senior right-hander scattered four hits, walked two and struck out nine.

Parker said the Mustangs talk about repeating as state champions, but they’re not banking on it yet.

“That’s one of the hardest things to do,” he said. “Everybody’s out to beat you, and nobody’s going to give you a free pass.”

Tanner Peterson hit a two-run single in the first game for Mountain View (3-22-1, 2-8).