Austin Shockers feel at home in NBC play

Travis Larson had a forward-thinking idea 15 years ago, but he has barely gotten to show it off for its intended audience.

Larson named his Austin, Texas summer-league team the Shockers because he knew it would be received well in Wichita, site of the National Baseball Congress World Series.

The Shockers, whose colors are red and blue, first qualified for the tournament in 2014 and had a short stay. They made it back this year and are being noticed for more than their community-friendly name.

Their 3-0 record in pool play has the Shockers one win away from advancing to the World Series’ second week. They meet the Mulvane Patriots on Friday night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

“When I was on-deck to go hit the other night, the whole section above the dugout was yelling ‘Go Shockers,’ said Larson, the Shockers’ 37-year-old player-manager-owner. “They’re rooting for me, I think because of my age, and they say they love the Shockers. After the game, people come up to me and thank me for naming the team the Shockers.”

Larson is the do-everything man for the Shockers, fulfilling a vision he had after he concluded his collegiate career at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Texas. He borrowed $4,000 from his parents for the entry fee into the CenTex league and embraced every duty that came with the job of player-manager-owner.

“Lawn mower, field crew, you name it,” Larson said. “My parents do the scorebook and the scoreboard at our games back at home, so they help out. My wife, she should get wife of the year award, because we’ve got two kids back at home, Brock and Addison, four years old and one year old, and she even comes out and drags the field sometimes.

“It’s kind of just a family-run team and everyone kind of chips in.”

Larson has tried to talk some past Shockers – Austin Shockers, that is – into returning for the tournament so he isn’t the only veteran. None took him up on the offer this year, but the Shockers’ youngsters are breaking ground their earlier teams never reached.

It wasn’t a smooth journey. The Shockers were 13-14 entering their regional qualifying tournament, where they lost their first game. Seven consecutive wins later, they’re close to extending their season yet again.

Austin scored 33 combined runs in wins over Sterling, Colo., Northwest (Ariz.) and Valley Center. In Monday’s 14-9 win over the Northwest Boom, the Shockers made six errors and rallied from an 8-2 deficit.

“I think the team chemistry is what really did it,” Larson said. “All the guys get along really well. We don’t have a lot of standout players, we just have a bunch of players that play hard. We won every game in the regional (after the loss) and we’ve won every game here, so we’re just hoping we keep playing like we have been.”

If that happens, the Shockers will earn more attention from locals who enjoy their nickname. That was the plan all along.

“What better team name than Shockers?” Larson said. “(The NBC World Series) is our goal. I made sure on my jersey that it says Shockers. When the players put it on and look themselves in the mirror and see the team name Shockers, they know that’s what we’re playing for. This tournament is such a special event, I can’t even describe it.”

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Austin Shockers feel at home in NBC play."