The Wichita area's best are set to play ball ... just not against each other

Two of the top teams from the Wichita area return in 2018 as defending state champions. They are from the same city but do not play against each other.

Maize and Maize South are two of the best baseball program around. The track record and rings show that. With a pumped-up youth system and summer-ball teams, those on the west side of the metro are almost guaranteed an edge, and they take full advantage.

Three miles, eight minutes and one classification separate the two Kansas powers, but Maize and Maize South haven't met since the 2016 state tournament at Eck Stadium. Maize, the No. 8 seed, beat the top-seeded Mavericks 5-4 that day.

That is the only meeting between the two.

And both sides kind of like it that way.

"We want to play them, but it was pretty awesome when we played them in the postseason and hadn’t seen each other,” Maize South senior Jack Wagner said. “It was so loud, and there were thousands of people there.”

There was some built-up anxiety about playing each other for the first time in 2016, Wagner said. He was a starter as a sophomore and said there was a lot of talk before the game. Both teams said they believe they are better than the other, but before last year, only one had a resume to back it up.

For Maize, playing its cross-town rival has been almost a lose-lose situation. Coach Rocky Helm said if his team wins, the perception would be, "Well, you were supposed to beat them." If they lose, "That was a shock.”

The risk hasn't been worth the reward.

"Now that might be a different story because they’re kind of established," Helm said.

Baseball schedules are set every two years, and next year, there is a possibility the Maize schools will meet up for the first time in the regular season, Helm said.

Maize South has proven to be no slouch, even for a Class 4A school. Just last year, the Mavericks beat Mill Valley, Derby and Salina Central, all of which compete for state titles in higher classifications. They are a cumulative 58-13 in the past three seasons.

Losing to Maize South is no longer a mark against an opponent's resume; the 2017 state title ensured that. And this silent rivalry might pick up some noise in coming years.

"I think it’s great for the area," Helm said. “If you can play great teams, that’s gonna help everybody out. I think it just kinda shows the baseball talent that’s around this west area.”

As for 2018, however, Maize and Maize South will go their separate ways once again.

Maize hosted two of Kansas' best in its first three games, playing Blue Valley West and Bishop Carroll, while Maize South traveled to Oklahoma to gain more exposure on a regional level, coach Chad Christensen said.

Both teams agreed playing against foreign talent would do more good than competing against each other, but neither team's strategy paid off. Maize went 0-2 against Blue Valley West and Carroll, and South did the same in Oklahoma.

Despite the shaky starts, the talent on the each roster is undeniable.

The Eagles graduated 14 seniors from their state-championship team, including All-Metro selections Jacob Taylor and John Short. But even with 10 underclassmen on the 2018 roster, there is serious potential across the board.

Pitcher Adrian Perez has already pitched two games this year and done well, allowing no runs on five hits in six innings against Carroll on Tuesday after throwing on Saturday.

Shortstop Jordon Helm will provide a spark at the leadoff spot. First baseman Deriq Doty will add the power. And seniors Carson Avery and Gage Kennedy will supply the leadership.

This group is inexperienced. Few guys have earned meaningful varsity playing time, but the expectation has not changed.

"People want to come here," Avery said.”They want to play for coach Helm and this program, and even Maize South, too, just because there’s history.”

It's the same story with a different verse at Maize South.

The Mavericks haven't lost nearly as much talent as their neighbors, but their graduates from last year's team supplied a lot of the magic that got them to their first state title.

Two-time All-Metro selection Jordan Maxson is at Kansas State, which leaves fellow metro pick Jack Wagner to pick up the slack. Wagner led Class 4A-Division I in home runs last season, with 10, hit .500 and scored 42 runs. That production earned him a scholarship to Kansas.

But he isn't alone.

Cade Koster, Alex Epp and Hayden Bontrager are all expected to have superb seasons at the plate, and Maize South returns almost everyone from its pitching staff. Bontrager and Justin Looper should earn the most innings.

Despite winning a state title, not much has changed at practice. There is still the same intensity and drive, but like Maize, there's also an expectation from outside the program that the Mavericks now have some standards to uphold.

So the silent rivals will go on.

The players know one another. The coaches are familiar with the others team's success. The history is there on one side and growing quickly on the other. But they will only watch from a distance for now as the quest for back-to-back titles begins for both teams.

"Nothing really changes for us, but I think people are more tuned in to baseball now in Maize," Koster said.

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 1:40 PM with the headline "The Wichita area's best are set to play ball ... just not against each other."