Have Payne, can gain is the motto for the Tropics

Southeast Tropics pitcher Kolten Payne throws in a game earlier this summer against the Aycorp Media Charleston Fighting Squirrels at Kelly High School in Benton.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Veteran Southeast Tropics manager Dustin Schwartz acknowledges that the road to a championship repeat for his team in the 2024 Babe Ruth World Series won’t be an easy journey.

“We got put in a pretty tough pool when you look at the level of competition in our pool,” Schwartz said of the Series, which opens today in Cape Girardeau. “But that is alright. If we want to be where we want to be again this year, we’re going to have to beat really good teams.

“We’re just going to have to beat them early on.”

The Tropics (26-6-1) open the tournament today at 5 p.m. at Capaha Park against Puerto Rico, and Schwartz has his “ace” starting on the mound for him, former Oran High School standout Kolten Payne.

“He’s our ace,” Schwartz said of Payne. “He’s got the right mentality and everything for this. He’s the guy we want on the mound.”

Payne threw for St. Charles Community College last year but recently announced that he will pitch for Mineral Area Community College this fall. He has been outstanding all summer for the Tropics.

“Kolten has been pitching in big games his whole life,” Schwartz said earlier this season. 

Payne’s most recent start was in a 5-0 championship game victory over Ortho one 18U in the Memphis 2D Tournament.

He threw a complete seven-inning game and allowed just three hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out eight hitters.

“I told the guys before the game,” Schwartz said of Payne during the Senior Babe Ruth State Tournament last month, “that I have never seen anyone who can lock in the way ‘KP’ does.”

Of the 69 pitches Payne threw against Ortho One 18U, 53 were strikes.

He followed that outing up with one inning of relief work on July 30 in an 11-6 win over the Aycorp Media Charleston Fighting Squirrels.

In that appearance, he faced five batters and allowed just one hit, no runs or walks, and struck out one.

“Our guys know,” Schwartz said recently, “when it comes to a big game, if they see (Payne) on the mound, we have a chance no matter what.”

The Tropics, which have won six consecutive games and are the World Series defending champions, will follow today’s opener with a 4:30 p.m. game on Saturday against Aruba, a Sunday (7 p.m.) game against Pacific Southwest, and a Monday (4:30 p.m.) tilt with New England.

All of the games are at Capaha Park.