Coates has emerged in first varsity season with Post 6

Coates tried to make the most of his varsity time, even though he knew he was merely keeping a seat warm. He batted .409 (9-for-22) with eight RBI in eight games.

Coates spent the remaining 45 games with the Cheyenne Hawks — which is Post 6’s junior varsity club. He batted .322 (48-for-149) with seven doubles, two triples and 25 RBI to help the Hawks finish as Class A state runners-up. Coates also earned second team all-conference honors for the second time in his career.

“I got a taste of what it could be like,” Coates said. “Those games I played last year helped me have success this year because I was better prepared for what to expect.”

Coates has held down Post 6’s starting second-base job for the majority of this season. Entering today’s Northwest Regional tournament game with Helena, Montana, Coates is batting .288 (47-of-124) with a double and 33 RBI. His 50 runs scored are fourth-most on Cheyenne’s roster.

“Those guys that start a year with us before going to the Hawks get an idea of what this level is like,” Sixers manager Ty Lain said. “They learn what their deficiencies might be and how to get better when they get back to work.

“He is such a good defender that we wanted to have him somewhere on the field for us. His defense has been really valuable, and his offense has come along as the season has gone on. He’s been really good down the stretch.”

Coates grew up playing shortstop. Last year was the first time he can remember playing second. There were nuances he had to learn being on a different side of the diamond, but he has been able to make the transition fairly easily.

“I tried to not put too much pressure on myself and just keep things simple this season,” Coates said. “If a ball comes to you, you’ve got to get it fielded, and throw it across and make the play.”

Offensively, Coates’ average hovered in the .250-.275 range most of this summer. He was batting .259 when the calendar flipped to July, but he has been a different hitter since.

Coates has batted .345 (19-for-55) over Cheyenne’s past 23 games. His average was .385 in the 18 games leading into the Wyoming Class AA state tournament.

“The little things he was doing were getting him some knocks, but he was also mixing in more line drives for singles and doubles,” Lain said. “He got more comfortable with this level of pitching, and you could see him settling in and letting his talent take over.

“… Early in the year, he was bunting to move runners or bunting for hits and hitting behind guys. He’s a really smart hitter, and he’s trying to find any way he can to win games.”

Seventeen of Coates’ 33 RBI also came in July. That sort of production from the nine-hole hitter helps good teams verge on being great.

“I feel like I’ve been able to relax, play my game and not worry about anything else,” he said. “I know what my role is, and I’ve tried to get it done. I have to get on (base) and turn the lineup over so the guys behind me have someone on when they come up. That will give us a good opportunity to score.”

As an eighth-grader, Hawks coach Bradley Barker III took note of Coates’ speed and prepared him to start bunting for hits whenever he noticed a third baseman playing a little too far back. It’s a skill Coates has used well to get a few of what he describes as “free hits” this summer. It’s also a skill Coates’ teammates have taken note of.

“We didn’t really have a guy who could bunt for a base hit 70% of the time, but he can do that,” McAnelly said. “He can get on base just about whenever he wants. It’s always great when he leads off an inning because you know he’s going to get on and turn the lineup over.”