Baseball writers to honor Lafayette girls volleyball team at annual dinner

The state champion Lafayette Lancers girls volleyball team will be honored at the 55th annual St. Louis Baseball Writers’ dinner at the Millennium Hotel on Jan. 20.

The Lancers won their second consecutive state championship and will be recognized at the dinner, which begins at 6:30 p.m. with the program getting under way about 7:30 p.m. To win the state crown, Lafayette went through their tough schedule undefeated at 40-0. While that is impressive, the girls never lost a game all season. The Lancers went 80-0 in earning the state championship by defeating Lee’s Summit West.

Also honored will be John Burroughs teacher Ellen Port, one of the most talented women amateur golfers in Missouri history. In her first time playing in the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur at Hershey Country Club. Port defeated Jane Fitzgerald 4 and 3 to win the championship. Port is no stranger to winning. The senior title was her fifth career USGA women’s title.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, whose career-best season resulted in his fifth consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove, second Platinum Glove and fourth-place finish in the National League Most Valuable Player voting, will be honored as the St. Louis baseball man of the year at the dinner.

Also to be saluted from a Cardinals team that ended one game away from the World Series are Allen Craig, Matt Holliday, Jon Jay, David Freese, Adam Wainwright, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs, Jake Westbrook, Carlos Beltran, Matt Carpenter, Kyle Lohse and manager Mike Matheny.

Former Cardinal Mark Whitten also will be honored. The writers will mark the 20-year anniversary of Whiten’s four-homer night in the second game of a twi-night doubleheader at Cincinnati on Sept. 9. 1993. He drove in 12 of the Cardinals’ 15 runs in that game and hit three of his homers from the sixth inning on.

Longtime St. Louis sportscaster Jay Randolph will be honored for meritorious service. John Rooney will be the master of ceremonies for the dinner.

There is a two-tiered ticketing procedure. For $150 a ticket or $1,500 for a table of 10, customers will receive a ticket to dinner and one to the Cardinals’ Winter Warm-Up to be held that same weekend.

A ticket for the dinner only also is available for $125 or $1,250 for a table of 10.

Tickets can be obtained by sending a check or money order to St. Louis BBWAA, PO Box 605, St. Louis, Mo., 63188. A portion of the cost of the tickets may be tax-deductible.