BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

The persistence of Tony Moore paid off. 

Hoisington's 3A all-stater Moore was a baseball player without a college until he talked his way into a walk-on spot at Fort Hays State.

The rest is history. 

Moore's work ethic and attention to detail vaulted him from the bottom of the roster into a starting spot at Fort Hays where he batted .347. He enjoyed a career best 5-for-5 game with four RBI against Northeastern State, Okla.

"I worked up the ranks. I treated every day like it was my last day," he said. "I want to keep making something out of it." 

Multi-sport athlete Moore led the Cardinals to the 3A state football championship and earned two pitching wins en route to the 3A state baseball tournament at Manhattan.

Moore has continued his comeback story with the Great Bend Bat Cats summer baseball team. He enjoyed a career-best five RBI against Newton and has delivered back-to-back games with home runs.

"My first home run I got a fastball on a 3-1 count" he said. "I knew I had to hit something to the outfield to get a runner home from third base. I hit it good enough to get it out."

Moore likes to face pitchers he's seen.

"It depends on what you know about the pitcher," he said. "If I see a fastball first pitch, I'll swing away. I hunt pitches outside and like to hit to the right-field gap when I can. The past few games have been helpful." 

At Fort Hays, the Tigers had scouting reports on league pitchers.

"At Fort Hays, we'll have specs on a starting pitcher, what they throw and their velocity," he said. "That helps. The summer is difficult because you're walking in blind. I treat my first at-bats to see as many pitches to see what they've got."

Moore said the quality of MIAA pitching gets an edge over summer pitchers.

" Pitching is pretty comparable," Moore said. "MIAA pitchers throw harder with more run than some summer pitchers. The MIAA pitchers have better change-ups, curves and sliders compared to most Jayhawk pitchers."

Moore said he works on trying to improve all phases of his all-around game.

"I'm trying to bunt for hits and I'll keep working on power," he said. "I'm working on my arm strength. Defensively, it's taken time adjusting to dirt infields after playing mostly on turf in the spring."

Moore said he appreciates the offer from Bat Cats coach Roger Ward. 

"It's fun to play with the Bat Cats," he said. "We're driven to play winning baseball. We have faith in each other. We're pretty dangerous at the plate with no soft spots. But we'll continue to see good pitching this summer."