WESTPHALIA  — Fatima freshman Tanner Huhn, 14, of Westphalia, will represent the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 29, the morning of Game 3 of the World Series, in this year’s Pitch, Hit, and Run competition.

Huhn said this is an exciting opportunity. “I plan to pursue a baseball career, at least into college, maybe D-1,” he said, adding he hopes the World Series involves the Dodgers or Phillies. “I’d love to see Los Angeles, but I also like Philadelphia.”

A utility player for the Jefferson City Arsenals travel baseball team the last four years, Huhn hit .373 (28-75) over the summer, with three home runs, a triple, 14 doubles, and 10 singles with 20 RBI in 30 games. He had an OBP of .453. Huhn also spent time pitching and playing other positions. “I play everywhere but first base,” he said.

Back in July, Huhn’s mother, Lori, received a text from a friend about the MLB Pitch, Hit, and Run competition regional at Tipton, and Tanner was very interested.

“We went over and signed him up that day,” Lori noted. “He did very well.”

Tanner works with a trainer once a week at Big Hitters in Columbia and with his father, Kenny, on the local diamond. Otherwise, he didn’t have much time to prepare before the competition.

Tanner won the regional on July 23 and, on Aug. 19, won the contest held at Busch Stadium, thus earning the right to represent the Cardinals.

Currently, he’s in fourth place with 1,700 points; he’s tied with the two competitors ahead of him on the list, and first place is only 20 points higher.

He scored the points for pitching (150/500) and running (600), and hitting (950/1,000).

He threw five balls at targets in the pitching portion, scoring points for each hit. In the hitting competition, he earned points based on where the ball landed.

In addition to winning the competition, Tanner found new friends, including one whose grandfather played for the Minnesota Twins. “He said he would try to get us box seats to the Cardinals game against the Mets,” Tanner noted.

By winning the competition at Busch Stadium, Tanner earned an all-expense-paid trip to Game 2 of the World Series, including a ticket for his mother, who will accompany him as a chaperone.

The pair will fly to the host city to watch Game 2 and, the following day, compete for the national Pitch, Hit, and Run title.

Tanner said he’s happy to be in a position to win the national title and looks forward to joining the Fatima Comets’ baseball team in the spring.