GRANGER — With a solid core of talented depth returning, Woodward-Granger baseball head coach Eric Evans will send his Hawks onto the field with as much — if not more — varsity experience than most of the teams they will face.
Key for W-G will be the strength of the squad — a pitching staff led by four juniors who made life difficult for the opposition last summer. W-G was 19-10 overall and 13-5 in WCAC play, with the four key throwers a combined 15-4 with five saves.
Jay Dorenkamp was 7-0 with a save in 36-2/3 innings of work. He posted a sparkling ERA of only 0.57, striking out 39, issuing only 14 walks and allowing opponents to hit just .121.
Brandon Worley faced some of the stiffer foes, ending up 4-4 in 43-1/3 frames with a 2.24 ERA. He fanned 32, walked only four and yielded an opposing batting average of .227.
Foes hit .153 off Caden Easter, who was 4-0 with a 2.0 ERA in 21 innings. Easter struck out 25 and walked 12.
Alex Bice saw limited reserve action from the bullpen but will see some starting duties this season. Bice threw 12 innings in eight appearances. He notched four saves with a 0.58 ERA.
W-G hit .259 as a team last year, rapping 30 doubles, seven triples and two home runs. They outscored their foes 168-78, were safe on 130-of-141 stolen base attempts and had 37 sacrifices. The team struck out 152 times while drawing 129 walks.
Among the returning offensive leaders is Reese Jamison, who hit .338 and led the team with 25 RBIs. He scored 23 runs, swiped 24-of-29 bases and struck out just seven times while walking 15 times.
Bryce Achenbach (.295 BA) also scored 23 runs while driving in 14 and stealing 21-of-24, with Joe Rhodes (.264) scoring 15 runs with 11 RBIs to his credit.
W-G opens play Tuesday at Panorama, with Webster City to visit Granger Wednesday while Earlham comes to Hawk Field for a varsity doubleheader Thursday.
