www.SanTanSun.com Hamilton baseball battles back
Among the only six seniors are Nay, who has committed to ASU, and shortstop Trent Goodrich, who will head to Dartmouth to play his college ball. Add in Cody Lawson, Parker Gallegos, Garrett Enwiller and Brenden Woodard and the Huskies appear confident heading into the season. But things took a strange turn mid-
READY: Senior Trent Goodrich gets set at shortstop. STSN photo by Kevin Rolfe
BY KEVIN ROLFE Hamilton High School’s baseball
program has been one of the most successful programs in the state, having won three state championships and being runners-up three times since the school opened in 1998. After making it back to the championship game last season and losing to Mountain Pointe, the Huskies had big expectations for this season. “Our pitching is very good,” says
Coach Mike Woods, who has been at the helm of the Huskies from the beginning. “We’re solid and we’re deep. We have a good defense. We’re a championship- caliber team.” Leading the optimism coming into the 2012 season was the return of senior Mitch Nay, last year’s Fiesta Region Player of the Year and All-State infielder.
March. After winning their first four games, the Huskies lost five of their next eight. In four of those five losses, the Huskies lost by only one run. They dropped into a position in the state power rankings that jeopardized their chances to get into the state tournament. “Closing out games has been a challenge for us,” says Woods. “We’re not scoring as much, partly because of the new bats, but that’s affecting everyone.” The new regulations restrict the
previously unbridled power aluminum bats had over the past decade. The rules for high schools were changed for safety reasons. After a heartbreaking 9-8 loss to
rival Brophy April 10, the Huskies found themselves at 7-5 on the season. Then they went on a run. They shut out Chandler High 12-0. They edged rival Basha 6-5. They then rattled off three more wins, including a shutout of Mesquite at Chase Field. They moved up to number seven in the Power Rankings. That top-eight position is key for the Huskies as they approach the state tourney.
FIRE AWAY: Junior Sean Rackoski prepares to pitch. STSN photo by Kevin Rolfe
The top 24 teams in the Power Rankings make the state tournament. The top eight teams get an all-important first round bye. The other 16 start the tournament in a single-elimination format. Once those 16 get narrowed down to eight, it is a double elimination tournament for the title. Coach Woods will look to junior
Patrick Murphy to lead the pitching staff. Woods says Murphy has “one of the best arms in the Valley.” Junior first baseman Cody Bellinger
will also contribute, hitting .480 this season. Bellinger and junior Kyle Pechloff were part of the Chandler National Little League team that made it to Williamsport for the Little League World Series several years ago. For more on the Huskies run to the title, visit
www.mychandlerschools.org.
Kevin Rolfe, a fourth-grade teacher at Basha Elementary School, is a Chandler sports enthusiast who lives with his family in Traditions at Avalon.
Youth
May 5 – 18, 2012
27
Chandler teens make IMPACT
More than 150 graduating high school
seniors were honored recently by the Chandler Education Foundation for their work as IMPACT Chandler Scholars. The students, who enrolled in the ICS program as freshmen, have demonstrated academic excellence, exemplary attendance and have completed at least 100 community service hours. In addition to classes and extracurricular activities, the students have contributed to their community by organizing clothing drives, delivering sack lunches to the homeless, visiting the elderly in care homes and promoting awareness on issues such as human trafficking. Fifteen $1,000 competitive ICS
scholarships were awarded in the program’s inaugural year from a fund supported by community donations and several fundraising events held throughout the year, such as the Winner’s Choice Car Raffle. CEF hopes to increase the amount of scholarship money awarded in future years. For more information about the
IMPACT Chandler Scholars program or the Chandler Education Foundation, visit
www.ChandlerEdFoundation.org or contact Meg Gillett at 480-224-3031 or
gillett.meg@
chandler.k12.az.us.
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