(Westside) — Ar-We-Va baseball will open the postseason in opposition to a well-known foe on Saturday with the hopes of placing collectively its finest efficiency of the yr.
The Rockets (3-7 general, 3-5 Rolling Valley Convention) have received two of their final three video games, notching one-run wins over Glidden-Ralston and Exira-EHK. Ar-We-Va’s three wins are a two-victory uptick from final yr’s 1-15 mark and a three-win enchancment from their 0-15 2023 season.
“The document is best than it was final yr,” Ar-We-Va head coach Jake Danner tells KMA Sports activities. “However I nonetheless really feel we gave a few video games away. There are a handful of video games we have been aggressive in, however we let issues get away. We’re positively taking strides in the correct course. It is nearly getting over the hump.”
Coach Danner feels the important thing for his workforce has been meshing stellar pitching and hitting. When that is occurred is after they’ve been at their finest.
“A variety of occasions, when our pitching has been on, we’re gonna be aggressive,” Danner mentioned. “Offensively, we simply wrestle to get runs throughout within the essential factors. We get guys in scoring positions, however wrestle to get them throughout the plate. If we did {that a} couple extra occasions, I believe we might have come away with two or three extra wins this yr.”
Junior Wyatt Ragaller has led Ar-We-Va’s pitching workers with a 1.33 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 21 innings. Blayne Smith has thrown 17 1/3 innings with a 6.06 ERA and 10 strikeouts, whereas Johnathan Riesselman, Grant Wilken and Devon Ehlers have additionally seen time on the bump.
“We have now a few good pitchers that enable us to be aggressive in these video games,” Danner mentioned.
Offensively, Smith has been the highest bat with a .407/.529/.407 slash, whereas Riesselman, Ehlers, Ragallaer, Wilken, Derek Thomasen, Weston Toft, Wyatt Riesselman, Damon Thomsen and Colten Hinners have additionally been frequent contributors to the offense.
“I’ve tried dialing issues down,” Danner mentioned. “It is simply you versus the pitcher. We attempt to get the exterior elements out of our heads and do our job.”
The Rockets are a younger bunch with Smith being their solely senior.
“Blayne’s been round for 5 years,” Danner mentioned. “He is been a frontrunner for me and helped take initiative. We have now a very good group that must be returning subsequent yr. They perceive what my expectations are. I need to see one other leap. I need us to only maintain constructing.”
Ar-We-Va wraps up its common season this week with video games in opposition to Coon Rapids-Bayard (Tuesday) and Boyer Valley (Wednesday). The Rockets open their postseason Saturday in opposition to a CAM workforce that beat them 11-1 again on June sixth.
Danner hopes the issues he is harped on along with his workforce all yr will come to fruition on Saturday.
“They power you to make performs,” he mentioned. “Once we get guys on, we’d should play small ball and transfer runners round. I am not saying we’ve got to vary every thing, however we’ve got to take issues into our personal arms and attempt to get further bases. Each workforce’s going to hit the ball, so we’ve got to area the ball. We’re instilling in our guys what we have been doing since day one. We’ll go into Saturday night time with the mentality that we might be aggressive.”
Hear extra with Coach Danner beneath.
