John Raffel
Sports Scene
Hemlock’s softball and baseball teams have both posted memorable seasons so far this year.
Softball coach Scott Hegenauer’s team is 19-8 after its first 27 games and, in the TVC West, 11-1.
Hs offense is having a huge season with Alexis Evans, at .461 and 34 RBIs. Sydney Chamberlain and Natalie Hoffman are both at .417 with 11 and 17 RBIs respectively. Caitlin Boehler is at .375, Courtney Boehler at .354. Rachel Tallon and Samantha Krauss are both at .342 with 25 and 27 RBIs respectively. Caitlin Boehler had 19 RBIs and Courtney had 18. Morgan Mulvaney is batting .338 with 11 RBIs.
The pitching is led by Evans, who is 11-3 with a 1.9 ERA.
“Pitching and hitting has been the top thing,” Hegenauer said, adding that Evans “is a hard worker. She’s going on to Rochester University to play. She plays through her pitches very well and has a wonderful changeup.”
Hegenauer likes the team’s prospects for the rest of the season.
“We’re confident going into districts,” he said. “We hope to compete in regionals.”
Tony Escamilla is the Hemlock baseball coach. His team is 18-7 after its first 25 games.
“It hasn’t been too bad,” he said. “We’re pitching like we wanted to. We focused on that big this year, starting in January. Defense, we talk about catching the ball and making the plays. Third, it’s hitting. We’re hitting the ball well.”
Top pitchers include Gabe Kanouse, Brandon Bakos, Ryan Bray and Jacob Beckrow.
Kanouse, “is starting to get his curve over,” Escamilla said. He definitely was a power pitcher. He’s hitting spots and getting his curve over. We want to hit spots with all of our pitchers.”
Beckrow is healthier this season.
“He’s working hard this year and doing all of the things I’m asking,” said Escamilla. “Another thing with him his location. We’re not just throwing, we’re pitching.”
Bray is also giving his team a variety of talents.
“He’s closing games up for us right now,” Escamilla said. “It’s nice having a kid like him come in and close up games when we have to. Early in the year, I didn’t want these guys to throw too many pitches.”
Escamilla calls Bakos a finesse pitcher. “He’s solid. He’s not overpowering with the fastball but has a nice offspeed working for him. He hits his spots.”