The Washburn Beavers baseball team is hoping to improve on last year’s near playoff miss, and so far, so good for coach Ben Goodwin’s squad. The team is off to a great start with an 8-1 record and Goodwin said the key to advancing into the post-season lies in both every game and every play.
“You never know who will pick up an extra couple of wins to help you in the standings,” he said. “The mental side of the game is a big key for us. Giving up an error to extend an inning and not picking each other up or even giving up a base could potentially lead to giving up a winning run.”
In leading the team in the right direction, seniors Keagan Page and Chandler Dobson have guided the young roster with their veteran experience, and hopefully have generated some interest with the underclassmen in the process.
“Our team is mostly made up of sophomores and juniors,” Goodwin said. “After that, the interest in baseball has fallen off in Washburn and [it] will be hard to field a team down the road.”
Filling out the roster are juniors Cameron Bragg, Michael Ericson, Noah Farley and Alex Pelletier; sophomores Noah Caron, Justin Davis, Carter Doak and Parker Thompson; and freshmen Kevin Jordan and Mccall Turner.
With this season being important for so many reasons, it’s critical that the Beavers play on their strengths and work together as a team to make this year as successful as can be, and hopefully reach the playoffs that barely eluded them just a season ago.
If they can continue to capitalize on key plays and win the close games, Goodwin said a playoff run is a strong possibility, and maybe even a run at the championship.
