2024年5月3日
Article from The Dispatch/The Rock Island Argus/Quad-City Times –
大学棒球:
年轻的BHC勇士队打出了40胜的赛季
By
箭头联盟的冠军.
A 40-win season that has led to a national ranking.
享受新设备带来的舒适.
It has been a memorable season so far for the Black Hawk College baseball team that has checked off those accomplishments during the 2024 campaign.
Making it even more satisfying is that the expectations were somewhat tempered for the young Braves this season.
“The odds have been stacked against them being a young group,” BHC coach Josh Keim admitted.
The Braves have only seven sophomores on the 31-man roster, but Keim points to three of those upperclassmen for being key cornerstones of the program that has rolled to a 40-12 record, won the Arrowhead Conference title with a 17-3 record and achieved a No. 18 .全国排名.
根据教练的说法, pitchers Payton Barton (Alleman High School) and Quinn Hoftender (Orion) along with center fielder Thomas DeBrower, 从St转车. Ambrose University, have been instrumental in getting the Braves to where they are.
“We have a core of really strong leaders on this club,凯姆说。, 背出这三个杰出人物. “Those guys just live our standard ‘The Brave Way.他们会这么做, 他们相信它, they believe in our system and they hold the guys around them to that standard at all times.”
Barton and Hoftender are in their second seasons with the Braves, 和DeBrower, 安克尼的居民, 爱荷华州, 这是他在BHC的第一个赛季.
“To sum up our team outside of having great leadership would be to say that we’re really young,凯姆承认.
Which is usually the case at the junior college level where turnover is expected. Despite that, Keim has found a recipe that works. The former Braves player from Rock Island, in his fourth season at the helm, already has amassed a .胜率(156胜59负).
He has utilized his baseball connections to find some quality recruits — both in and around the Quad-Cities as well as nationally and even internationally to build a solid roster.
“当我把这些孩子带进来的时候, it’s not about finding the most talented or best players,凯姆承认. “It’s more about finding the right guys that fit the mold of what we do.
“These guys have shown that they are all in on what we do.”
And Keim has not been shy to give guys opportunities. 他承认，就像大多数团队一样, he has his core group of players who are in the lineup on almost a daily basis. But others have seized their chances to make an impact.
Keim’s core lineup is comprised of center fielder DeBrower, 让·科尔特斯(新生游击手, 波多黎各), 马特·马特奥(二年级外野手), 佛罗里达), Colton Musgrave (freshman first baseman/outfielder/DH, Tuscola, 伊利诺斯州), 埃尔默·菲格罗亚(新生一垒手/DH, 佛罗里达), 艾德里安·塞尔斯(二年级捕手), 佛罗里达) and Jorge Nieves (freshman catcher/outfielder/DH, 波多黎各).
“Those guys are typically in the lineup more times than not,凯姆说。.
But the Braves’ success hasn’t been limited to them.
“We have really pitched it well this year,” the coach said. “This is the best defense that I’ve had in my four years here, and we’re really strong up the middle of the field, 这通常很有帮助.
“We’ve also been able to have some timely hitting and really good situational hitting and a great two-strike approach that has helped us extend some big innings and put pressure on opposing teams, 我们一直都这么做.”
BHC拥有 .315 team batting average that ranks sixth among NJCAA Division II region competition and is third in stolen bases with 96 (while being caught only 18 times). The Braves rank 10th in runs but have made that work thanks to a pitching staff that carries a solid 4.平均自责分20 + 1.45 WHIP and a defense that has committed less than an error a game.
It has all added up to a solid regular season that comes to a close with Saturday’s home doubleheader against region rival Elgin. The Braves are scheduled to open sectional play the following weekend — potentially hosting a three-team gathering at home in their new facility — as they hope to add even more accomplishments to a fantastic 2024 season.