During his 14 years at the helm of the Brandon varsity baseball program, Coach Ron Wagner has seen plenty of quality players represent the Blackhawks.
So, when he said this year’s Brandon team has ‘the best talent this program has ever had,? those words carry some weight.
Brandon is seeking improvement from a 2004 campaign when they went 19-15 (.559) before losing to eventual district champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s in district action.
The Blackhawks opened this season April 7 when they traveled to Kearsley. Their first home action is a April 14 doubleheader against Flint Powers at 4 p.m.
Brandon returns eight players from last year’s team, and Wagner said they should form a solid core to work with.
‘Our strengths are definitely hitting and speed,? he said. ‘Defensively, I think we’ll be real solid, and we should be real strong up the middle. There’s no doubt our main weakness will be pitching.?
The Blackhawks will have to adjust to life without Roy Reynolds, their number-one starter from last year who was lost to graduation. Last year, Reynolds started 12 games and pitched 79-2/3 innings. He went 8-5 with a 2.11 earned run average.
To rectify that situation, Wagner is turning to their top position player, senior Derek Foyt, as his number-one starting pitcher.
Last year, Foyt hit .410 and was named first team all-league, all-district, and all-academic district. He also logged 11 innings pitched for the Blackhawks.
‘Derek is definitely going to play college baseball somewhere,? Wagner said. ‘He hasn’t decided where he wants to play, but he has the talent to play baseball at the Division 1 level. He’ll have to be our shortstop and our number-one pitcher.?
Another player the Blackhawks will be counting on for some quality production is junior center fielder Andrew Harding, the team’s only left-handed player. Harding was second on the team to Foyt with a .393 batting average, and made second-team all-league and first team all-district.
Harding also led the team in runs scored (30), stolen bases (23) and tied for the team lead with 26 runs batted in. He was also recognized by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for notching 20 doubles last year (the MHSAA recognizes