(Avoca) — AHSTW baseball is off to a strong start at the perfect time.
The Vikings enter Class 1A District 4 play at 9-14, but are trending in the right direction with four wins in their last six games.
“I feel like we’ve made some progress in the second half of the year,” AHSTW head coach Trey Briggs told KMA Sports. “Our hitting has been better and our defense has been on a roll lately, so that’s really helped us.”
AHSTW started the year with a win over Stanton but then lost eight straight games before winning three of five games, highlighted by an upset win over Traynor on June 13. Since then, they are 6-4 overall and 5-11 in the Western Iowa Conference.
“We dug ourselves a pretty big hole in the first 10 games,” Brix said. “We were in every game and then we had some bad innings. Playing good defense and doing the little things right allowed us to have success and be in games. That was the biggest thing. It took time. We had to replace some guys and put them in positions they’d never played before.”
Moving Caleb Hatch to shortstop was one position change that helped the Vikings defense.
“He’d never played the infield before,” Briggs said. “We moved him to shortstop and good things started happening. When you have success defensively, that translates to pitching and offense, and it just took off from there.”
In retrospect, the Vikings’ early season struggles helped shape their character.
“We had several conversations about continuing to compete,” Brix said, “and one night we said there were two paths we could take: lay down and die or find a way to get better. That resonated with us, and the kids found ways to get better every night.”
Hatch (.333/.427/.556, 7 RBIs) and Nick Denning (.339/.519/.482, 4 RBIs) are the driving forces behind the Vikings’ offense. The duo have been active on the bases, stealing 19 and 26 bases respectively this season.
“We’re going to match those two guys,” Briggs said. “Maybe I put too much pressure on them at times. They’re fast and they wreak havoc on us when they get on base.”
Braden Finelan, Aiden Akers, Kayden Jorgenson, Ty Nelson, Chase Wheatley and Charlie Lane also contributed to AHSTW’s offense.
The Vikings have a team ERA of 2.30. Ackers (43 2/3 innings, 1.28 ERA, 42 strikeouts), Denning (36 innings, 1.36 ERA, 36 strikeouts), Jorgenson (21 innings, 2.00 ERA, 22 strikeouts) and Lane (15 1/3 innings, 3.20 ERA, 13 strikeouts) lead the starting pitching staff.
“Aiden Akers and Nick Denning have been our go-to guys,” Coach Briggs said. “They throw a lot of strikes and give us a chance. Even when we’re losing, they’ve been pitching well. They’ve been solid for us.”
AHSTW opens the postseason on Saturday against Coon Rapids-Bayard. The Crusaders (18-11) were the reigning Rolling Valley Conference champions under legendary head coach John Waddle.
“Any time we go to Coon Rapids and play Coach Waddle, they’re well prepared and have good fundamentals,” Brix said. “We’ve got to play solid defense and throw strikes. We’ll probably be facing (Colby) Culbertson or (Cal) Hayden, both of whom are good pitchers. We’ve got to get them to hit the ball, get guys moving and score runs.”
To listen to the full interview with Coach Briggs, click below:
