The Montezuma baseball team has been flirting with a .500 season record – the kind of squad that usually gets a “dangerous” label as it floats into post-season play.
The Braves closed their regular season at 5-6 with their 19-5 win at English Valleys on Tuesday, July 7.
Montezuma will be at home for first round play in the Class 1A district, hosting Sigourney at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 11.
Braves Coach Josh Anderson told KGRN’s Chris Varney it was against this same Sigourney team “that we started to drive the ball.”
They’ve shown occasional power since, including in their regular season finale at English Valleys, when first baseman Cam Johnson launched two homers and drove in six runs.
Connor Van Zee has provided much of the punch on offense. He entered the final with 13 hits and a .405 batting average.
Van Zee had driven in 11 runs, with three doubles, a triple and a home run.
The Braves have ridden the arms of primarily three pitchers: Cole Watts, Eddie Burgess and freshman Owen Cook.
Watts has three wins and a 4.30 earned run averge over 14 and two-thirds innings.
Burgess has a 4.50 ERA, over 23 and one-third frames, with 28 strikeouts.
Cook, “has baseball savvy,” Anderson said.
The team’s two seniors, Brayden Arendt and Preston Hirsch can pitch, too.
“Brayden can play any position in the infield, outfield too,” said the coach.
“Preston is a steady rightfielder for us and has made some spectacular plays,” Anderson said.
Defensively, “we’re not the best team out there, but if we do the little things, we’re OK,” said the coach. “We make our adjustments between innings and take it one pitch at a time.”
The coach said beating BGM “was a big one for us.” He said that win helped bolster Montezuma’s confidence.
So now, it’s on to the tournament in this COVID-19 season – one pitch at a time.
NOTE: Should the Braves beat Sigourney, Montezuma also would be at home in the second round.
Braves stat leaders
Hits: Connor Van Zee 13, Eddie Burgess 12, Brayden Arendt 11, Cam Johnson 11, Kodie Strong 10, Cole Watts 10, Owen Cook 10, Joey Kercheval 9.
Runs – Burgess 15, Cook 12, Wattts 11, Arendt 10, Kercheval 9, K. Strong 9, Johnson 8, Preston Hirsch 7.
Doubles – Cook 5, Burgess 4, Arendt 4, Johnson 4, Van Zee 3, Watts 3.
Triples – Watts 2
Home runs – Burgess 2, Johnson 2.
Batting average (min. 30 at bats) – Van Zee .361, Johnson .344, Strong .333, Watts .323, Arendt .314, Burgess .308, Kercheval .300, Cook .278.
Runs batted in – Johnson 13, Van Zee 12, Cook 9, Burgess 8, Strong 7.
Stolen bases – Watts 11, Arendt 7, Burgess 6, Strong 4, Van Zee 4, Cook 4.
Fielding percentage (min. 35 chances) – Johnson 1.000, Burgess .971, Van Zee .941.
Pitching
Innings pitched – Burgess 23.1, Cook 20.2, Watts 14.2
Earned run average – Watts 4.30, Burgess 4.50, Cook 5.42
Strikeouts – Burgess 28, Watts 16, Cook 13.