Division III Team Of The Week: Week 1 - Worthington Christian

April 4, 2023
Bruce Hefflinger
PBR Ohio Senior Writer

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Division III Team Of The Week: Week 1 - Worthington Christian

WORTHINGTON - Three close wins in Myrtle Beach against teams from Ohio helped Worthington Christian to four victories to start the season and with it the honor of being the Prep Baseball Report Division III Team of the Week.

“Pitching and timely defensive plays when we need them,” Worthington Christian coach Tim Kraynak said about what stood out during a trip south to start a season that began with an 18-0 blowout of Loris, S.C. The Warriors then posted a 5-3 victory over Summit Country Day before beating a pair of D-II schools, Hawken 13-12 and Tallmadge 6-5, to head back home at 4-0.

Connor Hendrickson fanned 13 on 92 pitches in a win over Country Day that featured a critical defensive play in the bottom of the sixth. A shot to the right-center gap turned into an 8-6-5 putout when Ethan Albert fired the ball to Hobie Raikes and the football quarterback showed off his arm with a strike to third baseman Sam Blank preventing a triple for the first out of the inning.

“Connor was right around 84 pitches and may not have stayed in the game if not for that play,” the 20th-year Worthington Christian head coach related. “After that he got a strikeout and pop out. To me, that was the game.”

Blank had a big week for the Warriors, with the junior starting on the mound and picking up the victory against Loris, before coming on with the bases loaded and two outs against Hawken to induce a ground out in earning a save. Blank also recorded a win with 2.1 innings of relief versus Tallmadge

“He’s really grown from last year to this year,” Kraynak said of the eight-hole hitter on the team.

The Worthington Christian mentor also credited the lower part of the lineup for making an impact.

“A pleasant surprise was that the bottom of the order carried us,” Kraynak pointed out. “The top of our order is stacked, but struggled a little. Fortunately the bottom has been able to carry us the last three games.”

Jameson Colley was the top hitter at Myrtle Beach with a .570 average batting fifth, while freshman Austin Wrobbel hit better than .400 out of the nine-hole.

“Jameson is a special kid,” Kraynak said of the sophomore who a few years back was diagnosed with leukemia and played no sports for two years. “Baseball is his love. Last year he was cleared to play. He was on heavy medication and lost 30 pounds.”

After appearing in a handful of games a season ago, Colley is now starting in left field.

“He’s really committed himself to the game,” Kraynak said.

The mentor also expressed his pleasure with the pitching of Albert and Hendrickson. A senior center fielder, Albert struck out 11 in 4.1 innings on the mound against Hawken.

“He’s a flat out grinder,” Kraynak said of Albert, an Ohio Dominican football recruit. “If you have nine of him you win state.”

Hendrickson, a Wilmington commit, followed up his win over Country Day with a 14-strikeout performance on Monday in a 5-1 victory over Bexley.

“He has dominant stuff for D-III,” Kraynak related. “He has a three-pitch mix that when he’s on is tough to hit. Twenty-seven Ks in his first two outings is impressive.”

In addition to the big defensive gem versus Country Day, Kraynak pointed to two other players who stood out.

“A guy everyone loves is David Murawski,” Kraynak said of the 16th-rated senior catcher in Ohio who committed to Saginaw Valley State who was second-team all-state a year ago. “He’s caught every game for us and while offensively his tank was running low, he did an exceptional job behind the plate.

“Hobie Raikes is another that was big,” Kraynak added. “He’s not really a shortstop but we had to put him there last year after an injury. He made two plays late in games to close things out that he wouldn’t have made last year.”

Game two with Bexley is slated tonight when Worthington Christian faces one of the top arms in the area in Jonathan Spiess, a Marshall signee who no-hit the Warriors a year ago. Grandview on Wednesday and Franklin Heights a night later closes out the week.

“We have 19 guys in our program so we have to stay healthy,” Kraynak concluded. “We’re one injury away from two or three guys playing out of position.

“If we continue to pitch well and play good defense, those two things are the cornerstone for us. Once we get our bats rolling we can compete with anyone in our division.”