Featuring a young and inexperienced team, Boulder City High School baseball will look to compete for a postseason berth this season.
“We are young and have a lot of work to do,” head coach Denny Crine said. “Our first goal is to make it to postseason, then see what happens.”
Returning only six players with varsity experience, senior Derek Render, a Utah Tech signee, will lead the Eagles, after establishing himself as a top two-way threat in the 3A classification.
“Derek is a great leader,” Crine said. “He comes to the field ready to work with a great attitude every day.”
The ace of the Eagles staff, Render compiled a 5-0 record last season with a 1.79 earned run average. At the plate, Render batted .307 with nine runs batted in.
This season, he’ll look to establish himself as the top player in the 3A classification.
“My No. 1 goal this year is to be MVP of 3A,” Render said. “I do feel like it is a realistic goal for me being a two-way player. It’s not going to be easy since there are some other really good players out there.”
Also returning will be seniors Landon Barker (25 hits, 12 RBIs, one victory) and Ian Aldridge (two hits, two RBIs), juniors Steven Uszynsk (six hits, 10 RBIs), Gavin Flake (three hits, five RBIs) and Sam Bonar (two hits, three RBIs).
Relying on incoming talent to fill gaps, Render and Baker will be joined by sophomores Ethan Wagstaff and Michael Plowman in the pitching rotation.
At the plate, Render and Baker will be joined by Wagstaff and sophomore Jaxton Sanchez, who are both expected to be key contributors.
Sophomores Aiden Armstrong, Logan Borg, Karter Law, Cameron Matthews and Frank Osterhoudt will all fight for playing time, along with freshman Konner Boyle and Cash Daley.
Looking to challenge themselves out of the gate, the Eagles will play in the Blazer Bash tournament, starting off against 5A Las Vegas on Monday.
“The expectation for us is to get jobs done in crucial situations to win ballgames,” Render said. “With us being young, I feel that it’s very understood that we aren’t going to overpower every single team, but it’s up to us to just do the little things right to come out on top.”
Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.