WINSTED — The HLWW baseball team didn’t get much time on the diamond last spring to get acclimated under first-year head coach Tyler Maher; only three practices, specifically. So the goal early on this time around — even more so than winning — has been to build a solid foundation across the program.
“These guys are learning, they’re trusting our coaching staff and believing in what we’re telling them. I always say there’s more than one right way to do something, but we’re going to do it this way because it can work for us,” Maher said. “They’ve all bought in and you can start to see the results of that now.”
The Lakers went back over .500 with a solid 9-3 victory over Norwood Young America at home April 23, receiving contributions from a variety of players beyond the known quantities coming into the year. A five-run second inning busted the game open for HLWW, led by the middle of the batting order.
Trent Malone and Aidan Decker got the offense going with consecutive singles, then Mason Macziewski cashed in with an RBI double. Smart baserunning on a couple Raider errors added to the lead, as well as a Bennett Paulson RBI single and Malone coming back around for an RBI walk with the bases juiced.
The trio of Bennett Anderson, Bennett Paulson and Noah Bush at the top of the order has been strong all year, but the handful of Lakers following them came up huge Friday. The philosophy Maher teaches at the plate caters toward their strengths.
“We talk a lot about staying in it, good effort and keeping a good attitude when we’re at the plate,” he said. “What our middle of the lineup did was use the approach of ‘up the middle and backside’, and they know if a pitch comes inside they’ll be able to pull it. I thought they did a really good job of being patient tonight.”
Paulson was excellent on the mound, tossing five and one-third innings and allowing three earned runs, all well after HLWW had created a big cushion. The senior has given up just four earned runs in 12-plus innings this season, revealing some pitching depth Maher didn’t necessarily know they would have.
“Even in practice the first time throwing off the mound this year, I thought Bennett could be a number one on a lot of teams that I’ve seen,” Maher said. “When you can throw him in there and you know he’s going to battle and be around the zone throwing strikes, he’s going to give us a chance, and that’s what we ask our pitchers for.”
Bennett Anderson came in to finish off the last four outs, including the last out of the sixth with the bases loaded and a possible sway of momentum coming for Norwood Young America.
A lot of names were mentioned from this game, for good reason. Batters four through seven — Malone, Decker, Macziewski and Aiden Debner — combined to go 7-for-11 at the plate with four RBI. As Maher noted, the concept of hanging tough and giving everyone around them a chance was prevalent in the lineup and the pitching rotation. Now at 3-2 on the season, the winning is a byproduct of that mindset and new culture formation.
The Lakers roll into Annandale Tuesday for their next game.
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Follow Jared Martinson on Twitter: @JaredNHR