The faces and names have changed this spring on the Kentwood High baseball diamond.
The optimism, well, that has remained largely the same.
Kentwood won its first Class 4A state title last season since 2000. And though the Conquerors graduated 11 seniors, including their top pitcher and South Puget Sound League North Division MVP Austin Voth and a slew of sluggers, they expect a repeat.
Who’s going to win this year’s state title?
“Kentwood. No doubt,” said 6-foot-6 Washington State University-bound ace Avery Kain. “You’ve got to come in being positive. Granted, the other teams are great, but that’s what we’re going for.”
No Class 4A team has ever won back-to-back state championships. Until last year, the Conquerors hadn’t won a title since 2000. Yet, taking aim on a state title isn’t about being cocky or arrogant for this bunch, but rather about setting high goals and working to maintain those standards.
“Winning a state title is always the goal,” said Kentwood coach Jon Aarstad. “We’re not going to set our goals short. But everybody on this team knows that we’re not good enough to repeat right now.”
Indeed. But the Conquerors have the pieces in place to make a run deep into May. In a preseason poll among SPSL North coaches, Kentwood was the unanimous favorite. The result may surprise some, especially considering the hit the team took from graduation.
A look out to the mound, however, and everything becomes clear. Pitching. In a program that has prided itself the last several years on having some of the best pitching in the league, this year’s staff may be the best.
“Overall, top to bottom, this staff is better than last year,” Aarstad said.
The Kentwood pitching staff posted a 2.20 ERA in league play last year and struck out more batters (136) than innings pitched (102). Those numbers don’t include the eight runs allowed in 28 innings of work the staff put together in four state victories, either.
And yet, this year’s staff is better?
“It’s incredible,” Kain said. “It’s like a community college staff we’ve got. It’s going to be a blast.”
That staff begins with Kain, but hardly ends with the tall righthander. Kain, who dials up his fastball between 84 and 87 miles per hour on a consistent basis and should go higher this spring, threw a complete-game, 2-hit shutout in Kentwood’s 8-0 victory over Richland in last year’s state championship. He will lead the Conk staff, but will not be overused, Aarstad stressed.
“We really won’t need to lean on him that much,” the coach said. “I think I could throw seven or eight guys out there who will be quality varsity pitchers. I don’t think we will hit like we did last year — we still have good hitters — but our pitching is going to lead the way.”
Behind Kain is senior lefthander Kyle Doyle, who posted a 1.47 ERA and struck out 25 batters in 19 innings pitched in league last year. And junior Taylor Jones, a 6-foot-6 righthander, is among the state’s top juniors to watch by northwestbaseball.com. Both Doyle and Jones can run their fastball up to the plate in the 85 to 88 MPH range.
The talent is there, but plenty of work remains, Aarstad noted.
“I see the potential that we have and I see the room for growth,” he said. “I see the kids coming in and being really hungry.”
