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Baseball: Adjustment period: Hawks acclimating to district's elite pitching
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
After being stifled by the arm of Coppell's Jake Elliot in a district-opening 5-1 loss, Hebron's baseball team improved to .500 in 5-5A Friday by earning a 6-4 win against Denton Ryan.
Travis Stone led the Hawks in multiple facets, picking up the win on the mound while also contributing a home run at the plate.
Stone is joined by Matt Delavar to form a versatile 1-2 starting pitching combination for Hebron.
"Our top guys won a majority of games in non-district," said Steve Stone, Hebron head coach. "Travis and Matt really bring different styles. Matt is a big guy who throws hard and has a nice slider and changeup. Travis comes from 4 o'clock and is a sidearm guy with good off-speed stuff. And Jimmy has some velocity too and is just a real strike thrower."
Stone has also been pleased with Hebron's play behind their staff.
"It's been good for the most part," Stone said. "
Fielders include Brandon Norris at catcher, Delavar and Todd Wurzbach at first, Stone at shortstop and Gallarda at third. At second, Ross and Josh Abalos are competing for time.
"Whoever isn't at first is usually at DH," Stone said. "At second, Drew brings a little more power but Josh is a really heady player with a good IQ and strong defensive skills. Travis brings a lot of range to short and has a good arm. Gallardo is just steady at third with a good arm too."
While Stone is on the mound, Drew Roth takes over at short.
Around the outfield are Blake West in left field, Michael Kister in center and Christian Valderrama in right. Kister was at Hebron as a freshman before transferring to Aubrey for his sophomore and junior campaigns but is now back.
"He can really go get it out there," Stone said. "And he's been swinging the bat as well as anyone. He has a lot of power to the gaps. Blake does a good job defensively and got to play some last year on varsity as well and Christian plays great defense as well."
While the Hawks have been consistent in the field, that hasn't necessarily been the case at the plate.
"It's been pretty spotty," Stone said. "We've had our moments, but coming into district, we weren't really seeing a ton of good pitching. We were playing good teams, but the game against Coppell was the first time we really faced a standout pitcher and it took a little while to adjust."
Kester, Gallardo and Stone have been hitting well for the Hawks.
"We've had success up-and-down the lineup," Stone added. "We have a chance to score every inning and have sort of been passing the baton from game-to-game. It's a shared responsibility on offense and we don't really lean on one or two guys."
If Hebron gets on base more frequently, they will benefit from their speed.
"We've really preached a lot about being aggressive and manufacturing runs," Stone said. "Not just stealing bases, but taking extra bases when we can."
If Hebron can mix in offensive consistency with its pitching depth and fielding ability, the Hawks are hopeful to be a playoff representative from 5-5A.
"The ultimate goal is to make the playoffs," Stone said. "It's going to be tough, no doubt. We're preaching worrying about ourselves and if we are consistent and take care of business, we'll be where we want to be."
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