1. Who was the season MVP?
As cliché as it sounds, we really didn’t have an offensive MVP this season. We were fortunate to be able to run out a competitive lineup 1-9 and different guys found a way to set up when we needed them too. I am proud of our groups ability to battle through personal adversity and find a way to help our team win.
2. Who was your team Cy Young?
Zack Simon was absolutely our Cy Young winner this year. Statistics aside, Zack found a way to take the mound each weekend with an unrivaled competitive mindset and handled himself incredibly. We look forward to his continued growth as one of the anchors of our pitching staff.
3. Any freshman or sophomores that stepped up to contribute this year.
Top to bottom we have an incredibly young roster. We asked a lot of freshmen and sophomores to handle new responsibilities this season and they attacked the challenge head on:
Reese Fawley: Reese was one of our best competitors this season. He made the change to 2B and handled it really well. He made a great deal of growth offensively and had some of our biggest hits of the year.
Nate Martin: Nate was a steady arm in our rotation all year. Having thrown less than 10 innings in our COVID shortened 2020 season, Nate was essentially a true freshman in our rotation. He maintained great mound presence and competitive mindset all season and he has a great future ahead.
Aidan Bunn: Aidan stepped up at several different times this season. He made key starts at 3B, 2B, and SS and filled in incredibly well. He will play a huge impact moving forward in our program.
Kyle Clay: We lost Kyle to an injury mid-way through the conference slate, and at the time he had our best average. He grew a lot in his first season and we look forward to getting him back in the lineup in 2021.
Chris Grayson: Chris embraced a positional change to the outfield full time this season and really stepped up. He had a great season offensively and made huge strides defensively. We look forward to him developing more throughout his career.
4. Juniors and/or seniors who stepped into leadership roles and had an impact on the team.
All our seniors have played a key role in building upon the foundation of our program. Justin Tow, Nate Cantonwine, Jacob Asa, Cole Foley, Jackson Arnsdorf, and Jimmy McGovern all played a role and we can not thank them enough for their commitment to Warrior Baseball.
5. What were some key moments in the season for you and the team?
1) Our players did an outstanding job bouncing back after a rough start to this season. We were able to find our way offensively and continue to compete on the mound and that was a huge boost for us.
2) 10-Game win streak: When we needed a boost, our players found a way to get things done. A 10-game win streak propelled us into the conference tournament and it was a testament to our hard work throughout the season.
3) Conference Tournament: A 13-inning game against Oregon Tech to open the conference tournament was one of our best of the year. We got stellar pitching from Zack Simon, an incredible relief outing from Jacob Bowser, and some clutch hits from Dakota Fingar and Estenio Sede to put us in a position to make the NAIA Opening Round.
4) Opening Round: We clinched out first NAIA Opening Round in program history on 2021. We genuinely view this as the expectation for our program moving forward and are excited to get back to the Opening Round in 2022.
6. Your biggest take away from the 2021 season.
First and foremost, it was great to get back on the field following the COVID-19 Pandemic. We were blessed to be able to have a full season of baseball and are incredibly thankful of that. Also, we took away that this team achieved new heights that we are proud of. However, we still have plenty of room to grow in order to position ourselves to win and opening round and the NAIA World Series.
7. The outlook for the 2022 season.
We return 7 of the 9 starters in our lineup and the vast majority of our pitching staff. We are incredibly excited about our incoming recruiting class and we believe it will be one of our deepest in recent years. We are looking forward to a competitive fall season that helps develop our entire program and puts it in a position to win a CCC Championship and compete on the national level.