The most important games of the season may lie ahead, but varsity baseball coach likes where his team is positioned at the midway point of the Delphic League play.
The Wildcats improved to 4-0 and remained tied for first place in league after their 20-3 victory over Kilpatrick on Wednesday afternoon at . They are currently 8-9 overall, but that is more the result of a tough schedule than subpar performance on the field according to Powell.
"Our record doesn't indicate how good we are," said Powell who is in the midst of his seventh season at Windward. "We played a really tough tournament in St. Louis in late March-early April and lost all four games. We also lost to Sage Hill and New Roads, both very strong teams in their divisions."
The Wildcats have yet to be tested in league--outscoring their opposition 60-10. Only one of the team's four league games has gone beyond the fifth inning.
Despite losing several key players who have since graduated, the Wildcats still has a strong team. Gone is captain , a four-year starter and All-League and All-CIF catcher, but filling his shoes in the leadership role this season has been senior pitcher , also a four-year starter. The core, however, is a talented sophomore class led by pitcher and shortstop , who made All-League as a freshman.
"Tanner's been fantastic and has stepped up at catcher and done a great job," Powell said. "And I can't say enough about Michael [Huettner]. He and Tanner and ... they've all been solid."
Huettner and Savitsky led the way against the winless Mustangs on Wednesday. Huettner went four-for-four with four runs scored and two RBIs and Savitsky went 3-for-5 with three RBIs as Windward built a 13-2 lead by the middle of the third inning. added three hits, two runs and two RBIs and Lind-LeBuffe had two hits and two RBIs.
Savitsky also pitched the first three innings Wednesday, allowing two runs on two hits with four strikeouts before giving way to senior .
"We're a small ball type of team and our strength is our pitching," Powell said. "We're able to manufacture runs, we can score in a variety of ways and we like to put pressure on the other team to make plays."
The Wildcats finished second to Crossroads in league last year, but Crossroads was moved to the Alpha League this season and Brentwood was moved into the Delphic. The way things are shaping up, the league title could come down to the last week of the season when Windward and Brentwood play a home-and-home series May 10 and 13.
"The first game is here on Senior Day, so we'll be fired up," said Powell, whose team lost to Brentwood 7-4 in its season opener last spring. "They have a good record and those will be rivalry-type games."
Windward has made it to at least the second round of the Division 6 playoffs every year since 2005. The Wildcats were eliminated by Sage Hill 3-1 in the second round last spring and their coach has high expectations for this club.
"I'll be disappointed if we don't win league and make at least the third round of the playoffs," Powell said. "I think we have enough talent and ability to do that."
Windward travels to Pasadena for a league game at Marshall Fundamental on Thursday, then hosts the same Eagles squad Friday at 3:30 p.m. at Foley Field.
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