JEROMESVILLE — Ty Williams may not recognize many of the faces surrounding him in the Hillsdale dugout this spring, but the senior and four-year letterman has been impressed with what he has seen nevertheless.
The lone holdover from the 2019 Division IV state runner-up team, Williams is the undisputed leader of the otherwise inexperienced Falcons. The Hillsdale College football recruit has led the charge as the new generation has stormed to an 8-1 start through the first two weeks of the season.
“I was expecting to be pretty good, but we just need to work on our consistentcy,” said Williams, who is hitting .543 with six doubles, four home runs and 15 runs batted in through the first third of the season. “We’ve obviously had some young guys step up and they are playing really well.”
Williams has had plenty of help at the plate. Junior Mark Abel is hitting a team-high .568 and has knocked in 12 runs, while fellow junior Caden Fickes leads the way with 17 RBIs. Sophomore Nick Kandel is batting .474 while classmate Jake Hoverstock is hitting .435 despite suffering a facial injury in the preseason. Junior Ethan Goodwin is batting .433.
As a team, the Falcons are hitting .401.
“We’ve got a lot of inexperienced guys playing, but we’re hitting the ball well,” Hillsdale coach Jason Snow said. “This group battles. As long as we throw strikes and make plays, we’ll be OK.”
The Falcons have five pitchers who have thrown eight or more innings this season. Abel leads the way with a 2-0 record and a 0.95 earned run average in 14.2 innings of work. The right-hander has struck out 14 and has recorded the pitching staff’s lone save in a team-high six appearances.
Hillsdale’s biggest weakness thus far has been on defense. The Falcons have committed 20 errors in nine games, but have helped neutralize the miscues with eight double plays.
Hillsdale will play Norwayne in a home-and-home Wayne County Athletic League series this week. The Bobcats are tied with Waynedale atop the WCAL standings at 4-0. Hillsdale and Dalton are a game back after splitting a pair of games last week.
The loss of last season to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic set Hillsdale back — as it did every other team in the state — but the Falcons are making up for lost time.
“I thought we were going to be pretty good last year with a lot of guys coming back from that state runner-up team,” Williams said. “The other thing is a lot of these new guys were going to get a a chance to pitch a lot and get a lot of experience.
“I definitely think we can be a factor in the Wayne County League, but we’ve got to prove it week-in and week-out. That is the goal moving forward.”
