The Hopkins men’s baseball team continued its steadily successful season over the last 10 games, earning a record of 8-2. The Jays continued to strengthen their position among the Centennial Conference’s top teams through the dominance of its offense, averaging over 10 runs per game during those victories.
Senior outfielder Craig Hoelzer played a crucial part in this offensive outburst, swinging a hot bat over this period to the tune of a .487 average. He also accounted for a triple, three doubles, 14 runs batted in and six walks over this 10 game sample.
These impressive numbers are not a departure from the norm for Hoelzer since he has been the team leader in batting average for the past two seasons (last year with a .416 mark and this year at .410). He also sits atop the conference leaderboard in RBIs. Our Athlete of the Week sat down with The News-Letter to answer a few questions about his performance and the team’s outlook going forward.
The News-Letter: You had a great past week at the plate, batting around 100 points above your season average. What type of preparations have you been making before your games lately to elicit such good performances at the plate and to stay in the zone?
Craig Hoelzer: I think the key for me has been keeping the same outlook and confidence no matter what happens. This has helped me balance out the highs and lows and stay focused throughout the season.
N-L: What have you been working on this season with your hitting? What do you think you improved on the most, and what do you think you still need to improve?
CH: I have been trying to not drift forward when I swing, which is difficult, but I’ve been getting better at it. Hopefully I can keep getting better and hit a lot of extra base hits in the end of the season.
N-L: What have been your personal high and low on the season thus far?
CH: The win against Dickinson (College) was awesome. We were at a point in the season where we didn’t really know what we were yet and showed that we can come back from a substantial deficit late in games. A low was probably losing to Gettysburg (College) on a walkoff, but it was nice to see how we bounced back the next day and won against Alvernia (University).
N-L: As a senior, this obviously is your last run at a Centennial Conference title. What do you see as a key for the team going forward to capitalize on a good season thus far?
CH: The key is going to be keeping an even keel and capitalizing on opportunities. As long as each player continues to stay within himself and not try to do too much, our camaraderie and ability should help us win.
Hoelzer and the rest of the Jays will look to continue their winning ways in their final four regular season games (all at home). The Centennial Conference Playoffs start April 30. The Jays will likely need to win out to get the No. 1 seed to host because second-place Franklin and Marshall College owns the tie-breaker.
