Warriors’ baseball team continues hot start
Friday, April 28, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Worthington Christian’s Connor Hendrickson pitches against Wellington April 26 at Berliner Field. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Things are set up for the Worthington Christian baseball team to put together the type of postseason run it hasn’t experienced since it last won a district championship 26 years ago.
In the meantime, the Warriors are doing their best not to think that far ahead.
There are only a handful of regular-season games remaining for Worthington Christian before it competes in its final postseason under coach Tim Kraynak, who was named the upper school principal last December and is planning to step down as coach at the end of this season.
“When I applied for the principal position, I knew it was going to be just too much to be a lead administrator and a varsity coach,” Kraynak said. “I’d seen people try to do it, and you can do both well but you can’t do either great. It wouldn’t be fair to divide my time between coaching a varsity sport and leading a school.
“I’ve coached some incredible kids. We’re in a really good spot with the program right now. There’s some really good young players coming up.”
Things look promising for the remainder of this season as well.
Worthington Christian defeated Hartley 4-0 on April 27 to improve to 15-2 overall, giving it three consecutive shutout wins.
With a 13-0 victory over Wellington on April 26, the Warriors improved to 8-1 in the MSL-Ohio Division in its final season in that league before beginning action in the Central Buckeye League a year from now.
The district tournament drawing is May 7, and Worthington Christian figures to be among the top three seeds in Division III.
Fredericktown, which was the No. 1-ranked team in the state poll released April 24, defeated the Warriors 6-5 in a district semifinal a year ago.
Worthington Christian, which finished 18-6 last season, was the No. 1 seed for the 2021 district tournament but lost 1-0 to sixth-seeded Amanda-Clearcreek in a district semifinal to finish 21-3.
Under Kraynak, the Warriors earned district runner-up finishes in 2007, 2008 and 2013.
“We lost in district semis my sophomore and junior years,” senior catcher David Murawski said. “Now we all have the experience we need. Competing in big games was something we were lacking in, just having that composure. Also I feel like we’ve been peaking in the regular season, and this year it feels like we’re trending upwards.”
Murawski, a Delaware resident who has committed to Saginaw Valley State, has developed a bond with senior pitcher Connor Hendrickson that has proven beneficial to the Warriors’ success.
“We’ve been playing travel ball together for a while,” Murawski said. “We’re pretty much on the same page. We call our own games. It’s cool because we’ve known each other since middle school.”
Hendrickson, who has committed to play for Wilmington, is 4-0 with 65 strikeouts and a 0.64 ERA in 32 2/3 innings and also is hitting .370 with 17 RBI.
Murawski is one of the team’s leaders in average at .421.
“I’ve been the No. 1 pitcher the last couple years, but in (this year’s) offseason, I took a jump in my offseason workouts and it’s really helped me out,” said Hendrickson, who is a Westerville resident.
Worthington Christian shortstop Hobie Raikes bunts during the Warriors’ game against Wellington at Berliner Field on April 26. Photo: Kevin Rouch
The left side of the infield, which features junior Hobie Raikes at shortstop and junior Sam Blank at third base, has been another source of strength.
Raikes is batting .446 with two home runs and 22 RBI and Blank hits .375.
Blank also serves as the No. 2 pitcher and is 6-1 with a 2.55 ERA.
Senior center fielder Ethan Albert, who will play football for Ohio Dominican, is hitting .362 and also is 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA on the mound.
Senior Brandon Hale (2B/P) and sophomores Jameson Colley (LF) and Hunter Doran (1B/P) also have filled key roles.
“You get guys who have been around each other for a while and things start clicking,” said Raikes, a Westerville resident. “Guys get a lot better in the offseason and we’ve got guys who collect hits at the top of the order. One through nine, we’re getting runs in, and that’s something we’ve never really had. Having five or six pitchers is really helping us, but we know we’re going to compete ever single time (Hendrickson) is on the mound. With the leadership we have, I think we can make a big run in the tournament.”
Worthington Christian endured a setback when freshman second baseman Austin Wrobbel went down with a knee injury that likely will have him out until late May or for the remainder of the season.
Hale has moved from the outfield to fill his spot when he’s not pitching.
“Ethan Albert is kind of the engine,” Kraynak said. “Sam Blank has really been one of our key guys. He’s a vocal leader and an extremely intelligent kid. The depth of our pitching staff is incredible. That’s another reason for our success. There’s a lot of parity in Division III, but with the depth of our pitching staff, this might be a year we can get over that hump.
“We’ve been right on the doorstep in the district tournament the last couple years. We’re right there and we’ve got an experienced team, a team that’s been here before, and they kind of know what to expect and have an expectation themselves of what they want to do. This group has put in a lot of work.”