The Hampton-Dumont-CAL baseball team navigated a season of development with a 9-21 record.
The Bulldogs, after graduating three seniors including Joseph Huerta and all-conference honorees Cael Burmester and Brody Walton, will return 16 players next season.
Head Coach Matt Lokenvitz notes the call to action for returning players this offseason.
“We can’t just show up a year older, we’ve got to show up a year better, we’ve got to show up more developed,” says Lokenvitz. “We’ve got to get in the weight room. We’ve got to start learning the mental side of baseball a little bit. We’ve got to tweak some things in our approach at the plate and in the field and how we do things. It’s good to have kids come back because they are bigger and stronger. But you can’t just show up a year older. You’ve got to really put in the time and effort so that we’d show up a year better.”
The Bulldogs are projected to return the core of their pitching rotation, including Jaxson Moats, Dawson Wikert and Brody Robertson, who combined for 126 strikeouts in 2024 during their junior season.
Lokenvitz describes how the offseason program works for multi-sport players.
“We continue doing those things for those kids that aren’t involved with other sports in each season as we just piece it in. Here’s your weight program for that sport that you’re in and here’s what we’re trying to do as we’re moving forward. We work really well together and the kids, I think, appreciate us, not double dipping. They’re not having to do two sets of weight programs. They’re not trying to do all of this extra stuff. As long as we keep working with them, it’s all about, what’s best for the kids. That’s what we try to do.”
The Bulldogs finished fifth in the North Central Conference with a 4-10 record.
