The AGWSR baseball team battled through an up-and-down season, but stacked up wins at the right time. At 7-19, the Cougars recorded nearly half of their wins in the season’s final week.
In a three-game win streak to end the regular season, the pitching staff led a stingy defensive effort. Head Coach Justin Kerns says seniors Landon Benning and Kaden Abbas did their part in the field and on the mound.
“Landon did all he could do for his teammates and he’s done that for years,” Kerns says. “That’s what he does, and he’s gonna give you his best every time he’s out there. I’m gonna miss him and Kaden moving on for next year. Spots to fill, guys to come in, you know, we’ll regroup and start again in November.”
Benning, the top starter in the rotation, recorded 45 strikeouts and a team-best 21 walks issued among regular starting pitchers during his senior year. Abbas batted a team-best .435 with a team-best 27 runs scored. Both earned first-team all-conference honors.
Kerns says the relatively strong finish has provided momentum for the offseason.
“It was an up and down season. You know, we battled. We had some injuries, we battled through it. I’m proud of the boys for digging back in towards the end of the season when it would have been easy to just give up. And they kept at it and they did what we asked them to. So, thankful for them. We’ll get back at it and build off it for next year.
The Cougars went 2-10 in conference play.
