Brad Wolf, an assistant coach for the high school team who is taking over the top Legion baseball team in Brush this summer, has one main goal for his team this summer.
Coming off an 8-12 season in the spring, the Beetdiggers are hoping to find more consistency and to compete at a high level every time they step on the field, according to Wolf.
“We need to never quit. That is the main thing,” Wolf said. “We want to build that drive and passion to stay in the game be competitive every time.”
Through the first two games of the summer season, his team has responded to the challenge.
Brush opened the season on Tuesday against the Sterling Tigers. Behind a big night at the plate, the Beetdiggers cruised to a 16-3 win in the opener. They returned home on Wednesday to face Greeley West. Another strong night at the plate and good pitching carried them to an 11-0 victory on their home field.
“We have a lot of young kids that are ambitious about the challenge of playing,” Wolf said. “They play to win and stay competitive. I’m happy with their competitiveness so far.”
In the win over Sterling, Wolf threw Ben Garrett on the mound to pitch. The breakout season that transpired in the spring carried over in his first Legion start. Hitting his spots in the zone, Garrett worked ahead in the count most of the night and gave up the three runs in the win.
Bryson Wooldridge made his first start of the season on Wednesday against Greeley West and mimicked the performance from Garrett in the win. He also pounded the strike zone and kept the hitters off-balanced most of the night.
“I’m excited about some of the pitchers we have to see what we can do,” Wolf said. “Ben Garrett was lights out and hit his spots. Bryson Wooldridge did the same thing for us.”
But the big story in the first two games was the offensive lineup being able to put the ball in play.
Brush tallied up hit after hit and scored in a number of ways for 27 runs through the first two games of the season. After averaging just over five runs per game in the high school season, the team is currently averaging over 13 runs per game. The team scored double-digit runs only three times in the spring.
Getting comfortable at the plate has been the big difference so far for the team, according to Wolf.
“They are really swinging the bat and feel more comfortable in the box,” Wolf said. “They are going up there trying to find the gaps. I’m really pleased with efforts and how they are more relaxed to put the bat on the ball.”
The Beetdiggers will look to carry their momentum to a win over the Valley Vikings on Sunday at 6 p.m. at Sunset Park.
“We’ve got a couple returning juniors that will do big things for us,” Wolf said. “The sophomores that will be juniors next year, we are also excited about, and our incoming freshman are contributing as well.”
Schedule note
Brush was originally scheduled to host the Platte Valley Broncos to open the season on Monday. That game has now been rescheduled to June 18 and will be played at Sunset Park.
Brandon Boles: 970-441-5102, sports@fmtimes.com or twitter.com/FMT_Sports
