Justin Rice was named the baseball team’s Most Valuable Player at the team’s awards dessert on May 31.
Rice, a junior, was also named Pitcher of the Year after setting a school record with a 0.68 ERA in league action. He handcuffed Central in the Huskies’ 14-1 win over the Panthers in a state play-in game on May 18.
Coach Matt Matuszak said the Central game was “a step in the right direction” in a season in which he said Sweet Home maximized its potential.
“I thought it was an outstanding season,” he said. “We made a lot of progress, I felt. Just in the off-season, a lot of individuals put in a lot of hard work.”
The Huskies also played what Matuszak considered “the toughest schedule of any in the state.
“We set the schedule up to be extremely tough,” he said. “I think the kids did a really good job of responding to some early losses.”
The Huskies finished 13-14, but 10-5 in Sky-Em action, going 6-4 in their last 10 games, including their final 15-3 loss to a veteran North Valley squad in the playoffs.
“We got out of this team what I was expecting,” Matuszak said. “You always hope to go further in the playoffs. I felt good in the situation we were in. We got lined up with a team that returned 11 athletes from the year before when they went to the state playoffs. They were more experienced.”
Other awards were:
The Big Stick (Offensive Player of the Year) went to senior Hunter Bidwell, who led the team at the plate with a .351 batting average and one home run. He also was named Most Improved.
The Golden Glove (Defensive Player of the Year) went to senior Jeremy White.
Rookie of the Year was senior Ty Harvey, who was a newcomer to the team.
Most Inspirational was senior Brandon Gregory and the “Hustle” award went to junior Drayson Scott.
JV Player of the Year was sophomore Christian Voldbaek, while Kevin Seiber was Freshman Player of the Year.
Third-year letter winners were Nate Melcher, Rice, Colton Holly, White and Bidwell.
Second-year letters went to Scott, Cory Hanks, Austin Rice and Kyle Winslow.
First-year letters went to Harvey, Voldbaek, Gregory, JT Weld, Zack Gill and Kory Van Deusen.