The senior Hawk right fielder entered this weekend’s playoffs carrying a .370 batting average with 24 runs scored and 18 RBIs, his stats inflated by a great series against Hutto in the third round of the playoffs. Baker went five for seven against the Hippos with four RBI and four runs scored. Not a bad performance from a guy who was playing in just his third playoff series ever.

“This has been the most fun I’ve had playing,” Baker said of this year. “It’s been fun playing with all these guys. It was tough when I was on (junior varsity). I was not feeling it. Now I’ve come in and made an impact and it feels pretty good.”

The Hutto pitchers certainly felt the impact of Baker’s bat. He crushed a three-run double that helped the Hawks fight back from a 5-0 deficit and eventually win the second game of the series. This came after a two-hit performance in the first game where he scored two of Hendrickson’s four runs.

“I was definitely seeing the ball better,” he said. “I always go up to the plate with the intention of hitting (Tyler) Havins in or moving him over.”

Baker said he began playing baseball as most kids do, in t-ball. However, he said his love for the game started much earlier than that.

“I always liked watching it when I was younger,” he said. “My dad got me one of those Velcro gloves and I was playing catch with him before I could walk.”

Over the years his love for the sport has grown and one aspect in particular has come to the forefront as his favorite part of playing – the competition.

“It’s a big part of it,” Baker said of competing. “Getting a hit, it feels good when you do something to help your team.”

While he has helped this year’s Hawks get further than any Hendrickson baseball team that has come before them, Baker says there is still more for this talented group to accomplish.

“We’ve been doing pretty good, but our work isn’t over,” he said. “We’re still working hard.”

He believes it will be this hard work, the time he and his Hendrickson mates spend practicing, which will ultimately decide how long they can prolong their season.

“We have to keep working hard,” he said. “We need to get everyone working on all cylinders and keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”

Editor’s note: The Hawks lost in two games to Corpus Christi Calallen this past weekend.

Swartz delivered again for the Hawks in their playoff series against Cibolo Steele. The blast, his fifth of the year, came in the second inning against Steele with his team down 1-0. It sparked a two-run Hawk inning which eventually led to a 10-2 win. Swartz later contributed a two-run double to the Hendrickson cause.

“They came out and scored and I knew we needed some momentum,” he said of his home run. “He threw me my pitch and I hit it right.”

Swartz is one of six seniors on the Hendrickson roster all of them veterans of last year’s two-round playoff trip.

“We play real well together,” he said. “There are a bunch of brothers on this team. We show up early to practice and that has really helped us get to where we are. To have a playoff run like this has been pretty fun.”

He says the bonds they share go much deeper than the baseball diamond and these same bonds are a big part of the Hawks’ success.

“We have a bunch of seniors who’ve been playing together since t-ball,” he said. “We’ve close friends. We have matured a lot and worked real hard to get where we are. The team has been a lot closer knit this year. We’ve worked a lot harder than in previous years.”

When it came time for Swartz to decide where he would play his college ball he put the classroom ahead of the diamond. Evenutally he chose Southwestern University in Georgetown where he was awarded an academic scholarship.

“I chose education over baseball,” he said. “Southwestern’s head coach liked me and wanted me to apply. The school is a very good school. I will play baseball and pursue my degree in engineering.”

For as long as Swartz can remember he has had a passion for baseball.

“My parents said when I was little I used to take the bat and stand in front of the TV and mimic the players batting styles,” he said. “I wore baseball pants everywhere I went. I have played ever since.”

Out of this passion has grown a love for the game as well as for the life-long bonds it forms.

“My teammates by far,” he said when asked what his favorite part of playing baseball was. “I play for my teammates. I love this group of guys. I will fight for this group of guys. I like working as part of team. I love that aspect of the game.”

Swartz has had a solid senior season and in the process he has helped the Hawks win 33 games and reach the 4A region semi-finals. While Swartz has enjoyed the ride, he also feels the Hawks have the ability to be even better.

“It’s been pretty good,” he said. “I think we could have done a little better but I have high expectations for this group. It’s been a lot of fun. The most fun I’ve ever had. When it’s over it’s going to be pretty sad to not play with these guys anymore.”

This weekend Swartz and Hendrickson will face their stiffest test to date, the No. 3 team in the state Corpus Christi Calallen. Swartz believes that if the Hawks can keep doing what they’ve been doing then success will surely follow.

“We just have to keep playing our game,” he said. “We can’t let anyone get us out of our game. If we play our game we can beat anybody.”

“The playoffs bring new excitement,” Warner said. “They give a new vibe to the season. People start getting excited and I get excited when I get to the playoffs.”

Warner, a senior, said that even though the Hawks played Crockett in the playoffs last year they were unsure what to look for prior to this year’s matchup.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “We were hoping for the best. We tried to play as well as we could.”

As she has demonstrated for most of the year, Warner is equally comfortable on the mound or in the field. She played centerfield in the second game against Crockett but has also played third base this year for Hendrickson.

“I like both,” she said. “They are different aspects of the game. I can use my speed more in the outfield and when I’m on the mound I have to completely focused on my task the whole time.”

In her fourth and final year on the Hawk varsity Warner has tried to use her experience to help her young teammates. She is one of five Hendrickson seniors. The rest of the team is made up for sophomores and a freshman.

“I like being able to lead the other girls,” she said. “I try to use my experience to help the younger ones know what it’s like.”

Warner began playing t-ball when she was five years old.

“My parents signed me up,” she said. “I wanted to be like my brother.”

Warner says the competition is her favorite thing about playing. She will certainly get plenty of competition when she moves on to LeTourneau University in Longview where she will play her college ball.

“I really liked the coach,” she said of her decision to join the Yellow Jackets. “It was a good fit for me.”

In a season of ups and downs for the Hawks, the win over Crockett was certainly a high point.

“It’s been a roller coaster,” Warner said. “But now we’re in our groove and playing to the best of our abilities. In order to keep up we have to bring our ‘A’ game on all levels.”

“The first day was a great day,” he said. “It was my birthday so it had to be a great day. It was the first time I’d attempted 6-8 in the high jump and I almost cleared it. Even though I didn’t I still felt very proud of myself.”

While things were good on day one, day two, which was plagued by rain, was not as smooth.

“The second day was different,” he added. “We had a couple of screw ups but we pulled through and won the meet. I felt like going in we had a goal and something to work for. We had to show them we’re still here.”

Obviously Davis is talented in all of the events he participates in, however, he says the 110 hurdles are his favorite.

“All the other events are good but they seem to have drawbacks,” he said. “I’m always getting it in the hurdles. My motto is go hard or go home and I feel like I must go hard in the hurdles.”

Davis started his track career in the sixth grade. He said he had been focused on football prior to that but once he got out on the track he never looked back.

“My mom and dad ran track so my mom was pushing me,” he said. “Since then track has been my thing. Once I started it became my love.”

His love has turned into a love of not just participating. he loves to win.

“I’m very competitive,” he said. “I love the competition.”

Davis says he will continue his track career beyond this year although he is not sure where it will happen.

“I am certain I will compete in college,” he said.

Entering last weekend’s region meet Davis had plenty of things he was hoping to accomplish, including helping his relay team get back to state.

“I want to clear 6-8 and get past the 45-foot mark in the triple jump,” he said. “In the hurdles I want to make it to the finals and in the relay we want to make it to state. Last year readies us and we know what times to push for. Our competition is time itself.”

“I definitely think it benefits me,” Birge said of his double duty. “All the teams I’ve caught against, I’ve pitched against so I had an advantage. It gave me some insight and I think it helps a lot.”

It certainly helped a couple weeks ago when Birge threw a nine-inning complete game to beat Lake Travis and wrap up the district title for the Hawks in the process.

“It was nerve-wracking going in,” he said of the game. “I was nervous the whole time. But I think I got a good feel of what to expect in the playoffs. Any win against Lake Travis is a big deal and it was good to beat them at home, especially against their number one guy.”

Along with Trevor Seidenberger, Birge forms one of the best one-two pitcher duos in central Texas. Just a junior, Birge says he has enjoyed teaming with the senior Seidenberger.

“He has a big future ahead of him,” Birge said. “We’ve both been producing like we need to. He has a lot of experience and has helped me.”

As with most of his teammates, Birge credits his success to a lot of hard work.

“Things have been going good,” he said. “I’m working really hard and it’s really paying off. Down the stretch all the hard work will pay off.”

Birge said he began playing baseball when he was 3 years old.

“It was the thing to do,” he explained. “Everyone played t-ball when I was little.”

So, while he may just be a junior in high school, Birge has a lifetime of baseball experience. It has been in these years that one thing has stood out for him as his favorite experience on the diamond – the rush provided by a big game.

“I love the adrenaline rush,” he said. “You have to stay calm, but inside everything is going. I like how that feels.”

With one year of high school ball still in front of him Birge does not have to make any college plans too soon. That does not mean, however, he isn’t thinking about playing at the next level.

“That’s been the goal since day one,” he said. “I want to make it to a Division I college to play baseball.”

For now Birge is focused on helping the Hawks get as far as they can in this year’s playoffs.

“Last year we got to the second round and we thought we were going to go deep,” he said. “Now this year I think we can (go deep). Our goal is to make it to the Dell Diamond and the state tournament.”

As for the key to success? It seems Birge will be key in both phases.

“Pitching and defense,” he answered. “Our hitting will turn around once we really focus on it. Once that starts clicking we’ll be a hard team to beat.”

Havins, the Hawks senior second baseman, has been all that and more this year, leading the team with a .460 batting average and a .525 on-base percentage. Havins also has 10 doubles, has scored 26 runs and, surprisingly, is the team leader in RBIs with 23. So to say he is no small part of the fact Hendrickson wrapped up the district title with a win over Lake Travis on Friday is probably an understatement.

“Since I was 12 years old I’ve been playing with four or five of these guys,” Havins said last week. “We’ve got real good chemistry. We are working hard after practice and doing the extra stuff we need to do to get better.”

When talking to Havins one gets the idea the old saying “practice makes perfect” means a lot to him. In fact, he credits hard work with most of his success.

“I’ve spent a lot of time practicing in the cages,” he said of his hitting. “Coach tells us to hit it up the middle and I focus on that, but it’s a lot of practice. I’ve never had as high a batting average as I do now. All the hard work has paid off and it feels great. I’m hitting in key situations and we’re scoring runs.”

Havins is one of seven seniors on the Hendrickson squad and he says that fact has not escaped him.

“It’s been good,” he said of his senior year,” Last year Eric Garcia was the leader of the team and now he’s playing at Missouri. I’m trying to follow in his footsteps.”

Havins hopes the gaudy numbers he is putting up this year land him a chance to ply his trade in college next year. However, he still is unsure where he might play.

“I want to play somewhere,” he said. “I’m hoping to get some offers, otherwise, I’ll try out somewhere.”

Like many baseball players before him, Havins said he first learned the game from his father.

“When I was real little my dad threw to me,” he explained. “I picked up the bat and have played ever since.”

When asked what his favorite part of the game was, Havins response was hardly surprising.

“I love hitting,” he said. “Defense wins championships but you have to have offense to do it too. It feels great to get a hit.”

With just a few games left in the regular season, Havins hopes to keep hitting for the Hawks for as long as he can.

“I want to keep my batting average up and produce,” he said. “We want to get as far as we can and go undefeated in district.”

As is the case for most good teams, Havins and the Hawks are talking about a long playoff run and eyeing the state tournament. Currently ranked No. 4 in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, Hendrickson would seem to have what it takes to do just that. In Havins opinion, the team must continue to work hard if they are to realize the ultimate goal.

“We have to focus practice,” he said. “We have to do whatever we can to get better.”

Seidenberger has been on a bit of a tear of late. He no-hit Lake Travis and followed that performance up with a one-hit shutout of Killeen. On the year he is 6-0 with a 1.17 earned run average while striking out 61 hitters in 36 innings pitched.

His performance against Killeen was especially dominating as has struck out 13 of the 16 hitters he faced.

“I felt good. I had the team behind me to back me up. The team put the runs on the board. I located my pitches and the whole team shut them down.

Just one start earlier, Seidenberger dominated Lake Travis, throwing a no-hitter.

“I thought going in, I just want to beat these guys. I wanted to put them down and make them feel the pain they have made every other team feel the past three years. The team helped a lot. We hit when we needed to.”

However, Seidenberger is no one-trick pony. In fact, he is third on the Hawks in batting average hitting at a .453 clip. He has 14 RBIs and 13 runs scored as well. In his third year on the Hawks’ varsity, Seidenberger feels everything has finally come together for him.

“The past four years I’ve been thinking I need to go out and pitch my game and not let the other team take control,” he said. “My thought process is I want to beat (whoever we are playing) and that’s been my thought process all along.”

As one of the six Hawks returning from last year’s region quarterfinalist squad, Seidenberger knew when the year began he would have to step up.

“We lost two guys who are now playing in college, one of them a good hitter the other a good pitcher and we lost plenty of other good athletes,” he said. “We had six returning varsity players and we have kept it going. The whole year we’ve been hitting the ball and we have to do that to keep rolling along.”

Earlier this year Seidenberger announced he would pitch for Blinn College in Brenham next year. While he had plenty of chances to go to a bigger school, he said Blinn was the best place for him to start his college career.

“The school was right for me,” he said. “It has a lot of tradition. I talked to 13 Division I schools but I felt Blinn was the right choice. I can get through my first year and see what it’s like. They have a good team and good coaches down there.”

Seidenberger began playing baseball when he was 3 years old and the sport quickly became a huge part of his life.

“My dad picked up the bat and put it in my hands and I’ve been playing ever since,” he said. “I’ve been playing with two of the guys on the team (Patrick Burris and Todd Foster) my whole life.”

He said the chance to play every day with his two life-long friends has made this year even more special.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “We grew up into it. Their dads have coached me. It’s been a fun ride the whole time. I’m sure we’ll all miss each other.”

He said his favorite part of playing is simply being on the field.

“Being able to get on the diamond,” he said. “Instead of going out and doing other things I get to be on the field every Tuesday and Friday night playing the game I love.”

With the beginning of the playoffs right around the corner, Seidenberger is confident this year’s team has what it takes to make the deepest of playoff runs.

“We want to make it to playoffs,” he said. This year I feel like we’ll go all the way to state. I really feel like if we keep on top of our game we’ll make it there.”

Tobler recently pitched the Cougars to a district win over Bowie, belting a home run in the game as well. He followed that up by picking up a win against Pflugerville. He drove in two runs in that game as well.

“We’ve been doing pretty good,” Tobler said. “It’s been an up-and-down, but we’re having a pretty good season.”

Tobler is enjoying a great season not only on the mound but also at the plate. He is hitting .333 on the year with 25 RBIs, 21 runs scored, 11 steals and two home runs.

“This is the best season I’ve ever had,” he said. “Going up to 5A last year really helped bring up my competitiveness and skill level.”

His spectacular showing against Bowie came despite the fact he took a line drive off his hand while pitching.

“I felt going in like I’d have a good night,” he said. “I knew I could do well. When I took the line drive off my hand I just pushed myself to keep going. Eventually we got the win.”

Tobler has been a member of the Cougar varsity baseball team for three years. As he entered his senior season, the logical assumption would be that he moved into a leadership role. However, he said that was not really the case as he already felt he was a team leader last year.

“I feel liked I had that last year,” he said. “Last year our seniors didn’t step up as well so I feel like I had that already.”

Being a senior, Tobler knows his time playing for the Cougars is coming to an end. However, that does not mean his baseball career is.

“I”ve been looking at colleges and am excited about the future,” he said. “It’s kind of hard waiting (to find out where you’ll go). Once you get the chance you breathe a sigh of relief because you made it.”

Tobler began playing baseball when he was five-years old. He explained he was following in a family tradition.

“My brother played and my dad coached in the Pflugerville Little League,” he said. “I grew up on the field. I just picked up the ball and it came natural to me.”

From there his love for the game grew to the point where simply being on the baseball field is one of his favorite things.

“I love being out there, playing the game,” he said. “Whether I’m pitching or hitting, it’s all fun to me.”

Tobler is hopeful that his final season of high school baseball can last as long as possible.

“I want to win the rest of our games and go deep in the playoffs,” he said. “If we come together and play our game I think we can.”

“We’ve had a lot of bonding experiences which have helped,” Gomez said. “We have played better this year. We have had some tough times but they have brought us together.”

Gomez is one of five seniors on the Panther squad. Most of them have been on the varsity their entire careers and they have been responsible for helping return the Panthers to a position of prominence in Central Texas softball.

“Our seniors give us drive and leadership which is definitely a big help,” she said.

Gomez believes the familiarity they group has with each other is a big help.

“We’ve played together for the last four years,” she said. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We all help encourage and lead the team.”

Gomez has enjoyed a good season with some big hits. None have been bigger, however, than the grand slam she belted against Bowie.

“It brought me a lot of confidence,” she said. “I know if I set my mind to it, I will succeed.”

Gomez began playing softball when she was nine years old. She says her father got her involved in the sport.

“I went out with my dad and played with him,” she said. “He taught me everything I know. I’ve worked with my dad a lot. Without him I would not have the talent or the drive I do now.”

She says that competing is her favorite thing about playing.

“The greatest thing is when you step in the batter’s box,” she said. “You are going one-on-one with another competitor. If you do your job then you succeed.”

Gomez will attend Texas Women’s University in Denton to continue her softball career in the fall. She said once she visited the school she was hooked.

“The campus was beautiful,” Gomez said. “I knew I wanted to be there. The coaching staff and the team were awesome. I’m super-excited to start playing there.”

With her college plans set, Gomez has plenty of time to focus on helping the Panthers finish the season and reach their ultimate goal, to win state.

“Our top goal is to make it to state and be successful,” she said. “The last two years we went out in the second round. This year we have the potential, talent and drive. We know that’s what we can do. We can be the new state champs.”

“I’ve grown into the team,” he said. “We’ve gotten dramatically better and I hope the team continues to grow.”

This season has been no different. Last week the Hawks knocked off Lake Travis to secure a portion of the district title and ensure them a return trip to the playoffs.

“We’ve had some mishaps but overall the season’s been great,” Hicks said.

Hicks has been a huge part of the Hawks’ success this season, contributing some big goals at big times for them. He said it has been these goals which have been the biggest highlight of his season.

“Scoring goals and finishing off opponents,” Hicks said.

One goal in particular that has stood out for him came during the Hawks’ game with Vandergriff. He scored on a free kick from the 25-yard line, beating the keeper to left side of the goal.

“No one really ever finishes free kicks from outside the box,” he explained.

Hicks recently announced he would continue his soccer career at Mary Hardin Baylor in Belton after he is done at Hendrickson. He said the choice to play for Mary Hardin was an easy one.

“They have a really good coach who will take care of me,” he said. “They have a very exceptional team. I think I’ll go far with them.”

Hicks has been the Hawks captain for two years. He says he feels even more responsibility this year as he is a senior.

“Justin Essler left so I had some big shoes to fill,” he said. “I have a lot more freedom but I don’t take advantage of it. I just go to work and work hard.”

Hicks began playing soccer when he was 8-years old, picking up the sport while taking a break from his grade school classwork.

“I played with a bunch of kids at recess and thought it was pretty cool,” he said.

From those humble beginnings on an elementary school playground, he has turned himself into one of the best players in his district.

“I love scoring goals,” he said. “There is no greater feeling to me than putting the ball in the back of the net.”

With his college plans already in place and his Hawk legacy secure, Hicks has one more thing he’d like to accomplish before leaving Hendrickson’s pitch. He wants what all great players want, he wants a title.

“I hope to go to state,” he said. “I’m not expecting it but we’re definitely trying.”