Coach: Daniel Vander Kooi (5th Year with Lynden Christian, 39-52)
Home Field: Lynden Christian High School
Last Season: 7-14 (4-9 Conference)
Key Losses: C Damyn Dykstra (.254 AVG, .362 OBP, 5 2B, 11 RBI, 12 SB), P Kyden Vander Veen (1-0, 5 K’s, 5.25 ERA).
Top Returnees: 3B Shale Whittern, SS Cole Moorlag, P/CF Luke Johnson, P/1B Zach Sipma, 2B/OF Brevin Zylstra, P/RF Jake Terpstra, C Preston Mark, 2B Preston Vander Veen, OF Jamison Hintz.
Pitchers and Catchers: A lot arms return to the hill for the Lyncs, and they will rely heavily on seniors Zach Sipma (2 W, 2 S, 42 IP, 34 K;s, 3.83 ERA), Jake Terpstra (25 IP, 22 K’s, 6.23 ERA) and junior Luke Johnson (5 W, 41 IP, 50 K’s, 4.07 ERA). Senior Bryce Bouwman, hasn’t played since his freshman year, but he also has varsity pitching experience. Junior Preston Mark (.333 OBP, 3 2B, 4 RBI) is an impressive player behind the plate, and he will assume the every day catching responsibilities.
Infield: The left side of the Lynden Christian infield is about as good as it gets in Whatcom County. With juniors Shale Whittern (.439 AVG, .500 OBP, 18 R, 7 2B, 2 3B, 13 RBI, 22 SB) at third base and Cole Moorlag (.258 AVG, .355 OBP, 19 R, 9 RBI, 8 SB) at shortstop, LC returns to potent “baseball first” guys that can flash the leather, as well as cause destruction at the op of the lineup. Senior Brevin Zylstra (.353 OBP, 10 R, 7 SB) is a great athlete that will likely be at second base, and Sipma (.357 OBP, 7 R, 15 RBI) will be at first when he’s not pitching. Sophomore Andrew DeRegt can also play all over the infield.
Outfield: Johnson (.283 OBP, 8 R, 5 SB) returns to center field, and Terpstra (.292 OBP, 6 R) returns to right field, rounding out the Lyncs’ experience all around the diamond. Bouwman could also see time in the outfield along with senior Tanner Feenstra and junior Zach Eisenberg.
Final Analysis: The Lyncs only graduated two players from last year’s team, and there really isn’t a weakness. The biggest key will be throwing strikes, as that was the toughest thing to accomplish last season.
Tyler’s Predicted Lineup:
- Brevin Zylstra
- Cole Moorlag
- Shale Whittern
- Zach Sipma
- Jake Terpstra
- Preston Mark
- Luke Johnson
- Bryce Bouwman
- Zach Eisenberg
