Hitting the pockets is paying off for Harrison’s Zach Anderson.
Hitting it hard pays off even more.
The senior has been on the varsity baseball team for four years and has been a consistent hitter out of the
three hole in the lineup most of the time.
Last season, he racked up a .466 batting average and he has upped the ante this spring, taking a .548 mark
into the final doubleheader of the Jack Pine Conference campaign.
“He’s having one of those seasons where he hits the ball hard and it finds a hole,” said Hornets coach Tom
Whitfield. “One year, we had a guy who must have lined out to center field eight or nine times and it cost
him 100 points off his batting average. Anderson hits the ball hard and he’s been fortunate not to hit it right
at people. They’re falling in.”
Anderson has driven in 18 runs and has also done well on the mound and patrolling center field.
Harrison did not contend for the league title this year, but that’s hard to do, considering that co-champs
Meridian and Clare are ranked in the top four in the state.
“The Jack Pine has some very good teams this year and I’ve been happy with our effort,” Whitfield said.
“One thing I can say for sure is that all of the teams are showing us a lot of respect. We’ve seen the No. 1
and No. 2 pitcher in every doubleheader except one.”
While Anderson’s bat has been steady as a clock, the team has seen its ups and downs, sometimes on the
same day.
“You can set your watch by it,” said Whitfield. “We’ll play one game well and the next game not so well.
“That’s the way it goes in high school baseball. The consistent teams are the big winners.”