By Ken Hansard
Hutchinson senior shortstop Caiden Beavers and his teammates have some unfinished business that they would like to attend to. The Salthawks finished last season 18-10, falling short of the 5A state tournament by one game, as they lost a heartbreaker to Salina Central in the regional championships. Almost an entire year later, that loss still looms large for Beavers, “We don’t overlook anyone, but we are definitely excited to play Salina Central, since they knocked us out of regionals last year.”
As one of a host of talented seniors returning for his final campaign at Hutch, Beavers is also looking forward to one more chance to leave a legacy with the friends he grew up with, “I’m ready to compete with the guys for one last year and make a run at state.”
Even though the Salthawks return a wealth of seniors, Beavers realizes that he specifically has an important role to play, “As a shortstop you have to lead the team. I look forward to leading the troops this year. I’m not concerned about personal stats. My main goal is to win.”
Caiden is in his fourth season as the starting shortstop for Hutch. He was a Second Team All-AVCTL performer as a junior. Despite past success, Beavers committed himself in the off-season to improve his on-field performance, “I worked a lot on trying to stay on the ball and work the other way. Defensively, I am just trying to stay solid and make routine plays.”
Beavers and the Salthawks started their season by splitting a doubleheader with Pratt, and Caiden feels they are in a good position to make that late season run at a state tournament finish, “It’s very early, but I like how we look in practice. I think we are going to have a good year.”
