By Ken Hansard
The Hutchinson Salthawks baseball team compiled an18-10 record last season, culminating in a second-round loss at regionals. Jack Davis, a senior pitcher and first baseman for the Salthawks, and his teammates are ready to embark on a new campaign that they hope will end in a state berth in May.
They are off to a solid start. In splitting a doubleheader with Pratt on March 24th, Davis, a two-time Honorable Mention AVCTL pitcher, earned the win, going five innings without surrendering an earned run, recording three strikeouts in the process. This fits in perfectly with his pre-season goal of eating up innings for Hutch, “I need to go deep into games, so we can save our other arms. I’m trying to throw as many complete games as possible.”
Despite his past success on the bump, Davis pushed himself in the off-season to further improve his craft, “I worked a lot on gaining some velocity on my fastball. I also really emphasized gaining a better command of my off-speed pitches.”
As a senior, and as a pitcher that the Salthawks rely on to set a tone each time they take the diamond, Jack understands that it is incumbent upon him to help maintain a culture for his ballclub, “I realize that a big part of my role is to lead the younger kids and teach them what is expected from the coaches and the program.”
In the end, Davis is making sure to keep his focus and expectations on the game and on his final journey in high school sports, “My dad passed on a love of the game for me, so ultimately, I’m just looking forward to enjoying one last year with my teammates, and especially the other seniors.”
Davis is also a standout in the classroom, where he sports an impressive 3.8 G.P.A. He also scored a 25 on the ACT and has plans to attend Kansas State in the fall.
