May 29, 2015: Deerfield Windsor pitcher Steven Williams strikes out the final batter and the Deerfield Windsor baseball team had won their first state championship since 2003. Pandemonium erupted on the field as the Knights had won their first baseball state championship in 12 years.
This was not the first championship for the Knights but rather their fifth. On May 27th the Knights will attempt to repeat as GISA AAA State Champions and win their sixth state title overall. Deerfield is led by second year coach Jonathan Davis who is trying to win back to back titles in his first two years as head coach which is almost unheard of in high school athletics. Davis believes that commanding the strike zone and getting into favorable counts is the most important part of his team’s success this weekend. Another factor to the Knights’ success could be the depth that they have across the board. “I would say our biggest strength as a team is our depth. We have a bunch of guys that can play almost any position and they can do whatever I ask”, Davis said. The formula for success is simple for Deerfield, throw strikes, play good defense and rely on the fundamentals. One thing is for sure, Deerfield will be ready to go come game time. Being fundamentally sound and disciplined will always breed success no matter what you do.
Deerfield’s opponent will be none other than their 2015 foe, the Valwood Valiants. In 2015 the Valiants were swept by the Knights in the championship series by an overall ten point margin. Last year’s state finals was Valwood’s first ever trip and it proved to be a little more than Valiants could handle. “I think the moment may have been a little too big in some spots, maybe a ground ball here or there, just the little fundamental things really hurt us in the end.” Coach Shipman said. Shipman also thinks his guys will be much more prepared this time around. Valwood has 10 returning seniors on their roster who all saw significant playing time last year which is sure to benefit them this year. Team unity is also very strong on this team according to Shipman, which he believes is their greatest strength as a unit. “I hate to be cliché but our team unity is very strong. No one guy has an ego and they are all willing to do whatever I ask, which I think is our greatest asset”, Shipman stated. Valwood will have to be unified and intensely focused for this year’s finals but with how things played out last year and the experience returning, I don’t believe that this will be a problem for them.
Deerfield comes into the matchup with a 24-6 overall record while winning six out of the last seven contests including two sweeps in the GISA AAA playoffs. The Knights’ offense has been spectacular in 2016 in which they have posted an average of 10 runs per game. The pitching and defense has also been strong with the Knights allowing only 4 runs per game.
Valwood comes to the matchup touting a 21-8 overall record while winning seven of their last eight contests. Valwood’s offense has also been a strong unit this spring, posting an average of 9 runs per game. The pitching and defense has been good but not spectacular, averaging 5.5 runs allowed per game.
The matchup seems to have the makings of a high scoring affair, much like last year’s state title series. In 2015 the Knights swept the Valiants but not before a barrage of runs were put on the board. A total of 42 runs were scored between the two clubs in only two games. So for this year you should expect to see a plethora of homeruns and RBIs on the scoreboard.
Leadership on both teams is very easy to find. According to both coaches the teams do a good job of policing themselves and there is no one singular guy that sticks out to either coach. Deerfield has a leadership council on the team and all players went through a leadership and accountability course over the summer last year. Valwood has a group effort from all players and Coach Shipman says that each player contributes their own individual type of leadership to the team. The leadership has paid off for both teams this year. When Deerfield played 11 games in 12 days this season, Coach Davis credited the leadership of the team for rallying the guys each day on their way to posting a 9-2 mark over that stretch. When Valwood played Frederica Academy in the Quarterfinals, they were down 17-11 in the sixth inning. Coach Shipman credits his team’s leadership for not allowing anyone to panic and rallying the team to a 22-17 victory.
What I believe to be most impressive about each team is that all 10 seniors from Valwood and all 3 seniors from Deerfield will be seeking higher education after graduating high school. These young men are a testament to hard work on and off the field and they should be commended for all of their efforts. They are making investments in their futures outside of baseball which is an awesome thing to see. Congratulations young men, I congratulate you on your academic success and hope for the best in your futures.
While this should be a competitive series, Deerfield will come in as the favorite and rightfully so. The Knights are the defending state champions, hit for more runs and give up less runs per game. They are also facing the same team they swept last year to win the state championship. However, games are not played on paper. Deerfield will have to defend its title against a hungry and angry Valwood team.
By May 30th we will know who the GISA AAA Champions are and all of the speculation will be put to rest until next season.
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Deerfield Windsor vs Valwood: Familiar Foes
Zachary Pine
