When Redmond High coach Dan Pudwill consults with pitcher Daniel Bies about his height, the junior right hander says he’s 6-foot-7 — wait, make that 6-foot-8 in cleats, the pitcher adds.
Pudwill laughs and says he’ll go with 6-8, giving Bies the final say.The Mustangs were planning to step things up a notch in more ways than one when they opened up their season against Juanita on Monday.Last spring, Pudwill said it was no fun starting 0-7. They didn’t want that to happen again.
It won’t, as Redmond defeated Juanita, 3-2, at home in a non-conference game. Defending 4A state champion Kentwood defeated Redmond yesterday, 4-3, and the Mustangs will travel to Southridge for another non-conference game today.
Following that slow start last year, Redmond rebounded with mighty results, winning 16 of its last 18 games, qualifying for the 4A state tournament and ending up one win short of the semifinals. They lost to Kentwood, 5-0, in the final game for 12 graduating seniors.
“We learned to trust what we do, to not panic, not deviate from what we’ve known that has been successful,” said ninth-year coach Pudwill, noting that Redmond has qualified for state five of the last six years. “We feel like we have a formula in place, we have a Redmond way of playing baseball and we trust it and we believe in it.”
Pudwill said the defending 4A Kingco champion Mustangs are big on offensive and defensive execution and not being surprised, but being prepared come game time.
Redmond graduated its entire pitching staff last year and will look to juniors like Bies, Jacob Brady, Kyle Francis, Chandler Homer and Jake Baugher to help keep opposing bats quiet. Bies throws in the 86-87 mph range and Brady and Francis can pop the catcher’s glove in the upper 80s, Pudwill said.
Returning starters for Redmond are senior Brent Firth (first baseman) and juniors Lucas Eliason (catcher) and Brandon Burditt (center fielder). Pudwill noted that lefty Firth has a great swing and will be ready for whatever pitchers throw at him; Eliason has a strong arm and bat and plenty of moxie to lead the team along with Firth; Burditt is fast in the outfield and can hit the ball well into the gaps.
“It’s been going well, they work hard, they’re really coachable, they definitely want to get better,” Pudwill said. “We certainly care about how we start, but it’s about how we finish.”
Burditt said he’s confident in Redmond’s offense and defense and feels that the Mustangs are poised for success again this year.
“This is the group I want to go into battle with,” said Burditt, who added that he’s played baseball with some of his teammates since they were 10 years old. “We’ve all grown up wanting to do this and play here. Now that we get to do it with each other, it’s just fun and we get to play something that we love to do.”
Added Firth: “We’re just excited to get on the field and see what we can do. Last year was my first year on varsity, so I got a sense of the competition and a sense of how things work at this level. Hopefully I can bring that in and kind of lead the team with that this year.”
