By Steve Ritchie
At the start of the spring sports season, Kennedy athletic director and baseball coach Kevin Moffatt was upbeat about his team’s prospects, but, with only four seniors, he was still somewhat cautious. He knew that, to be successful, his seniors would have to provide strong leadership for the young team and his relatively inexperienced pitching staff would need to develop quickly.
All those things happened, and Coach Moffatt and his team are celebrating a banner year for Kennedy baseball. Not only did the Trojan squad win the conference title outright for the first time since 1982, but they also won their first round playoff game at home. The appearance in the state quarterfinal
round was a great accomplishment for such a young team. Unfortunately, the Trojans’ season ended there as a result of a hard-fought 6-1 loss to Union on the road.
Leading the way for the Trojans was junior pitcher Franky Rodriguez, who was selected the Tri River Conference’s Player of the Year and a first team all-state selection as a pitcher. Rodriguez had a record of 12 wins and just two losses, and pitched the Trojans to a victory in their first round game against Bonanza.
Also key for the team were the aforementioned four seniors: outfielder Alan Venegas; second baseman Austin Rodriguez; catcher Darren Hall; and outfielder Michael Bielenberg. Venegas was a first-team all-league selection, along with Franky Rodriguez and junior shortstop Daniel Hammer. Bielenberg, Hall and Austin Rodriguez made second team all-league. Freshman first baseman Ty Sawyer was an honorable mention selection. Venegas was also named first team all-state and Hammer was a third team all-state selection.
