Ben Dmochowsky
Snohomish | C-P
Last season, Dmochowsky was a first-team All-Wesco catcher. He hit .278, threw out 50 percent of base runners trying to steal and was 6-2 on the mound.
The senior’s batting average would have been higher, coach Kim Hammons said, but Dmochowsky was “not the benefactor of good luck hitting the gaps.” Dmochowsky hit several hard line drives right at opposing defenders — 10 to be exact, Hammons said.
“He is a senior captain and one of the top leaders for the Panthers in 2015,” Hammons said of Dmochowsky, who will play at Everett Community College next season. “Ben is a very capable baseball player and a very tough out, who is progressing nicely into a true team leader for this year’s team.”
Aaron Avalos
Jackson | SS
The Jackson shortstop’s season began months ago, as Avalos, a senior captain, started organizing offseason workouts for the Timberwolves.
Jackson head coach Kirk Nicholson wasn’t surprised, calling Avalos “one of the best leaders” he’s ever had.”
Avalos batted .464 last season with a slugging percentage of .746 and led the team with 14 RBI, 10 stolen bases and 20 runs scored. He will play at Everett Community College once his Jackson career is over.
“He’s one of those guys that doesn’t know how to not work hard,” Nicholson said. “When everyone else is done taking ground balls, he wants to take more. Whenever the cage is open, he’s getting work in. He ran our offseason program. He’s captain of our kids. He’s our guy. As much as you like to think you’re coaching kids, he’s doing more of the coaching than I am in the way he does things.”
Jason Shevenko
Mountlake Terrace | OF-P
On the mound, Shevenko is a force for the Hawks. But his strong arm also helps him in the field.
Last season, the senior pitcher/outfielder threw out a base runner at the plate from center field in a district winner-to-state game last season, preserving Terrace’s 1-0 win.
Shevenko, a second-team All-Wesco selection as a junior, batted .408 for the Hawks, with 14 RBI and a .434 on-base percentage.
“As a pitcher, he is one of the toughest competitors that I’ve ever coached,” Mountlake Terrace head coach Andrew Watters said. “When he has his best stuff, there won’t be too many hitters getting the barrel on the ball. Defensively, he is very talented and has always been a quality outfielder for us and offensively he has been one of our best hitters for the last several years. He is a co-captain for the second straight season and has become a great leader for our program.”
Nick Anderson
Marysville Pilchuck | SS
Anderson isn’t one of the most vocal players for the Tomahawks. The senior prefers to let his game do the talking.
Marysville Pilchuck’s shortstop batted .244 with five doubles, committed just eight errors in 77 chances last season and even earned a win on the mound to help lead the Tomahawks to a 17-7 record and a Wesco 3A North title. A three-year starter for Marysville Pilchuck, Anderson is set to play at Everett Community College once his high school career concludes.
“He’s the quiet confidence,” Marysville Pilchuck head coach Kurt Koshelnik said. “He started for us since he’s been a sophomore and he’s just reliable. He’s gotten better every year. The sky is the limit for him this year. We’re hoping to see really big things from him.”
Connor Sand
Archbishop Murphy |P
The Pacific Lutheran recruit was 3-1 last season with a 1.22 earned-run average as the No. 2 pitcher for the Wildcats, behind Ryan Dorney, an all-state pitcher who now plays for Saint Martin’s University in Lacey.
This year, Sand will be at the top of the rotation as the Wildcats seek their seventh consecutive conference title.
“(Sand) keeps the ball down, he changes speeds, he changes locations really well and he’s increased his velocity — he will be our No. 1,” Archbishop Murphy head coach Stan Taloff said. “I think he has a chance of really moving on and taking us a long way in that position.”
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