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| Vikings’ Wolfe has thrived under pressure |
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| Sports | |||
| Written by David Wolman | |||
| Friday, 26 June 2009 09:44 | |||
 Bob Wolfe thrives in do-or-die situations. If an opportunity presents itself in which runners are in scoring position when he comes up to bat, he can be counted on to drive them in. That’s why he loved batting in the No. 3 spot in the lineup for the Central Heights baseball team.“That’s where I feel most comfortable,” he said. “One, I get to hit in the first inning. Two, I get to see how the pitcher is doing after a couple of batters. Third, I like getting RBIs.” Wolfe certainly let his bat do the talking. The near career .500 hitter put together a big senior season in which Central Heights advanced to the Class 3A state tournament for the third consecutive season and won the Pioneer League regular-season title. He led the Vikings in several offensive categories: batting average (.489), on-base percentage (.643), slugging percentage (.830), runs scored (26), hits (28), RBI (28), doubles (10) and stolen bases (18). That production led him to being named the Tri-County Spotlight Offensive Player of the Year. The postseason awards already have been coming for Wolfe. He garnered a Class 3A all-state first-team selection for the second straight season, as well as a first-team league selection at third base. “He takes advantage of pitchers’ mistakes,” Central Heights coach Jason Brown said. “Just leave a pitch up in the strike zone, and he’ll drive that pitch.” Wolfe, who recently graduated, says he’s been fortunate to play with teammates who have been able to constantly find ways to get on base. This season, five Vikings, including Wolfe, recorded at least a .400 on-base percentage. Even with the showy offensive numbers he posted, Wolfe said he went through a slump during each of his first three seasons. But he found ways to break out of them. This season, he avoided a slump altogether, he said, which he attributed to taking more swings with the batting tee. “That may sound silly, but it really helped,” he said. Wolfe’s production has gained the attention of some college coaches. He’s attended several tryouts, yet his focus remains on obtaining an associate’s degree in HVAC technology from Johnson County Community College, where he will start this fall. Johnson County coach Kent Shelley, whose team advanced to the Junior College World Series for the first time in program history in 2008, has talked with Wolfe on a couple occasions about participating in a tryout. That’s another reason Wolfe decided to attend JCCC, but he said he intends to complete his first year of college before deciding on his baseball future. “I’ll just see where I feel most comfortable playing,” Wolfe said. Baseball has been a glue for Wolfe and his Central Heights teammates. As a child, his friends played baseball. One year, Wolfe decided to play with them. And they’ve played together since — on little league and travel teams, all the way up until their senior season at Central Heights. Wolfe said it’s going to be a different feeling next spring knowing he will no longer play baseball with the same kids he’s played with for a decade, especially the eight Vikings seniors. “It was a good learning experience with those guys,” he said. “I’ll never forget it. It’ll be kind of different playing with other people.”
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