For the past couple of seasons, if there’s been an important game, one that the Eagles really need to win, Lindbergh baseball coach Benny Benavides knows who he’s sending to the mound: right-hander Kyle Swannack.
Swannack has an ERA (earned run average) of 2.84 and 23 strikeouts in 32 innings so far this season. Making the stats even more impressive is the fact that those numbers are against difficult competition.
“Kyle gets put into the position of pitching against the other top teams,” Benavides said.
Swannack is planning to play for coach Mark Yoshino at Bellevue Community College. BYU and Seattle University have also asked Benavides about Swannack. Benavides said the success of Hazen graduate Nathan Bunch at BYU has led to the team taking longer looks at pitchers in the area.
Swannack works with a fastball in the mid-to-high 80 mph range. He also throws a two-seamer and curveball.
“The curve pretty well throws everybody off,” Benavides said. “If he can throw it for strikes he’s good.”
Though Swannack has played some third base this season, the Lindbergh coaching staff has been trying to get him into the role of only pitching to help him get used to it for the next level. Benavides also said the Eagles have some young players that need playing time at third. Through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, he said Swannack will pitch and get some time at designated hitter.
Swannack and Lindbergh’s four other seniors have created a strong dynamic this season. One that’s made it easier for Benavides to coach, and easier for the team to win.
“I’ve felt so comfortable with the leadership of the seniors,” he said. “They’ve taken control of the team. Everybody’s listening and you don’t have any bad attitudes.”
The senior group is Blake Gray, Jordyn Perry, Greg Gasperetti, Derek Hwang and Swannack.
Gray leads the team with a .576 batting average. He has 19 hits in 33 at bats. He’s also batting .500 and has eight steals on the season. Perry has 18 RBIs, five doubles and a .420 batting average. Swannack leads the group on home runs, with two. Hwang is batting .371 on the season with 12 runs and eight RBIs.
Gasperetti will likely play baseball at Pierce College next season. He has a 3.30 ERA this season, with 23 strikeouts in 23.1 innings. Benavides said Gasperetti attacks batters more with offspeed pitches, mostly because he doesn’t have as much velocity as Swannack.
At the plate, Gasperetti is batting .327 on the season, with 16 RBIs, 15 runs and a homerun.
Non-seniors also making impact for Eagles
Junior Tommy Kawamura is batting .500 and leads the team in a number of categories, including RBIs (21), runs (27), triples (6) and steals (9). Sophomore Bakari Davis is batting .408. He has five doubles, nine RBIs and 18 runs.
