Published: May 12, 2008 11:50 pm         

Roberts gets hot, stays hot

Wyoming East coach Ron “Chief” Mayhew thought he knew what to expect this season from Billy Roberts.

“He has never had a bad year, but he has never had an outstanding year,” the veteran said. “Going into the season, we were hoping for more from him.”

Roberts has delivered, more so than even his coaches anticipated.

The senior left fielder has been one of the Warriors’ best hitters, from the beginning of the year through last week’s sectional championship run. On a team that is batting .369, Roberts has easily saved his best season for last.

“It’s special,” Roberts said. “We’ve got six seniors who all want to win, and that’s what we have been doing.”

And Roberts has played a big part in it.

In 24 games, Roberts is batting .427 with three doubles, three triples and 39 runs batted in. As he had done before, Roberts got off to a quick start this season.

This time, he never slowed down.

“He would have good moments each year,” Mayhew said. “He would get hot and then cool off. Sometimes we would have to take him out of the batting order. He started that way this year and we anticipated him cooling off, but he hasn’t.”

Roberts is battling fellow senior Cory Willard for the school record in RBIs. Right now, Willard has the lead with 42. The record was 35, set by Luke Stevens in 2005.

Although he trails by three, Roberts is thrilled just to be in the situation.

“It means a lot,” he said. “We have a bunch of good hitters. If (Willard) doesn’t drive them in, I will.”

So good has Roberts been that he has moved up to the No. 3 spot in the batting order after spending previous years at the six or seven holes.

“It’s a pretty good honor,” he said. “We have a lot of good hitters and (coaches) put me in the three hole.”

“He’s hitting behind Jeff Growe and Cory Willard, so he always has a good chance to get some RBIs,” Mayhew said. “But you’ve got to make contact.”

Roberts has done that. He credits the coaches’ work for his offensive consistency.

“We have these drills that we do in the fieldhouse where we hit some tennis balls at pieces of wood,” he said. “That has helped with my hand-eye coordination.”

The improvement hasn’t just come at the plate. Roberts said he has “learned to judge the ball better in the field.”

“He has been faithful and consistent, rode it out,” Mayhew said. “He’s a quiet type of kid who doesn’t make a lot of noise. He comes to practice and does what you ask him to do. If you ask him to do more, he will do more.

“He’s just Billy and I’m going to miss him.”

The Warriors (18-6) won the Class AA Region 3, Section 3 championship last week by scoring a combined 33 runs in three games. They will visit Mount View next Monday in the region semifinals.

— E-mail: gfauber@

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