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Over the coming months, Prep Baseball Report Virginia/DC will take a look back at the 2015 season for each school that finished the spring in the final 2015 Power 25. In each article, we will not only recap the successful seasons of these 40 schools, but highlight the individuals who drove that success and preview what the outlook is for each team in 2016.

22. Battlefield bobcats

 

Season Recap:

Battlefield had a tall task this spring to replace 2014 ace and third round draft pick Nick Wells, but they managed to do so in style. Battlefield finished the 2015 regular season Cedar Run Conference Runners-up, losing a tiebreaker game to Patriot in their third meeting of the season, all of which went to extra innings. The Bobcats then advanced to the 6A Northern Region Tournament and reached the semifinals, where they took eventual 6A State Champion James Madison to 9 innings before falling. Battlefield finished with an overall record of 16-6.

Key Performers:

+Jake Agnos: (LHP, 2016, East Carolina) Agnos was the Bobcats’ ace in 2015 and had arguably the best high school season of any pitcher in the Commonwealth. He contributed to no-hitters in back-to-back starts early in the season, a combined one with Colin Brown (RHP, 2015, Catholic) and a solo one in which he piled up 11 strikeouts in 6 innings. Agnos’s most impressive outing of the year is the one that doesn’t officially count, in which he gave up a leadoff home run against Osbourn Park and then struck out the next 21 batters in a row.

+Brent Boggs: (MIF, 2017, VMI) Boggs formed the second half of a strong double play combination throughout the year. The defense that he and Manning played throughout the year was a key to the Bobcat pitching staff’s success.

+Oakley Herrewig: (OF, 2016) Herrewig had a strong offensive season and played a very good leftfield. His emergence throughout the spring was a key to the Bobcats’ success as it lengthened their lineup significantly and he routinely produced in the clutch.

+Jett Manning: (MIF, 2015, Western Carolina) Manning had a fantastic defensive season at shortstop and was an effective top of the order hitter, getting on and stealing bases in front of the middle of the Bobcat lineup.

+Tyler Solomon: (C, 2017, Vanderbilt) It’s hard to describe the impact that Solomon had on the Bobcats in 2015. He hit in the three-hole and put on some impressive displays of power throughout the season, developing into one of the most feared hitters in the area while also handling a talented pitching staff effectively.

 

2016 Outlook:

The Bobcats are one of the early 6A Northern Region and State favorites. They return most of their deep pitching staff which will again be anchored by Agnos and look for bigger contributions from Keagan McGinnis (RHP, 2016, Virginia Tech) and Austin Landrum (RHP, 2017). The lineup will again be anchored in the middle by Solomon and Brady Harju (1B, 2016) and will look for continued growth out of Herrewig and Boggs.