Power ball: Woodward's growth reflected in Heath's state championship

HEATH ― Hayden Woodward followed up an outstanding junior season with a stellar senior year for Division III state champion Heath.

When asked about the most significant improvement the first baseman-pitcher had made, Coach Tom Warren did not hesitate to answer.

"He turned into a man, with his body mass and body development," he said.

The numbers reflect that. Woodward hit just one home run last year but smacked eight this season, including two in a 4-2 Licking County League Cardinal win against Lakewood, in which he was also the winning pitcher.

After again leading the 28-2 Bulldogs in most offensive categories, including the aforementioned eight homers, a .451 batting average, 47 RBIs and .800 slugging percentage, plus pitching to a 7-0 record and 1.38 ERA, the first-team All-Ohioan has repeated as the Advocate's Baseball Player of the Year. He also had a 1.000 fielding percentage.

"I was always in the gym the past three, three and a half years, and it just came pretty natural," Woodward said of his power surge. "I kicked it into gear with the baseball workouts."

His workout partner was often classmate Riley Baum, who also enjoyed a breakout year at the plate and the mound.

"His work ethic is like no other," Baum said. "After practice, he would go to the gym, then hit baseballs. We worked together a lot, and it was accountability. That was for the whole team."

The power he supplied was a bonus because Woodward, who was also a starting lineman on the LCL-Cardinal champion football team, found numerous ways to contribute.

"He has good feet, he can pitch, and he can run a little bit," Warren said. "He kept his average up and his numbers didn't fall. He works really hard at baseball, takes it seriously and works extremely hard at his craft. We had some really good players, and they looked up to Woody for leadership."

During one stretch of the season, when he was hitting his home runs, Woodward got into a zone.

"It felt like I could hit any pitch, anywhere I wanted to," he said. "it looked like a beach ball coming in there."

Of course, then teams began pitching around him, but he still came through.

"He became much more selective at the plate as the season progressed," Warren said.

Woodward delivered a big RBI double in the comeback to beat two-time defending state champion Waynedale in the state semifinals, then scored the tying run before Conner Toomey delivered the game-winner in the eighth inning. Woodward said he wasn't the only one who worked hard.

"It was team workouts and guys working by themselves," he said. "It was obviously more than one player with our team, and everyone was totally committed."

Warren was able to coach Woodward one last time recently in the Senior All-Ohio Series and in the Licking-Knox All-Star Game. Now, Woodward turns his focus to NCAA Division II Findlay University, where he reports on Aug. 15. In the meantime, he's enjoying summer ball with the Licking County Athletics, where he is again a teammate of Baum.

"Findlay has had a new coach for the past two years, and he's definitely turning the program around," Woodward said. "They had three key guys who graduated. I will play right field and first base, probably mostly right field. I'm pretty excited."

With his work ethic, he'll no doubt be ready, but he'll also be keeping an eye on things in Licking County, where Heath will have to replace eight seniors.

"I'll always be a Bulldog, and I'll be following them," he said. "We had a huge target on our back, and we were a little bit uptight, especially early on. But it was in the back of our mind, getting back there, and Coach Warren and the staff did a great job helping us do it."

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Power ball: Woodward's growth reflected in Heath's state championship