Baseball – Holmdel’s Max Woodward Claims Week 1 Player of the Week Honor
Holmdel is off to a 2-2 start to the season and while the record alone is encouraging for a team coming off a 6-16 season in 2022, it doesn't quite convey how well the Hornets have competed through four games.
After sweeping Raritan to start the season -- including a combined no-hitter in the season-opener -- Holmdel pushed defending Central Jersey Group II champion Rumson-Fair Haven into extra innings in a 9-5 Bulldogs win, then battled in a 4-2 loss to cap the two-game series with the defending sectional and Class A Central champs.
A number of players have stepped up for Holmdel early, but Woodward has had a particularly notable and widespread impact so far. The senior pitched the last two innings of the combined no-hitter, then took the mound two days later to record the final out of Holmdel's 8-7 win over Raritan to complete the sweep. Woodward capped his week by pitching in Holmdel's third straight game, lasting 5 2/3 innings while giving up four earned runs.
At the plate, Woodward was even better: in the three games last week, he went 4-for-7 with two doubles, four walks, three runs scored and a stolen base.
Woodward won a close Week 1 race for Player of the Week, collecting 23.75 percent of the vote to take home the victory. Jackson Liberty sophomore Mike Kisseberth finished second place with 21.5 percent and Marlboro senior Mike Kansky racked up 18 percent of the votes cast to take third.
For winning the Player of the Week award, Woodward will receive a Player of the Week shirt courtesy of Ocean County Sports Medicine.
More From Shore Sports Network
