Grand Island baseball preparing to dethrone Omaha and Lincoln in Nebraska

Sliding to his knees, Calvin Hehnke's game-saving play against Lincoln North Star in mid-April was just one more example of the high standard at which Grand Island is playing baseball this season.

With the bases loaded and two out in the seventh inning, the senior shortstop dropped, scooped up a ground ball up the middle, and calmly but instantaneously threw out the Navigator baserunner at first base, keeping the Islanders out in front in the second game of a 7-4, 12-11 doubleheader sweep.

The Islander pitching staff bewilders enemy hitters with knee-buckling marksmanship, and Grand Island baserunners are stealing bases at a high frequency. But defense? Well that's what you may want to call their bread and butter.

"We have an excellent pitching staff," Hehnke said. "We are solid from 1-9 in the lineup. We have no weaknesses there. But I'd have to say our solid defense is our backbone."

The defense had been especially stingy for the Islanders early on, as Grand Island won 11 of its first 13 contests. However, a slight dip in play on the stop side of the ball was partially to blame for Grand Island's three losses in its next six contests. A slow start at the plate also hindered Grand Island's drive for perfection in 2015.

But with Grand Island's sweep of Crete and Norfolk last weekend, the Islanders ran their season record to 16-5. Hehnke, Parker Upton, Riley Baasch and company appear to be headed back in the correct direction.

"We do need to focus more," Upton said. "We need to focus throughout our ballgames and we need to get on top of teams earlier. We have to minimize our mistakes. In the first few games our defense was clean and crisp. But lately we have misplayed some funny hops and bounces and had some playable balls roll between our legs."

As a team, the Islanders are hitting .302 and have stolen 26 bases in 21 games. The Islanders are holding opposing hitters at bay, allowing only a .216 batting average to the opposition. Kissack's pitching staff has performed superbly, yielding a 2.25 team earned run average.

Upton leads the team with a .391 batting average among hitters that have at least 16 at bats, and he leads the Islanders with seven doubles and four triples. Seven Islanders are hitting .300 or better through 21 games this season. Baasch and Hehnke are close with batting averages of .299 and .279, respectively.

"Our bats? We're not dangerous from one through six," Upton said before pausing briefly. "But from one through nine. Everybody is capable of doing big things at the plate.

"I mean, if someone is struggling, there is always someone there to pick them up and help the team. And that becomes a problem for any opponent. If they aren't as strong at the bottom of the order, that means that our pitchers will have an easier time of it on the mound."

Compared with a year ago, the Islanders are lagging slightly at the plate. Kissack's third-place squad of a year ago was hitting about .350 at the same time last year. While Baasch admits that he prefers swinging away, he said he is buying into Grand Island's small ball theory.

"As a big guy, I like to swing the bat," Baasch said. "But I also like to do whatever it takes to win. So I'm on board."

Grand Island has played its way into the Nebraska state baseball tournament in five of the past 12 seasons. The Islanders won the school's only state baseball title in 2008, and finished third a season ago. According to Hehnke, Grand Island hopes to ride last season's momentum and claim another state title.

The Islanders aim to battle their way through the Class A bracket.

"We just have to put it together," Hehnke said. "We need to send a message. This year we're not going to let Omaha and Lincoln decide who the state champion is. We're working hard. We come early to practice and we take our cuts. Then we stay after to take a few ground balls."

According to Baasch, this year's underclassmen are starting to get it as well.

"We have a lot of young players filling the holes left due to graduation last year," he said. "But I'd say they are starting to understand what it takes to play varsity ball. They won a lot over the summer, so they know how to win. But there is a big difference between JV and varsity."

Baasch said he supposes most teams would be satisfied with the 16-5 mark he and his Islander teammates have earned so far this spring. But, with the athletes Kissack has on this year's roster, Baasch hinted that the Islanders may be just a play or two from going on a long run.

"It's a great group of guys," Baasch said. "And each one of us knows our roles. We just have to get going down the stretch. We haven't peaked yet. We haven't played our best. I think if we can get our hitting going at the right time, it will carry us a long way."

Lined with guys that will be playing football, baseball or basketball at the next level, Kissack's roster bears the names of the talented athletes he needs to make some noise once again at Nebraska's state baseball championships beginning in May.

"We are a bunch of guys that are fortunate to get to play this game," Hehnke said. "We have the complete package. If we are lacking in the field, we can make up for it in another area. We put together very good stats as a team, but we don't really pay attention to stats. Wins are more important. Our game isn't about the individual. We all work on our games individually, and then we come together as a team.

"In the past, we'd win a couple of games at districts and think, ‘that's pretty good.' But that's not the way we think anymore," Hehnke said. "The goal isn't to get to state. We've set our expectations higher. We're expecting to come together as a team and make a run at that state title."