Henkel finally healthy for Hawks baseball team

Posted: July 8, 2009

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Todd Ponath/Staff Photographer

Josh Henkel lays down a bunt against Catholic Memorial on Friday.

Todd Ponath/Staff Photographer

Josh Henkel lays down a bunt against Catholic Memorial on Friday.

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For about eight games last year, things went well for Arrowhead junior baseball player Josh Henkel, and then it happened again.

Playing a Classic 8 Conference game at Mukwonago on a Tuesday night, he slid head-first into second base on a steal attempt. He didn't get up after hitting the base. Instead, he rolled on the dirt, writhing in pain. The torn labrum in his shoulder had him scheduled to miss the remainder of the season, which included just two more league games and then the WIAA regionals and sectionals.

The scrappy 5-foot-10, 160-pound Henkel toughed it out and returned to the lineup for Arrowhead's regional game one week later and finished the season at the sectional level. But it was just the latest in a long line of awful luck for the current senior.

"I was bummed every time I got hurt," Henkel said. "But I knew I had to work through it and good things would happen. It just seemed like I was jinxed for three years. Every time I would get healthy, something would happen again. Rehabbing has made me stronger. I never gave up. I just wanted to stay healthy my senior season. So far it's been working out."

The Henkel curse

Had Henkel not had any bad luck in his first three years at Arrowhead, he wouldn't have had any luck at all.

As a freshman, he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee playing summer basketball. That year, he played just seven baseball games because of that injury.

One year later, playing on the junior varsity basketball team, he suffered another torn ACL in his left knee on the final basketball game of the season. He missed the entire baseball season in 2007

Looking forward to his junior year and finally staying healthy, he survived basketball season, but suffered a bad hamstring injury at the start of the baseball campaign. He missed 12 games because of the pulled hamstring before returning to the field for about a week preceding the labrum injury.

However, there's good news for the hard-luck Henkel and for the Warhawks. His senior season has been injury-free (cross your fingers), and he and his teammates are having big years. Arrowhead is 19-0 in Classic 8 Conference play and clinched the league championship two weeks ago. No team has ever finished the conference season undefeated.

No ill effects

The two-year starter in center field is arguably the best defensive outfielder in the storied history of the highly successful AHS program. He does not have a single error this season and has made numerous outstanding catches, either racing back to the fence or making diving catches in the power-alleys.

Last week in a win over Mukwonago, which clinched the league title, Henkel recorded the final out with two men on base by making a long run to his right to snare a ball just before it hit the ground, preserving the win with his diving, laid-out catch.

"Those are the kinds of plays he makes all the time," said Arrowhead coach Tim O'Driscoll. "I've been around the baseball program here for a long time, as a coach and a player, and he's as good of an outfielder as we've had. You just take it for granted that he's going to make the big plays. Josh is the kind of kid that makes coaching a lot of fun."

Henkel is also batting .304 going into this week's action and is an outstanding baserunner.

"Josh knows how to play the game," O'Driscoll said. "He gets a great jump on the ball and that really helps. But he understands all facets of the game, whether it be hitting, bunting or baserunning. He's a tremendous young man with a great attitude. He loves to play baseball."

Coincidentally, Josh plays the same position as his father, Tim, who patrolled center field for O'Driscoll in 1981 and 1982.

"Tim was a good player for us, but I'll take Josh any day,"