The climb toward becoming a top-tier program reached another rung on the ladder this past season for the Pella baseball team. After doubling their win total from 2009 in last season’s campaign, the Little Dutch nearly accomplished that again in 2011 – nearly a four-fold increase in victories in a span of two seasons.

Pella Head Baseball Coach Aaron Reasland said that despite a few rocky games early on, the team accomplished much of what it set out to do.

“We were playing our best ball at the end of the season, and we couldn’t ask for anything more down the stretch. We finished 12-3[to end the season] – had rocky roads early on – but again our goal is to build a program that continues to grow every single day,” said Reasland.

“From the time that we started here three years ago, I can honestly say that there’s not a day that we fell apart. We improved every single day – the wins and losses are starting to show that – but there’s so many things behind the scenes that are more important that would also reflect that.”

The Little Dutch finished the 2011 campaign with an overall mark of 19-15 and finished third in the Little Hawkeye Conference with a 13-8 record in league play.