In baseball everything is about statistics. Going into this weekend’s playoffs for the first time in five years, the Ballard varsity baseball team will not only have the best batting statistics in the KingCo conference, the team also has one of the highest grade point averages in the league.

With a team average GPA of 3.49, the Ballard baseball players show they’ve been working hard on and off the field.

“When your grade point average is better than your batting average, that’s good,” said assistant coach Jim DuBois.

The grade point average was taken from the day the players entered Ballard High School up until the recent third quarter grades.

“This is a great example of a team who makes the “student” part of student athlete a top priority. This is a great accomplishment for the Ballard Athletic Program and one that sometimes is overshadowed by athletic skill and accomplishments,” said Athletic Director, Carrie Burr.

“The baseball team has really become a “team” since the middle of the season and has achieved some great achievements including our first playoff berth in quite some time. This is just like icing on the cake. Coach Lamm has done a great job of keeping on his players academically and recognizing the bigger picture of high school athletics.”

Since taking over as head coach three years ago, Coach John Lamm demanded a change in the athletes’ attitude toward education.

“If you can excel in the classroom and be accountable, it makes it easier for me to coach,” Lamm said. “In my first year, I spend more time dealing with theft, drugs, and bad behavior than coaching baseball.”

Going into his second year, Lamm set some high expectation of his players and cut the players that didn’t meet them.

“I’m proud of the fact that they have such a high GPA and I let them know that,” he said.

DuBois said it’s about protecting the players that are coming in from being influenced by bad behaviors of the older players.

“Baseball needs to be a safe place where it’s cool to be a good athlete and a good student,” DuBois said.

Lamm said he stresses the importance of doing well off the field because sudden injuries can arise and leave a player with nothing.

Ballard’s star player Danny Thomson is currently out because of an elbow injury and won’t be able to throw for the remainder of this season or the summer, Lamm said.

But due to his work ethic, good grades, and impressive athletic performances, Thomson is headed to Princeton after high school.

“He’s the model. He has a great work ethic, doesn’t run his mouth, goes to class and leads by example,” Lamm said. “He’s going to Princeton not just to play ball but also to get a great education.”

“It’s very upsetting he can’t play,” DuBois added. “But even if his name isn’t in the game statistics, Danny’s imprint with the team will last.”

Leading the team at bat in the playoffs this weekend are Brendan Foor and Oliver Guarino, two of the league’s best hitters.

“We have a good chance,” Lamm said. “We have the best hitting team in KingCo. I don’t think anyone wants to face our hitting when the bats are warm because hitting is contagious.”

Lamm said their weakness has been base running. “We’ve probably run ourselves out of three games,” he said.

DuBois said they’ve also been working on playing smarter. In a few games this season, the baseball team lost the entire game in one bad inning due to errors.

“Adrenaline unlearns you,” DuBois said. “When kids get into baseball they work on individual skills. By the time they get to our level, we have to put their skills in the confines of team baseball.”

The coaches identified Newport and Redmond as the toughest opponents at the playoffs but they aren’t intimidated.

“It’s a big deal for a Seattle team to make the playoffs,” Lamm said. “We have met our first goal of our program – to make the playoffs – so there’s no pressure. We’re going out there with the confidence that we’re able to hit of anyone we face and we’re going to have fun.”

Ballard ‘s first playoff game in five years will be against Newport on Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at Woodinville High School.

If you can’t be there in person, you can follow the Ballard baseball team as they compete at playoffs on Twitter and Facebook.