Believe or not, Westminster Christian's Ben Palmer entered his senior season feeling he had something to prove.

This from the player who struck out 128 batters in 82 2/3 innings and finished with an area-best 0.43 ERA last year while guiding his team to a berth in the Class A state quarterfinals.

This also from the guy who last fall accepted a scholarship to pitch at Division-I Dallas Baptist University next year.

However, for Palmer, those impressive pitching statistics weren't enough. After being limited to only a few at-bats the past two years due to a nagging back injury, Palmer entered the 2008 campaign with a clean bill of health and offense on his mind.

"Since I already have that pitching scholarship, I kind of want to show that I can hit a little bit, too," Palmer said. "I don't want to be the kid that people said could only pitch and not do anything else."

So far, everything has gone according to plan.

Through his team's first 12 games, Palmer was batting .438 with three home runs, a team-best 18 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a team-best .844 slugging percentage.

His presence in the No. 6 spot in the Warriors' batting order is only adding to a potent offense that includes five players who are touting batting averages of .400 or better. Winners of an area-best nine straight games, Westminster (11-3) is scoring a blistering 10.1 runs per game.

For Palmer, the offensive outburst hasn't taken a toll on his pitching prowess. The crafty southpaw owns a 3-1 record with a 0.54 ERA and an area-best 42 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.

"I finally feel like I can help out the team besides just pitching," Palmer said. "I haven't been able to hit the past two years, so this is extremely fun for me to go out and free swing it."

That certainly wasn't the case for Palmer the past two years.

As a sophomore, Palmer began battling a condition called Spondylitis, which is a type of arthritis that affects the spine or backbone. The ailment caused Palmer to feel a sharp pain when he'd twist his back, making it impossible to bat.

Although the pain wasn't as severe during his junior season, Palmer was limited to little more than bunting and slap-single duty as his coaches remained hesitant to send him into the batter's box.

"Ben would be up there swinging and twisting, and that would mess him up on the mound," Westminster coach Jeff Moeller said. "We were always trying to make sure that we kept him healthy on the mound because we needed that more than we needed his bat.

"Obviously when you've got a pitcher that can dominate like Ben can, that's worth a lot more than three at-bats."

Those physical concerns are mostly gone for Palmer now.

Aside from the passage of time helping a condition that doctors predicted Palmer would eventually grow out of, a strenuous workout plan during the offseason also helped Palmer add 20 pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame.

Working six days a week for roughly two months alongside battery mate Carter Ward -- who added 30 pounds of muscle thanks to the program -- Palmer built up considerable strength in his lower legs, forearms, biceps and triceps.

"He's got more of a man's figure now," Moeller said. "He's muscled up and doesn't look like a little kid anymore. He's really filled in."

With Casey Schuring (.457 batting average), Tyler Beachler (.400), Ward (.436), Cory Hodge (.500) and Brandon Siewert (.360) setting the table, Palmer said he's seeing a steady diet of fastballs and getting plenty of opportunities to drive in runs.

Though Palmer's sudden emergence as a power hitter may come as a surprise to some, it should be noted that he batted better than. 300 as a freshman. He also spent the entire winter taking batting practice in the basement of his family's home in Hampshire in an effort to regain his hitting stroke.

"I'm not surprised by it," Ward said of Palmer's offensive success. "Ben's always been a solid player all around, and it is definitely nice to have that strong lefty bat in the order."