Ponies baseball swinging for the fences
May 11, 2016
As the dust blows up from under the crashing of the bat, nothing is heard except the gazing of the ball flying high over the pitchers head. This is an average occurrence for the the varsity boys baseball team. The team is focused on nothing but playing their hearts out and laying all that they have on the field in order to take home the win.
Going into this year, the Ponies have a lot to live up to. The past team had an all star team and now it is up to them to live up to the baseball name and take home the victory for the school, but they are not doing this alone. They are taking all the advise and direction they can get from head coach Mike Parker and assistant coach Mike Weiss.
“Coach Parker and coach Weiss’ style is very different than any other coaches I’ve had. But I respect there philosophy and just do the best I can to help my team win and have fun,” senior Wyatt Blinkhorn said.
Not only do the coaches focus on individual skills, but also playing as a team as well. One of the main bonding experiences the team gets is traveling somewhere south for tryouts just as all the MLB players are doing for spring training. This year the trip was down to Florida, where the sun is shinning bright and the state is always ready for an intense game of baseball.
“They really work and help with your mechanics during practice, but I think individual growth comes with expierence like playing during games in helping your team win in anyway possible,” Blinkhorn said.
The leaderhsip skills do not just rely on the coaches, but as the team captains as well. The responsibility of a captain, is being a role model for the underlassmen and other seniors, in hope that they follow in their footsteps and represent the school in the best way possible.
“The responsibilities that come with being a captain are very straight forward, you show leadership and by that I mean you lead by example for the underclassmen and you hope that they will follow you to become a better, more focused player. There is also the responsibility reputation. You make sure that you represent your school and your team with the greatest respect and the respect of other teams,” senior captain Cory Albertson said.
Going to state is of the major goal of the team, but this is not how the team works. The Ponies focus on the next win and then when that is accomplished, moving onto the next game. Trying to move on from mistakes and learning from them the next time around, is the key to this team’s success. Going into the tenth game of the season, they have a winning record of 5-4 and a conference record of 3-4. Both the coaches and the players are bound and determined to be more successful then past years.
I feel like we started out slow, especially hitting. But over the past few games our hitting has caught fire and everyone is hitting the ball very well. We are continuing to play good defense and we are riding a three game win streak right now,” Graham Labubscher said.
Captain Albertson describes the team as “dedicated.” He said, “I know that that word can be tossed around any team and it can describe what they think, but this is what everyone on this baseball team is and there isn’t anybody that you tell you different, myself and the other captains are extremely proud of how dedicated our team has become.”
Whether it be warm up drills or the game winning home run, the baseball boys will not give up, but rather go down swinging. The boys are optimistic and full of confidence that the road to state is in sight as they stomp the rest of the competition in sections at the end of the regular season.
“Our season will be a season that everyone will remember. We are going to do great things this year. Section title isn’t our top goal. Our top goal is state championship, and I guarantee we can make it,” Albertson said.