By: Dave Faries, Editor
Before the start of this season, no visiting baseball squad lit up Mexico’s left field scoreboard. Neither did the Bulldogs, for that matter.
The larger scoreboard was a new addition for the 2020 season and had never been used until last weekend.
But head coach Daniel McCarty believes he can rely on his pitching staff to keep scores on the visiting side of the board low. While the team begins the season with just three seniors, there is depth on the mound.
“Our biggest strength is our pitching,” he said. “Our pitchers have different skills, which should allow efficient innings and the opportunity to control the game.”
On offense the Bulldogs will try to create scoring chances on the base paths. McCarty advocates aggressive base running and the team buys into his style.
“We’re pretty young, but we’re fast,” observed Brayden Dunn. “We’ll be good.”
But hanging over every team in the area is the difference between practice speed and game speed.
“We might start a little rusty because we didn’t have a season,” Tristan Prater said, adding that the Bulldogs’ wealth of talent would pull them through.
Van-Far sees opportunity
A year ago the Indians had a lineup of veteran seniors ready to take on the spring schedule. The pandemic cut their high school careers short and erased any expectations.
Van-Far head coach Tom Roth sees this preseason as a blank slate.
“You get to start all over,” he observed.
He is starting over with a few returning starters and a number of eager young players. Roth says they are learning their rolls.
LaTrell Wright compares the uncertainties of the 2021 campaign – and even the game of baseball itself – with the pandemic. Obstacles pop up, challenges appear.
“You get hit with a lot of stuff,” he said. “You have to push through. I look at it as a blessing.”
Hunter Scrogin kept his baseball skills sharp over the summer playing legion ball in Hannibal. While he hopes that prepared him for a good start, he is certain the team can gel quickly.
“Most of us are friends,” he noted. “We can come together on the field as long as we communicate.”
Community R6 and Missouri Military Academy had to postpone meetings with The Ledger.
