Q: What do you want your team's identity to be?
This is a really tough, competitive group of kids that work together well and want to do whatever it takes to win, and I feel like that's been our identity for some time now. Our seniors want to help lift the program to new levels and end their careers on a high note, so they're pushing the others to approach the game with that same mentality of never quitting and fighting for seven innings.
Q: What has this year's senior class meant to your program?
They've been fantastic for us. Several of them started out as really just role players, but last year they stepped up in a big way to become significant leaders on the team. Any time you've got a senior group that's played together for a few years and really love to compete and push their teammates, you've got a chance to win games.
Q: Who will be the primary contributors on this year's squad?
There are the twins, Jack and Jacob, who really just started out as role players but came on really strong last year and did became significant leaders on the team. Then there's LJ Andrews, who didn't get to play last year because of an ACL injury, but he's coming back last year, and we're excited to have him. He plays catcher for us and does a really great job of picking off steal attempts. Ka'Ron Weary didn't play last year because he wanted to focus on football, and in that process he got a lot bigger and stronger. He'll be coming back this year, and we're really excited about what he brings to the table. There are several others capable of being leaders for us on any given day, so we want everyone to be prepared to make plays whenever their opportunities come.
Q: Last year your team got a taste of the playoffs. What did y'all learn from that experience, and how do you take that next step?
Just by staying focused and not getting distracted. We played Mize in the first round last year and got distracted because of some things that were going on, but it caused us to go down 8-0 early. We fought back and made it 8-6 with a chance to get the win, but it was just a little too late. We just have to stay focused on what's in front of us and give our best effort on every play.
Q: Y'all had a lot of comeback wins in 2022, but what do you think the team needs to improve on early in games so you don't have to rely on coming back?
That's actually something I was proud of. We were shorthanded with only around 12 players, but I stressed to them all season to just keep fighting until the last out, and they were able to do that and earn some hard-fought wins. That being said, we do want to do a better job of not allowing unearned bases and creating more runs in the first few innings so that we don't get put into improbable situations down the backstretch of
games.
