Baseball wins State, ready for new year, training new players

The adrenalin-filled celebration after the miraculous victory may have been the most rewarding part of the state championship journey.
“There was lot of pandemonium and excitement,” Coach Scot Green said. “We were celebrating with our fans and jumping on each others’ backs.”
After the game, the celebration the baseball players experienced was worth it.
With emotion building at the end of the game of 6 outs or 3 outs, the Raiders stayed focused and didn’t take their minds off of the ultimate goal.
“We probably didn’t sleep much anyway just cause we were so excited,” Green said.
After the championship game, the players were both mentally and physically exhausted.
“Someone asked me if I had got off the high of winning the state championship and I said I don’t know if I ever did,” Green said.
Now that last year’s season is over, the Raiders have high expectations to fulfill for the upcoming season.
“You know we lost a lot of our players, but we had a lot that got to experience a part of it [a state championship],” Green said. Last years seniors had a prominent contribution in the victorious attainment of the championship. Especially Cameron Allen who got after the Corpus Christi Calallen player he was facing and made a heck of a catch.
From the transition of the seniors leaving, this year’s starters have much to contribute to the upcoming season.
“We had a good group,” Green said. “We have a great tradition here so each year something more is learned by some of our players, and that knowledge is passed down to newer players.”
That knowledge is passed down each year to guide the new players in the right direction to achieve goals that last year’s players could not achieve. This custom is a vital characteristic of the Raider team that ensures new players achieve goals that the previous year’s players could not achieve. That’s not so easy when the team before wins state, but Green says that championship will help this year’s team.
“The expectations are just to play hard,” Green said. “They know what it takes to get there, and they know what work they have to put into it.”
The expectations enable players to look at what they must achieve throughout the season to work on their flaws to ensure the team’s maximum progression.
“These guys have taken on the challenge of just sharing the tradition of just going out there and giving a hundred percent,” Green said.

Drive, Determination, Discipline: Seniors Lead Team

Sweat dripping down their foreheads, the heat is almost unbearable as they step onto the field with determination. It is off-season and they are working as hard now as they do in-season. It is almost as if the baseball team doesn’t know it is September and not April.

Every day after school, the baseball team has an optional conditioning, but to an on-looker it would not look optional. Senior Matt Montague said that most everyone on the team shows up after school. “Everyone is ready to get to work, staying three hours after school every day, showing they are dedicated,” Montague said. “Everyone seems so committed.”

These after school practices are all student lead. Junior Devek Lopez said that the seniors are basically the boss. “They are the leaders on the team, they tell us what to do and they make sure we stay in line,” Lopez said. “They just make sure we are on top.”

Sophomore Payton Geisinger said that the seniors have a lot of responsibilities on the team. “The seniors are in charge of practice,” Geisinger said. “The coaches are not allowed to coach us, and the seniors are the leaders so they might as well be the coaches out there.”

Geisinger also said that everyone looks up to the seniors. “The freshmen, sophomores, and juniors all watch after them,” Geisinger said. “They are kind of like our parents. We watch them, so they have to be responsible and do the right thing so we do the right thing.”

Montague said that his job includes helping the younger classmen and making sure they are doing things right.

Montague also said that being a senior on the team puts a little more pressure on him. “Just knowing that the younger guys are looking up to us,” Montague said. “We have to watch everything we do.”

Senior Gage Green said there is also extra pressure on him. “You just have to make sure you don’t goof off because the younger classmen are looking up to you,” Green said.

They may be considered leaders on the team, but Montague and Green said that there are students who they look at as inspiring.

“Juan Lopez,” Green said. “He is always hustling with everything he does.”

Montague had a different student in mind.

“Jordy McQuerry is always working hard to improve on everything he does and to impress the older classmen,” Montague said.

After school practice is a time for teammates to be encouraged by other teammates, and for each person to get better.  Geisinger said he has seen the improvement.

“I have definitely become a better batter after staying after school,” Geisinger said.

For Geisinger the reason he stays three hours after school is just so that he can get better. “I definitely want to be on the same skill level as everyone else and just be better by the time season starts,” Geisinger said.

Extra practice time is only part of the reason freshman Parker Short stays after.  “I stay in hopes that my extra effort will pay off later in the year and it is good to meet new people for the trips,” Short said.

Baseball Ready To Roll

With a record of 29-5 the baseball team finds itself state ranked in 10th place and in the regional play-offs under direction of head coach Scot Green.

“I feel the guys have done extremely well (this year),” Coach Green said. “They have put in a lot of time and effort in the off-season and it has paid off.”

Members of the team feel that they have made it this far because of how well they get along.

“One of the things that helps a lot is (that) we have a strong bond on the team with the players and coaches,” sophomore Jordan McQuerry said.

Of course, the team members have had some minor friction between them.

“We have our troubles, but at the end of the day we have each others’ backs,” senior Connor Brown said.

Some team members are getting a little nostalgic looking back on this season.

“My favorite moment would have been when we found out we were district champs and when we crushed Old High,” McQuerry said.

However, not all moments can be good ones, and most of the team agrees on the worst moment of the season.

“Probably the most disappointing (moment) was losing to Lake Dallas,” Coach Green said.

Lake Dallas was one of the few blemishes on the team’s record this year.

“Losing to Lake Dallas in extra innings (was the worst thing),” Brown said.

Despite the road bump that is Lake Dallas, the team is very optimistic for playoffs.

“I feel that if we play our game that no one can beat us, but we’re taking them (the games) one by one and play by play, and only 200 feet in front of us,” McQuerry said.

Jordan is not alone in his positive outlook.

“We have had many good games,” Coach Green said. “I think we put a good product on the field and represent our school well.”

All in all, the team is ready for playoffs.

“(We have done) very well, but it ain’t over yet,” Brown said.