By Travis Smola
“We’ve been in most of the games we’ve played so far,” Vicksburg varsity baseball Head Coach Brian Deal said. “An error here, a walk there and next thing you know, it turns into a run and we get behind in the game.”
Unfortunately, this has been how things have played out in the early part of the season as the team has a 2-6 record. “The best thing I can say about it is, it’s early, and this is only the seventh game that we’ve played so far,” Deal said after the second game of a double header against Conference foe Sturgis was suspended due to failing light.
The team lost the first game of the double header to Sturgis 13-8, but they had their chances. The Bulldogs were leading going into the fifth inning when the Trojans took back the lead. With two on and one out, Carter Ford hit a high fly ball to center that allowed one runner to score and tie things up in the bottom of the fifth.
But Sturgis struck right back with two more runs in the top of the sixth. In the bottom of the sixth, Jacob Conklin had the big highlight of the night when he smashed a huge solo home run over the center field fence to get Vicksburg back within one. But the Trojans responded with four runs in the top of the seventh that went unanswered by the Bulldogs.
The second game got off to an even rougher start as the Trojans went up 6-0 before play was suspended in the fourth.
It’s worth noting Vicksburg lost seven key seniors last season. Deal expects much of the Wolverine Conference to be in a similar position this season.
“It’s one of those things that’s going to be a work in progress where we just have to come to practice every day. We have to try to get better,” Deal said. “We have to go into every game trying to improve on something. That’s how we have to look at it, because if we start folding up the tents right now, it’s going to make for a long season.”