All good things must come to an end. On Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 4:00 p.m., the Maclay boys varsity baseball team’s winning streak was terminated by the Valwood Valiants. Although the game was held at Maclay, home-field advantage wasn’t enough to outplay the Valiants. Valwood took the lead on a single in the second inning and never looked back. The final score was 8-2.
“I wish we had that one back,” head coach Drew Sherrod said. “We definitely played much better last week. It still wasn’t bad, but a play [or error] here and there ended up adding up on the scoreboard.”
The Marauders are a young team this year, and Sherrod explains that games like [the loss against Valwood] are inevitable. Though, despite the adversity present, he’s proud of the team’s effort and attitude. Sherrod believes that how the team responds moving forward will be crucial for future success. The Marauders can make their biggest improvements by getting in the cage, reflecting on the loss and determining a new game plan.
“[We just have to figure out] how we need to make the necessary adjustments mechanically in order to get the results we want,” Sherrod said. “At the end of the day, it’s still a round ball and a round bat. We had some really good swings today, and the other team just made the play. We hit the ball hard, but it always went right to somebody.”
Scoring the Marauder’s two runs in Tuesday’s game were eighth grader Chase Fuller and freshman Ben Wagnon. First up on the pitcher’s mound was the team’s only senior, Kolton Lawson. Lawson believes that his pitching was good, but that there are always things the team can improve upon.
“We need to stop popping the ball up, hit line drives and hit balls on the ground,” Lawson said.
Another pitcher for the Marauders was sophomore George Grant. Aside from the personal mechanics of his game that Grant plans to work on, he believes that the team’s energy needs to be improved in order to succeed and have more wins in the future.
“I could’ve done better at the plate, but fielding I did well,” Grant said. “I didn’t make any errors. We just fell short as a team today.”
As their season progresses, the boys hope to regain their winning streak. In hopes to gain it back the Marauders will play the Leon Lions on Mar. 2 at 4:30 at the Lion’s den.
