A tough spring break for Larks baseball
by John Ruth – Horizon Sports Editor
Hesston students took a much needed breather March 7-11 as everyone scattered far and wide to celebrate spring break in their own, relaxing way. Everyone except for the Larks baseball team. The boys headed out for a six-game road trip looking for some wins, starting with a double header at Northern Oklahoma College (Tonkawa). And if you thought spring break might make the guys play lazy, think again.
“During Spring break, you don’t have to worry about school, its all about baseball,” said outfielder Alex Perez. “My mindset gets a lot better.”
The Larks looked to start strong in their first game of break but unfortunately they lost both games to Northern Oklahoma by a score of 14-3 and 5-4. It was a tough way to start out spring break and and even harder when you are trying to focus on that baseball oriented mindset.
Perez says the solution is to trust in each other.
“We could improve on individual accountability and knowing that we can do great,” he said. “We need to have more faith in each other in or to win.”
As the team headed to Des Moines for the third game of the road trip, they looked to turn things around but walked away with another tough blow: A 22-4 loss.
“It was hard, we didn’t play great defense and we haven’t connected our pitcher and hitter yet,” said Perez. “We were not on the same page.”
As they headed to Bethany College, the boys wanted to make their team look better than the last three games. They wanted to pick up a win on spring break and for most players, the last spring break they have had at Hesston College. Well, they did just that, beating Bethany 8-3.
Perez says the game showed the potential of the team.
“What I saw working well was the battles at the plate,” he said. “We were good at hitting throughout the whole game.”
After that, the Larks still had one more double-header to play as the sought their revenge playing Oklahoma again, looking for the win they couldn’t find the first time. But they still couldn’t find it. The team lost game one 19-2 and game two 10-0. They finished the trip with a 1-5 record.
Looking down the stretch at the second half of the season, there is hope.
“As far as getting better, I see us getting a ton better as a team,” said Perez.
The Larks want to give their fans something to cheer about. Perez seems optimistic they can fulfill that.
“Things can improve as the season progresses.”
Larks baseball fans: Stay faithful.
