Baseball struggles against Evangel

Senior+Ryan+Fant+walks+off+the+field+during+a+home+game.

Bailey Vaughan

Senior Ryan Fant walks off the field during a home game.

Story by Molly Crouch, staff writer

The varsity baseball team faced the Evangel Eagles on March 10. The boys couldn’t get their heads in the game during their devastating 12-5 loss. They had minor errors throughout the game that which ended up giving the Eagles a win.

Senior starting pitcher Ryan Fant pitched for four innings and was replaced by sophomore Zack Phillips in the fifth inning. This is Phillips’ first year on varsity, and he threw for two innings until closer junior ior Alex Kugler was brought in during the sixth to finish the game.

 “Being only one of the three sophomores on varsity and pitching is one of the coolest things ever,” Phillips said.  “We really didn’t play well together as a team, our hitting wasn’t there and we just made simple mistakes that we shouldn’t have made.”

After numerous errors on the field, the Tigers then struggled to connect with the ball offensively until the last inning, but it was too late for a comeback victory.

“I just feel like as a team we didn’t come out ready to play that day,” senior Taylor Jones said. “There were a fair share of errors in the field, and we didn’t produce at the plate like we usually do.”

Despite the minor setback during spring break, the Tigers have not let the loss distract them from district games. They plan to take advantage of their team chemistry and work harder as a team.

 “I think we’ve all left that game behind us. We’re starting to play like the team I know we can be,” Jones said. “We’ve started 3-1 in district, and I expect us to progressively get better and better as the season goes on.”