May 11., Keller field saw a battle for a win between Parks’ boys varsity baseball and the New Prague Trojans. Swing after swing without runs for either team, the game was later finished in the seventh inning, with a final score of 6-3 in Park’s favor.
Senior Grant Haggerty said he enjoyed the game between the two schools. He said there are clear places for growth in the team’s defense, but that the team is aware of it, and despite this, the team pulled through and played the game nicely.
“The game was good, and we hit very well today,” said Haggerty. “We also had to clean up a couple defensive things, but at the end it all just came together. Overall, I think it went well, but we obviously know what we need to grow on from it and improve on.”
According to Danny Bissonnette, the team’s head coach, the team’s defense lacked enthusiasm, giving New Prague the ability to get their standing in the game back. He said Park will have to work on beating that, but the victory was achieved nonetheless.
“We didn’t play a perfect game today,” Bissonnette said. “We were a little (lazy) on the defensive side, threw some balls away and gave (the Trojans) a chance to stick around. A win’s a win in the end of it, but we got to clean some of that stuff up.”
Senior Miles Jungroth said when he gets ready for a game, he’ll listen to music in order to get in the zone, along with running and stretching before heading onto the field.
“(To prepare for a game) I stretch first, run, listen to some music trying to lock in and I just go out there and compete,” Jungroth said.
According to Haggerty, the team will perform many skills during practice, either offensive or defensive, and on occasion, both. He said the team tries to remain in motion rather than be immobile, sticking to rapid movements often.
“For practice, we’ll either do hitting or fielding on a day, or we might mix, keeping it flowing,” Haggerty said. “We don’t like to stand still a lot, we like to keep it moving, continue to play at a fast pace every day.”
According to Bissonnette, he wants the team to continue to grow, understanding their own work so far. He said the team should continue to use their competitiveness and what they’ve learned, employing their knowledge towards future games in batting and defense
“I hope we keep building off what we’re implementing,” Bissonnette said. “Keep working hard in practice and keep applying it to the game, and just keep being competitive at bats, being smart on the field. We’ll keep competing, we’ll keep learning and evolving as a team daily.”
Jungroth said a team’s skill in the game depends on the connections between the players. He said you need to have passion and motivation, more so than your opponent, and the willingness to put it into play.
“(For) a team (that’s) good at baseball, you have to put in the effort, you have to have good chemistry with your boys and you got to want it more than the other team,” Jungroth said.
According to Haggerty, balance is crucial to a team’s success and becoming one of the state’s best teams. He said speed and power are two highlighted skills that should be present, along with the team getting along and working well together.
“(For) a team to be good at baseball, you have to have (the) right mix of everything,” Haggerty said. “You have to have that speed, you have to have power and you have to be clicking all at the same time. If you click all at the same time with pitching, fielding, speed and power, then you’re going to one of the top teams in the state, no matter how good you’ve been in the past.”
Jungroth said he enjoys being with his fellow players the most. He said they’ve been with each other since they were young so they’ve been able to understand each other for a long time.
“(My favorite part about being in baseball is) definitely the teammates.” Jungroth said, “I’ve grown up with these kids since (I was) ten years old. I know these guys pretty well, (it’s) just fun to be out here with my boys.”
According to Bissonnette, the best part of a game is watching the team put their practice into being against an opponent. He said he enjoys viewing how their work comes together to give them the greatest chance at victory.
“(My favorite part of a game is) seeing the guys compete, just seeing our pitchers compete on the mound,” Bissonnette said, “Seeing all of our preparation work itself out, we always talk about it, ‘practice execution becomes game reality.’ It’s fun to see (the team) put that all together and put it into a game and compete and give ourselves the best chance to win.”
The next varsity game is May 18., at 4:30 pm vs. Armstrong at Armstrong High School.
