by Jason Sirovina | Sports Writer
Jaguar baseball is in a familiar position in this 2014 season as they are off to a hot start with a record of 13-4 and 0-2 in district play. The Jags won their first 13 games but have dropped their last four. However, they look to keep their confidence up and rip off another long winning streak which they are highly capable of.
“Our season has been good overall so far because we have won some quality games and persevered through a rough patch recently,” junior Max Kinney said. “But I know we are going to get back on track soon.”
The Jags’ work ethic is highly praised and is presence is felt each time the team steps on to the field. They also have worked the mental aspect of baseball rather than just physical as the team takes each game as a learning experience.
“We have been practicing hard, learning from our mistakes, and not underestimating our opponents this season and I believe that has been a big contributing factor to our success,” Kinney said.
The Jaguars are coming off a deep playoff run last season and will use that experience to benefit them in this years games. There are some new faces on the team, but the team has retained some of that key leadership from the previous year. This will ultimately benefit them coming down the stretch this season because they know they’ve been here before.
“We can build off of last year’s success because of the experience we have and that will pull us together as a team knowing that we’ve been there before,” Kinney said. “It will also help us when our team is down because we’ll be confident that we can win any game.”
The Jags are currently in the heart of their district play and are looking to gain ground in the standings. Their recent hiccup in this stretch of the season has sent them back some, however the team is confident that they can rebound.
“These district games are vital to our success and we have the wins to prove that we are a high caliber team and a force to be reckoned with,” junior Aaron Marks said. “Also we have enough games left to make up the ground and get back to the playoffs.”
As far as statistics go the Jags have been very impressive, competing at a high level with each opponent. Senior Mac Hall leads their high powered offense with four home runs and defensively junior Aaron Marks has an impressive 1.17 ERA. However, the Jags current stats don’t win them the games.
“We are a very talented team and confident in each others abilities, but each game is different and we always have to treat it with the same importance,” Marks said.
