As the final page of the school year flips over, the baseball season begins to wind down as well. Currently, the Kings are 9-9 (MaxPreps.com) and are looking to string some games together to gain some momentum during tournament time. With baseball season being a shorter season, the Kings are looking to make up for some games they played poorly in with some stronger performances, especially since the latter half of this season brings much stronger competition. 

     With a long, game-heavy week ahead for the Kings, they played six games Monday-Saturday, where Thursday was the only day off from games (although they ended up having to play because of a rain-out), the team is looking to start a winning streak in such a long week. A winning streak with such a tough week could build momentum for the end of the regular season and the start of sectionals. With some mid-season struggles, the Kings’ won four games and lost nine games since their 5-0 start; they are seeking another hot streak of games to gain some momentum and energy. When addressing the mid-season cold streak, Coach Marschand expressed that the seniors are the ones who can fix the struggles. “They have the potential to go on a long postseason run if they decide to compete and have an intense desire to continue playing,” Marschand said. The current rough quality of play the Kings have has nothing to do with their skill and talent, yet it has to do with mentality. One win could be a huge momentum push for the Kings and could get the ball rolling again. When it comes to sectionals, the Kings will face Oak Hill for their first game. While Oak Hill may have won the match-up earlier in the season, Coach Marschand said, “The regular season game does not mean nearly as much as the game at the end of May. If anything… that may play in our favor with some overconfidence mentality the opposing school may have since they defeated us earlier.” The winner of this game will go straight to the Sectional Championship game, giving an advantage of playing fewer games (which leads to having more pitchers) in sectionals.

     Now that the season is halfway done, it is time to reflect on the seniors and their baseball careers. Senior, Braylen Mayhill, said, “My favorite baseball memory throughout high school has been just spending time with my teammates and having fun while playing the games.” Contrary to Mayhill’s favorite memory, Bryce Rudd’s favorite memory was one specific game this year. “My favorite baseball memory throughout high school would have to be beating Northwestern this year,” Rudd said. Northwestern (first season in the TRC) is now a conference opponent and has always been a rival to our school, so beating them in anything is always bittersweet. Nearing the end, Mayhill is most looking forward to “having fun the rest of the season and making memories.” Rudd claims he is looking forward to sectionals. “I hope we can get some momentum throughout our last couple of weeks of the season and make a run in the tournament,” Rudd said. Likewise, Wade Tocco’s favorite memory was a specific game as well. Tocco said, “My favorite memory is beating Blackford last year in extra innings.” Also, Wade claims he is looking forward to hopefully winning a Sectional Championship. Brody Williams’ favorite memory comes from the last game of last season, when he pitched ten innings in a sectional game against Benton Central. “My favorite memory was throwing ten innings against Benton Central my junior year and making that the best game I have played, even though there was a loss in the end,” Williams said. Brody also claims he is ready to win a Sectional Championship this year, stating, “I am looking to have a winning record for the rest of the season on the way into sectionals and get past a Sectional Championship and play in a regional game.”

     With just two weeks left in the regular season, we are looking to pick up some wins, gain some momentum, and propel us to a strong sectionals. With Cass having the bye, it will only take two wins to take the Sectional Championship. To say that momentum in Sectionals will help us is an understatement. With such a tough sectional (Lewis Cass, Wabash, Eastern, Rochester, Oak Hill, and Manchester), some strong wins will give the team confidence to win two games and the first Sectional Championship since 2018. Be sure to come out and support your Kings as they finish their season!