The Hydro-Eakly Bobcats baseball team is gearing up for another fall baseball season which beings Monday.
“I hope we get to play this season,” coach Chris Graham said. “Luckily, baseball is a sport where there is not too much contact. We can social distance a little bit better out on the baseball field and I hope we can get a full baseball season in.”
Graham said the team has been practicing during the summer and it has gone smooth.
“Practice has been going really well,” Graham said. “Our guys are really dedicated and put a lot of work in the long offseason. I have seen growth and am looking forward to the season.”
This is Graham’s third season at Hydro as the baseball coach and he said he has learned that each student athlete learns differently.
“I am learning all student athletes are different from one another,” Graham said. “Some kids are driven by my being hard on them and others are driven by encouragement. The biggest thing for me is to know what works best with each student athlete.”
Senior Tanner Wilburton said playing baseball in the fall benefits them as they play fall and spring baseball, since Hydro-Eakly does not have football.
“We have been practicing super hard and are going to be better than we were last season,” Wilburton said. “Last Spring, we put a lot of work in and they have gone really well. We practice in the afternoon and workout in the mornings.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic still happening, Graham said they tell their student athletes to be smart and clean all the time.
“We are cleaning a lot,” Graham said. “We tell our players to be smart, cautious and not share drinks with one another. We are not going to wear masks since baseball players are spread out across the field.”
Graham said if COVID-19 affects his team in any way, they have some freshman who can step up when needed.
“We have some freshman who are coming up and can help us,” Graham said. “If we are missing a couple guys, we have some freshman who can fulfill those roles. Our seniors have come a long way and I am excited for this season.”
Junior catcher Carson Propps believes the team is better than last season and can make some noise in the regular and post season.
“I am excited we get to play,” Propps said. “The freshman are going to help us a lot and we should be better than last year. We are making fewer errors than last season and I am ready for this fall.”
Hydro begins their season, 4:30 p.m. Monday at home against Union City.