Searcy (LP) Ending the 2016 season with a 16-6 record, the Searcy High School Baseball teams plans to improve their game and continue to put a solid starting line up on the field each game. Seeing as they lost a number of seniors last year, head coach Matthew Davis thinks the team has readjusted to the new changes and is ready for any competition. Losing most of their pitchers has been the hardest part for the team. With college level players such as Bryce Bartlett and Austin Allen graduating, the team had large shoes to fill. Looking at this situation Coach Davis says, “A lot of the guys have been waiting patiently and have worked hard and it will be fun to watch them progress throughout the year.” The teams approach is to go out every game playing hard and play how they know.
The first game of the season the baseball team was up against Cabot in the PBR MaxPreps Metro tournament in Cabot, Arkansas. Cabot is always a tough competition for Searcy, so they knew they would have to compete if Searcy wanted to come out with a win. Searcy dominated the majority of the game bringing in the first run of the game in the first inning. Cabot came back and tied the game in the second inning. By the fourth inning, Searcy brought home four runs to place them in a strong lead. Senior Adrian Hannah was called in during the last inning as the relief pitcher and topped out with an 86 mph fastball. Being the man called up to the mound to end the game was a big deal for Hannah. “I like it better when the game is in my hands and I think my team felt confident in me,” Adrian said. Although Cabot held off the game with no field errors, Searcy had a great defense and only let in four runs. The game finished 7-4 with Searcy on top.
The Searcy High Baseball team plans for a great season this Spring. The team has been working hard each week, scrimmaging, setting up drills, and opening up the cages for batting practice before school. Coach Davis takes it one game at a time and doesn’t look too far in the future. He says, “Our objective is if we play hard and play the right way, we can be as good as any baseball team that has come through Searcy.” Game type situations are a big focal point for the baseball team and is what they try to work on the most. As the seniors leave after this year, the team will be loosing many great players, but Davis believes they will adapt and will be able to fill the hole that is left. As a four year varsity player, Adrian Hannah says the team has, “Very good team chemistry that I think will continue throughout the season. It will be a challenge to do as well as we did last year, but I feel that we have the potential and experience that will be helpful in the long run.” Hannah knows it will be tough for the underclassman to adapt to the nine seniors leaving this year, but also knows Coach Davis and the other coaches will help them get ready for the next years ahead.
