The ‘Cats’ varsity baseball team opened their season in March with a loss against Fort Defiance, with a final score of 12-2. Since then, the ‘Cats are now 5-12.

The ‘Cats are led by head coach Justin Wenger, and assisted by physical education and health teacher, Travis Roadcap.          

On April 13, the ‘Cats defeated the Turner Ashby Knights, the 2017 baseball 3A state champions, with a final score of 8-5. Senior Daniel Sorrells pitched six complete innings. Leading the offense, senior Reeves Whitmore, and sophomores Alex Balisteri and Treyce McCormick all scored home runs.

“We came out strong and struck in the first by putting three runs on the board. We knew we had to come out strong against a team like this and we did. We kept hitting the ball and moving the runners around,” said McCormick. “It felt really good giving the defending state champions their first loss.”

McCormick is now injured and is out for the rest of the season.

The baseball team has five returning seniors, including Sorrells, Whitmore, Luke Ackerman, Dalton Benson, Dustin Mays, and new senior player Eric Watkins. The team is also comprised of seven juniors and five sophomores.

“Baseball is a game built on failure, and you really have to rely on the other guys around you,” said Whitmore. “Being able to get so close with such a great group of guys is most definitely my favorite part of being on the team.”

Whitmore is attending Virginia Military Institute in the fall and plans to join the baseball team.

“I’m a lot better of a person than I was when I first became part of the program in eighth grade, and I attribute that to my coaches and teammates,” said Whitmore. “We still have a lot of baseball to play, and I intend to stretch my last season out as long as possible.”

As any other high school, Wenger has set the team a goal: to win a state title.