2017 Varsity Baseball
So last year I started my season wrap up with, “It’s not how you start but how you finish!” I think that motto is pretty fitting for us once again. We finished the regular season with a 5-5 league record (5-6 overall) and were positioned once again as the #4 seed for the post season tournament. Although fourth place was not what we had aimed for, considering we graduated two All League Players the year before (our starting catcher and SS), it was still good enough to make the playoffs. This is when our boys once again flipped the switch.
Although we were set to face off with undefeated league champion Columbia Prep in the first round, we had completely regained our team “grit!” In the two regular season games, Columbia had beaten us 10-0 and 5-0, so it wasn’t going to be easy. As I am sure you know by now, the boys once again dismantled the Lions, 11-3, in the semi-finals thanks to a genuine team victory with the seniors leading the way. This set the table for a rematch between Trevor Day and Browning. Trevor had also beaten us twice during the regular season, both times by a score of 14-5. Like in last year’s finals, we jumped out to an early lead. But nothing comes easy, and after scoring in the top of the fifth to put Browning up 3-0, our starting pitcher, who had a shutout going at this point, was injured sliding into home. In the bottom of the fifth, Trevor tied the game at three with a tremendous three-run homer. The Trevor comeback, coupled with a player injury, would have been plenty of reason for the boys to feel deflated, but instead, they did what Browning boys do and showed their “True Grytte!”
They scored in the top of the sixth to regain the lead and ended the game on a double play by tagging out Trevor’s star catcher trying to score. I am so proud of these guys and was excited by the support the entire Browning community showed us at the finals. Special thanks to our three senior staples; you will be missed but never forgotten. You have taught these guys what it takes to win and led by example. Thank you!
Coaches West, Cohn, Brown and Blake
