What a Wednesday for Wilson
Is it warm yet? Just asking ...
We’re pretty sure there have been better days for Wilson Memorial athletics. Heck, we can think of just a few of the “better” ones without batting an eye.
How about the Green Hornets’ three-game sweep of Strasburg in the Region B volleyball finals? Or the last time Riverheads won a football state title, the only blemish on the Gladiators’ record was a loss to, yep, you guessed it, Wilson Memorial. We’re sure there are plenty more so, yeah, there have been much better days in Fishersville than Wednesday. And oh what a day Wednesday was, and not in a good way.
With the Fort Defiance baseball and softball teams coming to a town with more single-family homes than, well, single families, the Indians quickly went to work with both the teams beating Wilson’s contingent by a combined score of 37-1. No, this is not football (though we’re pretty sure some hackneyed writer has already thrown out the football-score reference) it was just a bad day on the diamond.
Truth be told, Fort baseball and softball are two very good teams with the Indian baseball squad looking like the team to beat in the Southern Valley and geared toward a nice, long run in the postseason.
Truth be told, neither one of the losses are indicative of either Wilson Memorial programs. The softball team lost Summer Ramsey to graduation and she’s 4-0 at Bridgewater right now, so, yeah, that was a huge loss. The baseball team is just flat-out young. This has forced Derek McDaniel and Maura Stout into teaching-and-patience mode. And that explains why there were no disappointed-with-my-team rants after the losses. Instead, there was realization—calm, cool, collective realization.
“It’s hard to put it lightly, we just need to improve,“ Stout said. “I don’t think it matters if they are double A. I don’t think it matters if they are better than some of the teams in our district this year. It’s just timing and making our girls have that confidence they need.“
Stout’s right on all accounts. It doesn’t matter that Fort is Group AA anymore because Wilson Memorial is going Group AA next year, joining the Southern Valley District and can’t use any We-Lost-To-The-Big-Boys/Girls Talk. And it’s not like anybody at this school ever has, but we’re just saying.
She’s also right that her teams needs dose of confidence and bigger spoonful of timing. Five errors aren’t going to win you many ballgames, especially when four lead to runs in an 11-1 loss.
McDaniel, for his part, didn’t have to launch into a repeat of last season’s Respect the Hornet rant. There was no “they’re just not trying hard enough” or anything of that ilk. Just a coach very aware of how much his team is going to struggle and how much his team needs to start improving with the Shenandoah District schedule starting today.
“We are a young team,“ McDaniel said. “They are doing what I am telling them so as long as they keep working and keep trying, I’m not going to get mad. Fort is just a good team.“
McDaniel is also right on all accounts. Wilson is young. The players are doing what he’s telling them to. The have kept on working. They do keep on trying. And the coach hasn’t gotten mad yet.
He’s also right about Fort. The Indians are a good team—both baseball and softball actually. And McDaniel’s Hornets know that they’re much better than losing 26-0. Ditto for Stout’s softballers.
And another thing: Nine RBI. Nine. Freakin’. RBI. Oh, and he also picked up the win on the mound.
“I just tried to hit the ball,“ Fort’s Chris Huffman said after his nine RBI day. (Nine. R. B. I. Lock it up.) “They just left the ball across the plate and I hit. It just kept going to the right spots.“
Geez, louise, this kid makes it sound so easy. (Seriously, did I just type “Geez, louise.“ What? Am I 67?)
Oh, and Huffman, your table is oh, so ready.
