Hughesville baseball’s motivation shows in early play
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Several starters graduated, including three staff aces. And that made it easy for Hughesville to continue embracing a motto established last year.
As it says on a dugout sign at Bodine Park, it's "Hughesville vs. Everybody." The Spartans rode that slogan as well as perceived slights and doubts to both HAC-III and District 4 Class AAA championships last season. That team also won a program-record 20 games and reached the state quarterfinals.
But while last year's team was senior-laden, 2024 Hughesville is much different. That's in terms of experience. Different, however, does not mean inferior and this is a hungry team eager to prove that.
The Spartans certainly are off to go a good start, going 3-0 and winning their league opener last Saturday, 4-1 against Southern Columbia.
"There's a lot of talented baseball players here who have not had the opportunity because they were stuck behind some people. They're getting that opportunity now," Hughesville coach Chris Kish said. "This group certainly has a little bit of an edge to them. They want to prove not to other people, but to themselves that there are a lot of really good baseball players here. I think we can be a really good, collective team and we'll see where it goes."
The HAC-III is loaded and there are no easy games there. The non-conference schedule also is demanding but Hughesville is embracing the challenges and has showcased its promise throughout its first three games. The Spartans have outscored those opponents, 25-6, winning games against an annual rival, 6A Wilkes-Barre and defending District 2 Class AAA champion Lake-Lehman.
Hughesville certainly lost a lot of good players from last year's team. What the Spartans are showing now and are eager to keep displaying is they also have some excellent players back and developing.
"We're motivated," Trent Wetzel said after working out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to close the Southern game. "A lot of people are saying we lost our three-headed pitching monster, but I think we're just out to prove ourselves right and prove them wrong."
The field is the ultimate proving ground and Hughesville has made an early statement through it play. Freshman pitcher Graden Dohl has shined in two starts, allowing just two runs and striking out 11 in 10 strong innings. Wetzel has closed both those games and Tyler Wetzel, an outstanding catcher, excelled in his first varsity pitching start against Lake-Lehman.
The defense made no errors against Southern and the offense has been as balanced as it has productive. Six players are averaging at least a hit per game and the team is hitting a collective .403. Ten players also reached base against Southern. Yes, it's a small sample size, but it's also an encouraging sign.
With a lot of moving parts and a lot of younger players starting for the first time, it also is big that Hughesville has won these games early. It's one thing to think one can win and another to do it. Hughesville has shown early that it can do it and the confidence continues growing."
"We're motivated because everyone thinks that we can't do it," Dohl said after improving to 2-0 on the mound. "Everybody on the field knows that the person beside them is the man for the job. We're really excited to see what we can do."
Four full-time starters are back from last year's team, so there is a blend of youthful potential and experience. And many of those first-time starters were helping last year when Hughesville enjoyed the best season in program history. Those players watched the seniors not just win, but how they went about winning and absorbed everything.
Now they are practicing with the same zeal and playing with the same determination. What goes on behind the scenes has paid big dividends thus far when everyone is watching. The bonus is that there is so much progress which can still be made.
The record is perfect but Hughesville understands its performance has not been perfect. And that gives it many areas to keep honing. It sure is nice, however, starting strong and knowing one can still become a lot better.
Hughesville may be a different team this year but it also is a defending champion. The Hughesville vs. Everybody theme really rings true in both the league and district as all their rivals are coming after the Spartans.
"The biggest thing is it's good to be 3-0 and 1-0 in the league and have a lot of things to work on and not be a finished product," Kish said. "If we were a finished product right now I would be really worried, but we're nowhere near a finished product and we have a lot of areas we need to improve."
The baseball field offers a proving ground and the work continues.