‘It’s all about having fun’

By Cody Stark
Assistant Sports Editor

May 08, 2008 12:12 am

— By the way the guys were acting Wednesday afternoon at the Huntsville baseball fieldhouse, one would have thought the Hornets had been in this situation before.
On the eve of a Class 4A area-round series with Houston Scarborough, which begins tonight at 7 at Delmar Stadium in Houston, the Hornets were cutting up, telling funny stories about their adventures in summer and fall baseball leagues. The tales were amusing and there were plenty of smiles to go around.
It’s hard to believe that this is the first time this Huntsville group has been this far in the playoffs. After all, it was only a few short days ago when these Hornets were getting ready to play their first-ever postseason series, a two-games-to-nothing sweep of Austin Travis in Brenham.
Yep, these guys are relaxed and it might have something to do with the fact that they are no longer playoff rookies after what they did to the Rebels last weekend.
“The first (playoff series) is always the hardest,” senior catcher Ethan Woods said. “Once you get that one out of the way it’s relaxing, and we are just ready to play this series.”
The unique thing about this Huntsville squad is how the Hornets have developed a family chemistry on the field and in the clubhouse. They never get down when something bad happens, and they have proven time and time again it’s not over until the final out.
The Hornets have found ways to win close games and have won a school-record 19 contests this season to go along with a runner-up finish in District 18-4A, one of the toughest leagues in the region.
“We play better baseball when we are light-hearted and have fun,” junior utility player Jake Gregory said. “It’s just a game and we have fun. When we do that, we end up winning. It’s all about having fun and playing baseball.”
The Hornets had a lot of fun last weekend. Huntsville didn’t let a late-inning rally by Travis stand in the way of a 5-4 victory in the first game. Then, the guys came out and took care of business by wrapping up the series by blanking the Rebels 6-0.
Things get a little tougher tonight, however, with a matchup against Scarborough, the winners of District 19-4A. The Hornets will throw left-handed sophomore Caleb Smith (3-2) in the opener, then come back with 10-game winner Justin Davis when the series comes to Kate Barr Ross Park for game two Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We really don’t know much about them,” HHS head coach Shelby Shaw said. “I told the guys that we were really going to play ourselves. If we do the things we can do, it doesn’t matter what they do. But if we don’t, we are going to keep them in the game and that’s not what we want.
“They have one pitcher that’s pretty good that pitched something like 66 innings and struck out like 120 something batters. I don’t know what type of competition he has faced, but we are going to be prepared.”