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Bulldog Sports Round-up | March 31, 2023
- Published: March 31, 2023
Bulldogs baseball is underway
On Saturday, March 25, the Yellow Springs High School varsity baseball team loaded the bus with players, coaches and equipment, with Pleasant Hill as their destination. The town, 45 minutes northwest of Yellow Springs, was the location for this season’s opening day, where the Bulldogs met the Newton High School Indians in the first contest of the baseball season.
The weather was anything but pleasant as the team arrived at the beautifully manicured turf field. Jackets were required and several players had to resort to taping their hats on their heads to keep them from blowing into the nearby puddles of water left by overnight rain. The rain continued off and on during the game, but the Bulldogs were not to be deterred by the constant high winds and cool temperatures.
Josh Clark took the mound for the first outing of his senior season and did not disappoint. He scattered six singles across his six innings of work while striking out seven Indians. Pitching Coach Sam Jacobs was happy to see the strong start from Clark, who did not surrender an earned run in his complete game effort.
Unfortunately, the defense had some untimely miscues, allowing seven runners to cross the plate. Coach Bryan Rogusky said, “Our defense had some small hiccups but at this level, those typically will cost us runs, and they did today. There are some things that we need to clean up, but the ability is there.”
On the offensive side, senior Krishan Miller picked up where he left off last season with a strong performance that included a single and a double in three trips to the plate. Clark, senior Shawn “Scoops” VanHoose and sophomore Hazen VanMeter all contributed with hits of their own. Junior Isaac Grushon scored the lone Bulldog run on Miller’s RBI double, after reaching first base on a walk.
The 7–1 loss was a great improvement over the five-inning run-rule losses the Bulldogs have suffered to the Indians across the past several years. In fact, the 3–1 score after the first five innings had the Newton coaching staff wondering if this was the same Yellow Springs team they had seen previously.
Head Coach Mitch Clark was proud of the development shown by the team and excited for what lies ahead.
“We are massive underdogs in 10 of the 11 games over the first 3 weeks of our season,” Clark said. “However, if we continue to develop and keep a positive approach, we will knock off a couple of unexpecting teams and be ready to treat our home-town fans to some wins and exciting baseball over the last 3 weeks of the season.”
The team will have multiple away games ahead of their home opener, which is set for Tuesday, April 11, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at Gaunt Park, against perennial Metro Buckeye Conference champions Dayton Christian. Mark your calendars and come out to see your homegrown baseball team compete.
In fact, why wait to show your support? For the first time in school history, the baseball program will include a junior varsity team and a middle school team this year. The middle school is set to open its inaugural season with games at Gaunt Park scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, at 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, April 5, at 5 p.m.; and Friday, April 7, at 5:30 p.m. Head Coach Sam Jacobs and Assistant Coach Scott Fleming are working hard to get the team ready to show what they can do. It is an opportunity for you to enjoy an evening at the ball field and to see the future of varsity baseball.
—Coach Mitch Clark
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