Hayesville – It hasn’t been the easiest start to the year for the Andrews baseball team.
While the Wildcats have gone winless through the first five games, head coach Bryan Graves has the right mindset. He wants the team to improve, even if it doesn’t always show up in the final score.
“It ain’t any magic wand that you can snap your fingers and be there,” Graves said. “You have to take it step by step. They’ve got to learn and get more consistent as we get older and the games go on. It is what it is.”
After graduating five seniors last year, Andrews (0-5 overall, 0-4 Smoky Mountain Conference) is an extremely young team in 2022. Harley Crawford is the Wildcats’ only senior, and Donovan Bateman, Evan Neal and Isaac Weaver are the only three juniors. Everyone else is either a freshman or sophomore.
However, the team has the characteristics that most Wildcats teams have had so far this school year. They never fold when it gets tough.
“They’re going to keep playing,” Graves said. “This group as a whole no matter what sport they’re in. They’re going to keep playing. It’s the same group of kids, and I know what they’re going to bring to the table. They’re not going to quit.”
While Andrews may bring the right attitude to the field, it’s been hard for the Wildcats to overcome their lack of experience. They dropped consecutive 10-4 games to Cherokee (3-6, 3-3) to open the season, then lost 8-4 to Hayesville on March 29. Two days later they traveled to Asheville School (2-3) and lost 12-2, then fell 8-0 to the Yellow Jackets (4-0, 4-0) in Clay County the next day.
In the second game against Hayesville, Andrews struggled to put the bat on the ball, getting just one hit and striking out 12 times. Most of the lineup was late against the Yellow Jacket pitchers, and few of the balls put in play were hard hits. Rose battled on the mound for five innings, but the Yellow Jackets were able to get runs across in all but one inning.
Andrews had the bases loaded in the second and a runner on third in the third inning, but only one Wildcat reached base the final four innings.
“They got to do better with two strike hitting,” Graves said. “And that’s one of the big things that stood out to me today. Hayesville does a good job hitting the ball and putting you in situations and playing teams like that will make you better. They’re going to make you better.”
Graves thinks his team has gotten better pitching from the start of the season, but the big thing is just making sure Andrews continues to learn in each practice and game. As young as this team is, Graves and assistant coach Lance Bristol are trying to take positives away from each game while also making sure players can learn and move on when they make a mistake.
In a sport like baseball, where things can change instantly from pitch to pitch, that’s crucial.
“You want to mention it, you want to talk to them about it, but you move on,” Graves said. “You learn from it, move on and try to not let it happen again.”
Weather permitting, Andrews hosted Hiwassee Dam on Tuesday, which took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. The Wildcats travel to Copper Basin, Tenn., today and then to Hiwassee Dam on Friday for a doubleheader.