The Willis baseball team is reaching for the stars this season with an “Out of this World” experience, after placing 2nd in the 2024 13-6A district. The Wildkats are now headed to the first round of playoffs against Dekaney for the best two-out-of-three-game series on Friday.
The rain has moved the first two games to Friday. Game one starts at 5:00 p.m. The second game will began at 7:30 p.m. or 30 minutes after game one. The team has prepared for the match up all week. The plan is a simple one for senior Mason Dutton.
“Don’t leave runners in scoring position and score more runs than the other team,” Dutton said.
Going into these big games can be stressful for the Wildkats. Finding something to calm yourself down and relax before the game is key.
“Before the game, we play Fugo golf which is playing golf but with a baseball bat and ball,” junior Zadin Cannon said. “ We also prepare by playing ping pong and chasing each other in the locker room.”
Bonds grow stronger with each shared victory and each shared setback, creating a sense of trust, support, and unity within the team. For the Wildkats their bond is making and gonna keep them unstoppable.
“Our team bond has a huge impact on our team because we all close together,” senior Seth Sloan said. “We love to spend time with each other and so that just helps us have fun on the field and relax.”
Making it through the competitive district to achieve the Wildkats goals wasn’t easy. For the Wildkats they just focused on the small things in the game mainly trusting and supporting each other.
“Trusting our pitching and defense and trying to score as many runs as we can was the main factor of having a good outcome in every game,” Head Baseball Coach Brett Washburn said.
As the Wildkats made it through district strong they are now looking for a long run post-district while making it an “Out of this World” experience. The baseball program uses the motto that has a very interesting origin story.
“We took the guys to the main event, they pulled all their tickets together, and they bought a little baby alien stuffed animal,” Washburn said. “So as a joke we kinda made it hashtag on Twitter and it just stuck with us.”
