Baseball is one of the most successful programs at Tyler Junior College, with their World Series win in 2007. After the 2010 season kicked off in January, new Head Coach Doug Wren and his team are all smiles.
“I’m proud of the guys. They started off strong and they keep playing as hard as they can,” said Wren.
After their first game on Jan. 2, things didn’t go the way the team wanted, losing both games in a double-header against Bossier Parish Community College. Those losses helped the team realize that they needed to play better if they wanted to have a successful season.
“To start the season off with two losses was definitely not the way we wanted to start things out,” said Josh Bates sophomore outfielder for the Apaches. “We ended practicing more and taking the game more serious.”
Since then, things have been looking good for the Apaches who now have over 16 wins and 6 losses. The team doesn’t want to get too excited yet since it’s still early in the season.
“I told the guys that we must not let this go to our head,” said Wren. “We’re doing great, but it’s too early in the season and we need to keep playing like we are now.”
The team has until the end of April for the regular season then they might have a shot to play in the MAC tournaments, which is a series of tournaments to determine who will go on to have a chance to play in the Junior College World Series.
“I hope we can stay in it and go to MAC,” said Mike Hill, sophomore pitcher. “With this being my last season with the team, it will be a good way to go out.”
All 3 losses the team has are against Bossier Parish Community College, but the team is not discouraged at all. They just look at it as a task that they need to overcome to better their season.
“It’s always disappointing to lose but once you lose to the same team three times you just need to keep your head up and play harder so you can beat them,” said Wren.
There are some key opponents that the team is looking forward to playing this season. Lon Morris is a rival and for the Apaches always a fun game to play.
“We got rivals Lon Morris coming up in March and they always put up a good fight,” said Wren.
Though the season has just started, the team is already feeling good about what they have accomplished.
“We came into the season with a new coach new players and didn’t know what to expect,” said Hill ” but we’ve pulled through and bonded and became an actual team.”
With the season going well, the only thing that could make the Apaches happier is a World Series Win.
