Ahhh… hear that… that was the sound of spring… birds chirping, sunny warm days, the crunch of freshly groomed infield dirt under a pair of spikes and the sound of a baseball leaving a bat.
That’s right, it’s been almost 2 years since the Brookings-Harbor varsity baseball team and head coach Keith Wallin stepped between the lines, and the pent up excitement was palpable.
The Bruins started their 2021 journey on the road traveling to Winston to take on the Douglas Trojans in what would be the first game of the 2021 season for both teams, and a well prepared Bruin team stepped into the batters box to start the game.
After putting together a couple of hits off of Douglas starting right-hander senior Gavyn Jones but coming away without any runs, the Bruin defense stepped on the diamond behind senior right-hander Adam Shew. Shew had some trouble finding the strike zone early hitting the first batter he faced, but recovered nicely getting out of the inning with two in-field grounders and a strike-out.
The game went into the top of the 3rd 0-0 as the Bruins stepped up to the plate. Kristensen would lead off with a bunt for a single followed by a Peyton Armentrout single that would set up an Adam Shew single to the outfield. An infield error by the Trojans allowed Armentrout to take home, scoring the first Bruin run of the 2021 season.
The Bruins starting pitcher Adam Shew started the bottom of the 3rd with 3 strikeouts and the only two Trojans to reach base were put there by Shew. Shew got the first out on a grounder to 3rd baseman Kyle Burger and then hit his third batter in three innings before retiring the side.
Seeing Douglas starting pitcher Gavyn Jones now for the second time, Bruin starting catcher senior Jacub McCollum stepped into the batters box in the top of the 4th and took the first pitch he saw and drove back up the middle for a single to start an 8 run 4th for the Bruins, capped off by a 3 run homer to left field by senior Adam Shew.
The Bruins would go on to take the 10-0 win and head coach Keith Wallin told the Compass “Everyone was real excited to get back on the field and this is a great way to start the season”. “The boys had good focus today, made some great defensive plays and we had tons of unselfish at bats for an overall great team win to start the season.”
The Bruins will see Douglas again Saturday for an afternoon double-header.
