The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

Sports

Discussion

May 3, 2011

Plainsmen ready for 2nd season

By Lee Coleman, Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle

ENID — After 34 regular season games amidst a frustrating and painstaking season, the Enid Plainsmen (12-22) start their new season today against Tulsa Union at Owasso in the first round of the Class 6A baseball regionals.

The once-promising season had the Plainsmen at 7-7, but since then Enid has squandered numerous opportunities and have gone 5-15, including going 3-11 in games that have been decided by two runs or less.

But in the playoffs, everybody has a clean slate and is 0-0.

“We have to play one game at a time,” Enid head coach James Peoples said. “If we can get by Tulsa Union (17-16, 14th-ranked), then I’m sure we’ll see Owasso (31-1, 2nd-ranked).

“We are going to have to play clean baseball. That’s something we haven’t been able to do all year. Hopefully, good things will happen.”

Owasso will play fourth-seed Bartlesville in the other first-round game. If Enid beats Union, it is likely it will face Owasso in the second round. If they lose to Union, a matchup with Bartlesville is probable on Owasso’s Astroturf field.

The Plainsmen have played Union twice this season and lost by close margins, so this game could be a game of redemption for Enid.

“We were in both of those games,” Peoples said. “They are not the Union of the past. They are very athletic.

“We’re going to go in with them and try to get a good pitching performance from Lawson King and play good defense and hopefully we’ll get some key hits and some breaks to start going our way.”

Key hits have been few and far between for Enid. The Plainsmen were hitting .300 as a team three weeks ago but have seen their average drop to .286.  Senior Dillon Walker leads the team with 41 hits and a team-high .410 batting average. Junior Haden Houska is next at .339, followed by King and senior Joe Black at .317. After that, the individual averages plummet to .282 and below.

“The bats are kind of waking up a little bit,” Peoples said. “This is the right time to go in there swinging it good in the regional tournament.”

Although hitting is a key, Peoples would like to see his team perform better in a couple of other key areas, namely pitching and defense.

“We have to step-up defensively and get some good pitching, and if we get all three of those things going at once, that will add up to some wins,” Peoples said. “Lawson has been throwing well and the last game against Moore, we had a chance to win that game for him. He has been pitching well lately.”

 The regional tournament gives Big Blue a chance to redeem itself and forge ahead with an eye on the big dance at state.

“You go into this tournament with an 0-0 record,” Peoples said. “You can forget about the past. If we start pitching well and swinging the bat better, hopefully, good things will happen.”

Perhaps most frustrating for Peoples has been that 3-11 record in games decided by two runs or less.

“We need some breaks,” he said. “We haven’t had any this year. If we win a few of those games, it is a different season.

“We’ve had some bad breaks. In baseball, we always say everything evens out, but it just didn’t even out this year.

“Hopefully the baseball gods are waiting to even it out in the regional tournament. It will be tough. We have to play well and bring our ‘A’ game.”

Text Only
Sports
Featured Ads
AP Video
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium 50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
NDN Video
Raw Video: Man Rescued From River in China Beyonce Entertains the First Family Celtics crush Sixers in Game 7 Alleged Lego Thief Faces Felony Charges Has Snooki Named Her Baby? Heat Wave Warms Holiday Weekend Inspiration for the class of 2012 Colorado College Student Shot While Trespassing Will Smith & Josh Brolin on "Men in Black 3" 80-Year-Old Skydiver's Nightmare Jump JWoww Sizzles in a Black Bikini Sliders on the Grill Cruise ship crunch Backstage With Beyonce Ultimate Creamy Potato Salad Pope's Personal Butler Under Arrest Jenny McCarthy's New Man Tyler's Classic Coleslaw Britney Spears Under X Factor Fire Flesh-Eating Bacteria Victim Hits Milestone
Seasonal Content
House Ads