YATES CENTER — The Yates Center baseball program entered the season with some pretty simple goals and they had nothing to do with wins and losses.
“My (goal) is to basically improve the character of our players,” Wildcat coach David Daugharthy said during a preseason interview. “Basically focusing on hard work and the kids doing what is right on and off the field and being mature, responsible adults.”
A pair of lopsided losses to Neodesha on Monday night showed Daugharthy that his team still has a long way to come before they measure up to his standards.
“We still have a long way to go with that,” Daugharthy said after the games. “We aren’t where I want to be. We aren’t running balls out, we aren’t backing people up. Those are the simple things that I’m hoping for that show the heart of doing whatever I can for this team and we aren’t there yet.”
Neodesha jumped on the over-matched Yates Center squad often but the Wildcats continued to fight even as their hopes grew more dim. That fighting spirit will be key in building the program, Daugharthy said.
In game one, the first two batters for Neodesha came around to score, setting the tone for how difficult it was going to be for the Wildcats to secure outs.
The Streaks tacked on another run in the third and four more in the fourth to build a seven-run lead.
Instead of quitting, and accepting the looming 10-run rule that could end the game, Yates Center put together their best offensive innings late in the game.
Wildcat nine-hitter Dakota Renfro scored runs in the fifth and seventh innings and even though it didn’t affect the win/loss column, the team showed that it wasn’t willing to quit.
The game ended with a 12-3 Neodesha win.
Game two saw the Wildcat pitching get off to a much better start with a 1-2-3 first inning, but in the second inning things began to turn against the Wildcats.
Neodesha put up five runs in the second frame.
Daugharthy is quick to point out that while a team’s defense should not rest solely with the pitcher, there are some things his pitchers need to improve on.
“Right now, we have a few little fundamental things a couple of pitchers need to work on to try and get them to throw a few more strikes,” Daugharthy said. “Biggest thing is, it is hard to consistently throw strikes and not get frustrated with a defense behind you that makes errors. I think we had 10, 11, 12 errors in that game.”
After the Streaks added two more runs in the third, Yates Center responded with a three-run bottom of the third and nearly had more but were left stranded with the bases loaded.
“We got a few guys swinging the bats pretty well,” Daugharthy said. “For the most part, if we are aggressive at the plate, looking for our pitch, we do pretty well.”
