The baseball team will compete in its last district home game against Flower Mound at 7 p.m. on April 23, followed by an away game against Flower Mound on April 26. If the Hawks win both games, they will snag the No. 1 spot in the district.
“We try to win each pitch, each bat, each inning and each game,” head coach Corey Farra said. “If you start off small and keep the present in front of you, you can win the future. You can’t let your highs be too high or your lows be too low, especially against a team like Flower Mound.”
The team is currently second in district with an overall record of 11-1 and a seven-game win streak. The Hawks were first in the district last year, but the majority of the 2022-2023 players graduated, leaving only one starter from last season.
“Experience doesn’t mean you can’t do what you set your mind to,” second baseman Luke Sharp said. “We were not [predicted] to win the district this year, or to even have a good season. But we worked hard, we pushed through and we played our best.”
Flower Mound is undefeated in the district season, putting them at first with an overall record of 12-0. Though placing second in the district last year, they went on to win the state championship. The majority of Flower Mound’s team consists of returning players.
“When you’re in the game, you can’t be thinking about losses or how good the other team is,” catcher Quinn Bergman said. “You have to go into it knowing that you’re going to put your best out there and that you can win, or else you’re beat from the beginning.”
This season, Bergman said the team focused on bringing energy throughout the whole game, whether that be in the dugout or on the field. A new tradition the Hawks started this season was bringing a basketball hoop out when someone scores a run and having that person dunk a ball while the team cheers. Bergman said the energy helped them play their best more consistently.
“You have to have energy the whole game,” Bergman said. “You can’t get in your head and you have to celebrate every win. That’s the only way to keep your head held high.”
Farra said he has also put a big emphasis on family this season. At one of their first after-school practices, Farra told the team to play for each other, rather than themselves. He asked each player who they were playing for, and students shared memories of those they knew who could no longer play, had passed away or had significant impacts on their life. Farra said this is part of what has led to the team’s 11-1 record.
“The team is coming together to understand that you play the game of baseball for the bigger picture,” Farra said. “That night, they made the game a little bit more about the world and a little bit less about the Hawks. They made it real; they made it meaningful. I wanted them to see that there’s more to baseball than hits and runs.”
