Berrien Springs baseball out to prove 2022 district title was ‘not a fluke’
BERRIEN SPRINGS, Mich. (WNDU) - The Berrien Springs baseball team finished last season with a 17-12 record and a district championship in Division 2.
But baseball is a “what have you done for me lately” kind of sport, and the Shamrocks are going to have to prove they’re among the top dogs all over again.
They got off to a good start, going 19-9 and winning the inaugural Lakeland Conference title with a 7-1 record in league play. Still, the word the team used to describe how others view their success was “fluke.”
The defending district champs are embracing the underdog role and ready to rep a community that’s backed them all season.
“We practiced all season for this weekend and tomorrow, so I’m hoping the boys are in the same mindset and do a little ‘rah-rah speech,’ and we’ll be ready to roll,” said Head Coach Korey Martin. “We’ve got a good group of kids and they show up for big moments. That’s about all I can ask from them.”
“Yeah, we’re pretty hungry for that second one,” said senior Ben Eising. “A lot of people doubt us, say it’s a fluke, so whatever. But we’re on the other side of that. We really think it’s not a fluke and we earned every second of that last one, and we’re ready to do it again.”
“They say it was a fluke last year and we lost some guys that contributed a lot last year, so they think they can just roll all over us, but that’s not the case,” said junior Charlie Ewalt. “We’re going to come out swinging, man.”
The Shamrocks will face Niles (11-11) on Saturday afternoon in the District 45 semifinal on their home field. First pitch is set for 12:30 p.m.
The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the first semifinal game between Edwardsburg and Lakeshore.
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