Coming off one of the most successful seasons in nearly two decades, the Enid High Baseball team is ready to make a run back to the state tournament this year. “Last year we won regionals and made state for the first time since I’ve been here,” said 8th year head coach Brad Gore, “I was so proud of that team. They worked so hard to get there, and Edmond Santa Fe just outplayed us in our first-round game.”
The good news is that they only graduated two seniors off of last year’s team, and only one of them was a starter. “Surprisingly we are still a fairly young team this year,” said Gore, “we only have 4 seniors this year, but all of our young guys now have a bunch of experience.”
Over the offseason, Coach Gore talked with his players about what they needed to do to be better this year – cut down on strikeouts at the plate and for the pitchers to cut down on their walks. “It’s still early, but so far we have done a better job on both,” Gore said.
This year’s team has some real star power, headed by senior Pitcher and Third Baseman Jake Kennedy and junior Center Fielder Garrett Shull. “Jake is a hard-nosed competitor who gets people out,” said Gore. “He throws in the upper 80’s and low 90’s, and has a great changeup. He’s just a good ball player. When he’s not pitching, he’s in the field, has a knack for driving in runs, and is a good baserunner and is headed to Cowley College next year. As for Garrett, he is one of the top-rated players not only in the state, but the country. He’s committed to play at Oklahoma State, which shows you how much of a difference-maker he is. He’s really good at everything. Your typical 5-tool guy.”
While the team is full of what Coach Gore called “good ballplayers, and great kids” a couple more stood out to him. “Our Catcher, McCage Hartling is rock solid. He’s consistent, sprays the ball around the park and can occasionally really get ahold of one. Also, Brock Slater bats leadoff and is just a great kid. He leads by example and is a great, coachable teammate.”
When talking about goals for the year Coach Gore said they break the season into three parts – win district, win regionals and win state. “Listen, we have a really good team that can make a run at state this year. It just takes getting hot at the right time, so we are just going to try and be as consistent as we can be and put ourselves in a position to win. These are super kids, they are really fun to coach and I know they can win a bunch of ballgames.”
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