A common theme with baseball players is that their love and respect for the game keeps them returning season after season. Wakefield players are no different and it makes them a tightly knit group.

Hunter Stephenson keeps coming back to play for the Wakefield team for a clear reason.

“You love the game,” said Stephenson, “I’ve been playing it so long, during the off season I don’t have anything to do. When I come back for the Wakefield season, I’m able to play the game I love with my friends.”

The comradery in baseball is very unique. Each player has their specific role on the team, and their teammates rely on and trust them to perform their job. This sense of trust seems to bring the team together as a tightly knit unit. Unity and chemistry is key in any team sport, especially baseball, because one player can’t single handedly win a game.

Justin Adams loves the fact that one player can’t carry his team to a win.

“I like how it really comes down to the last at bat,” said Adams. “In other sports, a team can hold a lead and then try to run down the clock, but with baseball, you still have to pitch and give the batter his chance.”

Adams proves that trust is key in the sport. Players have to be able to trust in all of their teammates abilities, because it is never known who is going to be the last at bat.

Unity and trust is especially important on defense. Coach Hall has been preaching discipline and responsibility on defense this season.

“In baseball there is a thing called an unearned run,” said Hall, “and in all of our losses but one the other team has had more unearned runs, than we had earned runs.”

Hall knows what needs to be done to fix the problem, and the team’s current 6-9 record.

“We need to put our individual skills together and play as a team,” said Hall, “if we do that we can get rid of some of those unforced errors.”

Adams elaborates that there have been a number of factors to the team’s slow start, but they are headed in the right direction.

“We’ve struggled with some injuries and had to make some changes to our pitching rotation but I think we’re starting to come together and can hopefully perform well for the final half of the season,” said Adams.

The team has certainly faced adversity, and Coach Hall thinks that the deciding factor of how the team performs down the stretch will be their ability to overcome adversity.

“The question is, if you struggled yesterday, what are you doing today to get over that hurdle. That’s what I’d like to get across to the players,” said Hall, “We can’t control what has happened in the past, but we can control how we respond to it and move forward.”

Moving forward will lead the team to what has the makings of a great game versus Heritage on Senior Night. Being that he is one of the two seniors on the team, Chase Allen is looking forward to the senior night game.

“It will be one of the biggest tests of the season,” said Allen, “Heritage is a powerhouse, but we can hold our own, it’s anyone’s game.”

The Coach Hall and the players agree that making the playoffs is the team’s goal

“Our goal right now is to end the season 12-9,” said Hall “If we end 12-9 we will have a shot at making the playoffs. We just need to focus on winning our next six ball games.”