High school summer baseball got off to a rough start, but when the team solidified, it consistently began defeating 5A and 6A opponents.
In the last seven games of the season, the Huskies won five games, said high school Head Coach Matt Matuszak. Starting off young, with a lot of new freshmen, the team was short experienced players. Austin Rice was out with a broken hand until about halfway through the season. Others were on vacation.
“Halfway through the summer, we got everybody there (players like J.T. Weld and Cole Ashcraft) and got it going,” Matuszak said, then it was some of most exciting baseball he’s seen on the diamond. “We just had a lot of fun.”
The Huskies made playoffs, winning a series against the big 6A West Salem, which fields a strong baseball team, Matuszak said. “It was just really exciting.”
The Huskies brought game three home, and the crowd was bigger than most spring games, he said. “It felt like spring playoff baseball.”
The Huskies ran into South Eugene next and lost. In the second game of the series, the Huskies were ahead 17-16, but the game was interrupted when the sun went down. Picking the game up the next day in Sweet Home, the Huskies lost 19-18 in extra innings.
Those were two great teams, Matuszak said. Both hit well.
One of the things that made summer so fun, we just hit the ball so well,” he said. All the way throgh the lineup, the players were hitting.
The Huskies found a lot of new leadership during the summer season, he said.
“I think it looks good (for next year),” Matuszak said. “We’ve got a great group of guys.”
The boys work hard and have fun, he said. They’re good kids, and egos are not an issue.
“As a collective effort, being a team, we’ll be better,” Matuszak said. “We’ve got a lot of speed, probably more speed than I’ve ever had before.”