UNIONTOWN — Although losing in a pair of mercy-rule shortened contests, Yates Center coach Jarrod McVey is not pressing the panic button on his developing team.
Considering the Wildcats fell to the Uniontown Eagles 23-6 and 15-3 last season, Thursday’s 12-2 and 17-3 losses did not seem so bad as Coach McVey’s team slowly improves with the intent of peaking before the postseason.
“It’s not how you begin a season, it’s how you end one,” Coach McVey said with confidence following Thursday’s losses.
Yates Center has a right to be confident considering much of their adversity came because of errors and minor miscues.
An RBI single by junior pitcher Evan McVey put Yates Center on the scoreboard. McVey accounted for both Wildcats’ RBIs after picking up his second in the sixth inning with another single.
“We’re showing progress. These first couple of doubleheaders are almost like our spring training,” McVey said. “We’ve really only had three weeks of practice and one of those was spring break. We’re in shape, but we haven’t had a lot of reps.”
McVey took the loss despite tallying Yates Center’s only two strikeouts while allowing five walks and six runs on four hits. He ended the opener tied for the team lead in hits with senior outfielder Kage Beck. Beck was perfect in 2 of 2 at-bats while McVey was 2 of 3.
In the finale, the Wildcats were more fortunate on offense but less on defense as the Eagles pulled away early.
Trailing 17-0 by the fourth inning, Yates Center showed some signs of life.
Sophomore catcher Gavin Busteed put the Wildcats on the scoreboard with a two-run double. Their final run came on an RBI grounder by sophomore first baseman Brogan McConaghie.
“We need to continue reps, but I saw a lot of good things,” McVey said. “Evan came in and threw well tonight and so did Ben Cook. He’s only had a couple of games and didn’t play last year. Blake Morrison did a serviceable job and that is up from last year.”
On the mound, Blake Morrison took the loss. He posted a team-leading two strikeouts over two innings while allowing eight runs on eight hits and two walks. Sophomore reliever Ben Cook tallied a strikeout.
“We’re feeling everything out in these first couple of doubleheaders,” McVey said. “Where are guys going to play? What order will our pitchers pitch in? Who has more confidence? We’re getting there. Overall, I’m pleased, considering where we’ve been and where we are now.”
The Wildcats look to pick up their first Three Rivers League victory on the road against the Oswego Indians. First pitch for the opening game of Monday’s doubleheader is at 3:30 p.m.
