Grab some crackerjacks and a foam finger because baseball season is finally here! With field construction scheduled to get done today but rain still in the forecast, the Wildcats moved up their game time to noon. They begin the new era on their field in a contest against Columbine High School out of Colorado.

“Once the field gets done, we will probably have the best field in the state of Missouri. We are excited to be able to get on that and have that to use every day for practice and showcase it all,” Head Coach Tim McElligott said.

The Wildcats opened their season with a tournament over the Spring Break weekend. BSHS played Kearney, Liberty, Liberty North and Rockhurst, leaving the tournament with a record of 1-3. The Wildcat’s lone win came in  the first game of season against Kearney, 4-0.

McElligott knows that his young squad is gaining the experience that will be needed down the stretch.

“We are getting experience, playing a lot of young kids, playing a lot of new kids; I have three returners from last year’s team that played. We are playing a couple of sophomores too, but playing four games (in a row) is an experience they needed. They are playing hard,” McElligott said.

This spring’s conditions haven’t presented the easiest of beginnings for the Wildcats, who have faced not only poor weather and sloppy field conditions but also unfinished construction that has kept them off their home field.

“We’ve been on an actual baseball field four times. That includes the four games that we’ve played. The construction on our field is not finished yet, but we aren’t using that as an excuse. It’s just somethings in games you can’t practice because you don’t have that field to work on it.,” McElligott added.

McElligott and his staff have focused on the things they can control during indoor practices.

“We focus a lot on hitting and pitching because that was something we could control with being inside and tunnels. We threw live a lot with our pitchers throwing to our hitters which I think helped that when you get in that game,” McElligott said.

Despite having few real chances to practice on a field, the Cats found that defense was not the biggest issue. Moving forward, they will continue to work on the offensive side of things.

“When runners get on base, we have got to move them. You have to put pressure on the defense, you have got to be able to score runs,” McElligott said.

Senior Andrew Garry, agrees that hitting has been  a dilemma so far.

“Offense was the main struggle. We struck out a lot, a lot of swings and misses that we should’ve hit. We had a lot of runners in scoring position, a lot of opportunities to score and that needs to be fixed,” Garry said.

Garry, first baseman and team leader, looks forward to the team’s progress as they gain experience.

“We’ve been in a cage a lot and have just been inside a lot. We haven’t really gone outside and have done infield/ outfield drills or pop flies and actual ground balls so once we get on a field, I think we will be a lot more comfortable with each other and just play a lot better as a team,” Garry stated.

McElligott chalks some of their play up to nerves.

“Your first varsity game or even your fourth varsity game, the nerves are going to be there and there are a lot of young kids playing. It’s good to get five games under their belt so they can move forward, and we are going to get a lot better. We have a lot of good kids and a bunch of talented athletes (as) apart of this program. Once the nerves get done, we should be fine,” McElligott said.

Senior Mitchell Smith agreed that the team will progress once they have more of the season under their belts.

“I think we are going to be good. Our pitching has been really solid, (and) our defense has been looking pretty good. We are all on the same page and once we start playing together a bit more, I think we will all be more comfortable around each other.,” Smith said.

McElligott has high hopes for the rest of the season.

“We expect big things. These kids they come to work every day, they practice hard, they play hard, it’s early. As the weather gets better, we will be able to get outside and do more,” he said.