BY RICKY MEHRLE
On Sept. 20, the Archers played their annual exhibition matchup at Busch Stadium, with the spring season ahead. In an unfortunate turn of events, they didn’t take home victory, but getting the experience of playing on a big league field was most important in the end.
“You know this is really about the experience, and I think we have done a really good job of soaking up, being in the stadium and getting to play on the surface. It’s been a really awesome experience, the baseball side will come, but right now we’re just really enjoying the experience,” said Head Coach Chance Sharp.
Starting off strong, the game had its ups and downs, but each player gave it their best and still got good plays out of it. Infielder Channing Pattengill was proud to have gotten on all bases without causing an out.
“It felt good to get on base and get around a bunch of pass balls, everyone plated in that and then scoring was just a big part, so I hope that we can get it going a little more,” Pattengill said.
Out in the field, the Archers showed teamwork and defensive efforts against Wabash Valley. Outfielder James Dolley had a major catching streak in the beginning.
“I’ve never played on a big league field before, so the depth perception was a little off, and I just kind of stayed low, but I got a lot of action and laps. I got some pretty easy pop flys, got to make some good plays and, overall, I feel good in the outfield, playing on a big league field,” Dolley said.
Having the chance to play on a big league field like Busch stadium was a dream come true for many of the players, as they grew up watching the Cardinals play on the field.
“I’ve seen this field so many times on TV and, going out there, I didn’t really know what to expect and how it was going to be and live up to all my expectations, so I had a lot of fun. More than anything, I got to go out and play baseball,” Dolley said.
Infielder Alex Hegger agrees.
“It’s really cool to play in a big league stadium and, it’s really cool to see what the big leaguers see and what they play,” said Hegger.
Preparations for the game were long, with the Archers coming from The Dinger Showcase, but they got more practice playing the game, showing needs for improvement for the upcoming season.
“We got to get a lot better at the simple things: not expanding the strike zone at the plate, making sure to throw quality pitches at the plate, as of on the pitching mound and our defense being able to play catch at a high level, so we just got to do all those things better, and we’ve got the rest of the spring and winter to figure that out,” said Coach Sharp.
The 5th inning brought out many of the best plays for the Archers, mostly catcher Lucas Urschler, whose hit got him to second base.
“I was hooking a fast ball early and I got one, got a barrel head out in front and just took a swing on it. Felt good, obviously feels good in a big league stadium,” Urschler said.
Reaction time, a skill in baseball, was met during this game.
“Around the bases, I thought it was very well, just kinda reacting very quickly, it’s all the stuff we’ve been putting work in before practice. We do base running stuff with throwing it to the catchers and trying to block it, just getting the timing of that has been really helping me,” Pattengill said.
Many pitchers stepped up on the mound throughout the game, but in the 5th inning, Bennett Parker made an impact.
“I felt really loose and whippy. I just couldn’t locate, but the curve ball and slider were amazing, so I was really pleased with that, and that first strikeout really got me going,” Parker said.
Starting this year as the new coach at STLCC, Sharp is proud of how his team is looking and is ready to train the team for what’s to come.
“We were able to stay focussed for two and a half hours. We seemed to enjoy ourselves. I told the guys that the only rule today was you couldn’t get mad at yourself, just enjoy the experience, and they did that,” Sharp said.
