After a 9-15 season last year, the Thomas Worthington varsity baseball team is hoping to bounce back for a successful winning season. So far this spring, they’ve started out the season 8-6, playing many good opponents and beginning the season with three wins in a row. Last year wasn’t the only year of Thomas’ baseball struggles, with varsity unable to get a winning season for 8 years. However, players John Pawley and Ryan Zupfer believe that this team can change that. Even though there’s a long season ahead of them, everyone is very optimistic about making a change and getting a winning season.
Ryan Zupfer is Thomas’ catcher. He says that the team is pretty young, and they have promise and potential for this season and for the future. Early on in the season, they haven’t gotten to really adapt and become one team, and Zupfer says that “there’s plenty of time to get better” and that the best playing of the season hasn’t begun yet. He goes on to say that even though the program hasn’t had a winning record in 8 years, the team believes that this year they can change that. Why? According to Zupfer, the team’s “chemistry is much better than in past years”. His outlook on the new season is also positive, with him saying, “Every day is a new day, and we just have to win that day”.
John Pawley is one of Thomas’ outfielders. He, like Zupfer, believes that Thomas can grab their first winning record in 8 years. He says that the opportunities for this year seem “really positive”, and says that the schedule for this season can possibly wrap up with games against many teams that aren’t the strongest. In order for this to happen, Thomas needs to win their division. Pawley goes on to say that they’ve “given themselves the opportunity to be competitive in doing so going forward”.
While Thomas has a good chance to get their best season in years, there are still some aspects that they need to work on. Neither Zupfer or Pawley feel that there’s any critical issues in Thomas’ gameplay, but they still agree that there’s things that need to be touched on, like building connections between the players and having chemistry as a team.
Luckily for Thomas, the team chemistry seems to have changed for the better during the offseason, with help from their strength coach. During the offseason, he “worked really hard with the players to establish a competitive and dedicated culture to the program”. The baseball team intends to take the lessons they learned from him and carry it into the season.
According to Zupfer, the key to continuing Thomas’ success on the field is every single player committing to doing their job and believing that they can win. Pawley agrees with Zupfer, but puts a specific emphasis on “being on the same page and backing each other up”. With their mentality better than ever and the possibility of a winning season even closer, Thomas is looking forward to more games (and wins) to come.
Thomas’ next game is tonight versus Hilliard Darby, and they’re hoping to continue their successful season.