For the first time in years, the Westside boys baseball team has gone to the top. After winning the metro championship, the Warriors are now ranked No. 1 in the state, despite doubts.
The strong start has come from the team doing many things well. Head Coach Jason Shockey said there is not just one reason for the success, but a full team effort in every aspect of the game.
“I don’t know if there is any one thing that you can pinpoint and say, this is why we are having success,” Shockey said. “Having said that, we have been doing a lot of things really well and our guys are doing a great job of continuing to answer the bell.”
Westside has focused on being complete in all four parts of baseball.
“We talk about the four facets of the game, hitting, pitching, base running and defense quite a bit,” Shockey said.
The numbers show just how strong the Warriors have been so far this year.
“As of now, we are hitting .324 as a team, our team ERA is 2.51 on the mound, we are averaging about 3.5 stolen bases a game and we have a fielding percentage of .935,” Shockey said. “All four of those are pretty good.”
Coach Shockey also said the team knows if one part of the game struggles, the others must make up for it.
“The important thing is that if one of those should happen to fall off during the game, the other three need to step up,” Shokey said. “Our guys understand that there are many ways to win a game.”
The players agree that teamwork has been one of the biggest reasons for the fast start.
“The strong start is from how well we play together,” sophomore Kai Fredrick said. “We believe that we are the best and we play like it.”
Westside opened the season ranked lower than expected, which gave them the motivation that they needed. Now the Warriors are No. 1, and they know that every other team is trying to beat them.
“We felt underrated at the start and now people know about us,” Fredrick said. “We face everyone’s best and we accept the challenge.”
Even with the top ranking, the coaches want the team to stay focused on one game at a time.
“It’s very cliché, but we want to stay focused on the next pitch and the next game,” Shockey said. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves and worry about things that are outside of our control.”
Westside also knows outside compliments can become a distraction if the team lets it.
“If we start reading social media and listening to what people are saying about us, it’ll get us distracted from what we have done to this point,” Shockey said. “To this point, I am extremely proud of what our players have done and more importantly, how they have handled themselves.”
Shockey said handling success can be hard for younger athletes, but this group has stayed grounded.
“Handling success is something that can be very challenging for a 14-18 year old student-athlete,” Shockey said. “Again, I’m very proud of the way that our guys have continued to just go out and play.”
The Warriors have won with strong offense and aggressive play.
“We hit really well,” Fredrick said. “Aggressive on the bases. And we don’t give up many free bases.”
Even after all the wins, Westside is still chasing improvement every single day.
“I think we as coaches look at improvement as a continuous process,” Shockey said. “If we get to a point in which we are satisfied, there won’t be that sense of urgency to get better.”
The team wants to keep playing fast and aggressive baseball throughout the rest of the season.
“We have talked since the beginning of the offseason about playing with pace and being the aggressor,” Shockey said. “Those are the two things that we are constantly striving for.”
Shockey believes that energy and effort must stay high if the Warriors want to keep winning.
“Combine energy and effort with those two, then we are going to continue to see results,” Shockey said. “The big thing for us is continuing to bring it every day.”
Westside knows baseball can humble teams quickly, so the Warriors are staying focused on the task in front of them.
“Baseball can be a very humbling game,” Shockey said. “Staying locked-in on the task at hand, each and every day, is something that our guys have done a great job of to this point.”
The players can feel the team’s growth as well.
“We’ve been confident in the way we play since the start, and it’s continuing to grow,” Fredrick said.
Westside has already won a tournament title and climbed to No. 1 in the state. But with the way the Warriors are playing, they believe there is still more to accomplish before the season ends.
