Debut dashed
- Updated: February 26, 2016
Ohatchee plays loose, scores two run-rule victories to spoil coaching debut of White Plains’ Wes Henderson
Wes Henderson (L) points out something in the left-field corner to the umpires and Ohatchee coach Blake Jennings (R) while going through the ground rules at home plate before his first game as a varsity baseball coach Friday. (Photos by Tammy Morrow)
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Wes Henderson had been waiting for Friday for a long time.
The new White Plains baseball coach took the field for his first games as a varsity head coach in the Wildcats’ season-opening doubleheader with Ohatchee. Although the results weren’t anywhere close to what he’d have liked – the Wildcats were run-ruled 10-0 and 12-1 — he was fulfilling a lifelong dream of having a team of his own.
“We were all excited to get out here and get it going,” Henderson said. “Opening Day is always a little bit of nervous energy and we didn’t respond to it very well, but it’s something we’ll learn from.
“We talk every day about how are you going to respond to adversity and today we didn’t respond to it very well. We’re going to take a negative and turn it into a positive. We’ll learn from this and we’ll bounce back. We’ve got two tomorrow (at Springville). We we’ll come out and play hard tomorrow and we’ll do what we can do.”
Henderson was hired off Oxford’s staff this summer to succeed Chad Hudson. There was a lot of new in the program besides the man at the top – black uniforms with “Plains” embossed across the front in a Miami-Dade font, new dugouts, a switch to the first base side, and a new scoreboard that rose above the left-field fence and went operational during the second game.
Still, it was a difficult debut. The Wildcats were held to one hit in the opener by Blayde Crump and managed only two in the nightcap. The nervous energy Henderson spoke of produced an infield error on the first play of the season that opened the door to a five-run deficit before they even came to bat for the first time.
They did hold the lead once. Kevin Carr doubled to open the home first in the second game, went to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch. They held the lead until the third.
From the Ohatchee perspective, it was a great day. The Indians pounded out 23 hits in the two games and evened their record at 2-2. They batted around three times and sent eight batters to plate twice.
Crump threw just 52 pitches in the opener and allowed only four baserunners; the only hit he gave up was a fourth-inning infield single by Taylor Morrow. He followed the effort by collecting three hits in the nightcap.
“I just felt good,” Crump said. “I try to let them hit it and I know my fielders will make plays for me.”
Taylor Eubanks, the second-game starter and winner, supported Crump in the opener with two hits and helped his own cause with a two-run double in the nightcap. Jaylon Jenkins had two hits and two RBIs in the opener. Micah Lee had two hits in each game and got the last four outs of the nightcap from the mound.
“Altogether it was (good) because we played loose; we did what we were supposed to do,” Ohatchee coach Blake Jennings said. “We had a good week of practice and that’s what set the tone. Last week, we let it get in our heads; something bad happened (today) and we just went and made the next play. That was the whole deal this week — make the next play.”
It’s a lesson Henderson expects his young Wildcats will learn over time.
“You never get too high on the highs, never get too low on the lows,” he said. “Obviously this is a low and we’ll see what we’re made of in the next coming days.”
Ohatchee 10, White Plains 0 (5 inns.)
Ohatchee 500 23 – 10 12 1
White Plains 000 00 – 0 1 5
BLAYDE CRUMP and Jessie Sellers; ANDREW CRONAN, Andrew Norred (4) and Jake Spivey. 2B: Jaylon Jenkins (O). WP: Crump. LP: Cronan.
Ohatchee 12, White Plains 1 (6 inns.)
Ohatchee 004 143 – 12 11 1
White Plains 100 000 – 1 2 1
TAYLOR EUBANKS, Micah Lee (5) and Jessie Sellers; TAYLOR MORROW, Jackson Wilkinson (4), Chez Hulsey (5) and Brett Beaver. 2B: Chase Widgeon (O), Taylor Eubanks (O), Blayde Crump (O), Kevin Carr (WP). WP: Eubanks. LP: Morrow.
High school spring sports coaches, let East Alabama Sports Today keep your fan base informed of your team’s progress this season. Submit your game results, stat programs, game highlights nightly and story ideas throughout the season to the website at either almusky@aol.com or musky@wrightmediacorp.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login