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For the first time in a few years, Willard baseball enters a season with some question marks.
“We’ve got some younger guys that are trying to fill some really big shoes right now,” said senior Dalen Stewart
But Dalen is one sure answer to those questions.
“The difference [between] Dalen and a lot of high school kids is his attention to detail. He really works hard on the little nuances of the game. He’s a kid who just plays baseball and he just pitches, so he gets to devote a lot of time to his craft,” said Head Coach Scott McGee.
The senior southpaw knew he’d play a big role this season, but he started even better than expected.
“I was so zoned in, I didn’t even know my pitch count, how hard I was throwing, if I had a hit or a walk or any errors, I was just focused on what I was doing,” Dalen said of his most-recent start.
He was so locked in last Saturday versus Hickman, he didn’t realize he’d fired seven innings with no walks, no hits and 10 strikeouts.
“His stuff was dominant, fastball was jumping,” McGee said. “His cutter and his curveball were both really good so yeah, he had really good stuff.”
A few errors prevented the chance for a perfect game, and with the score still tied at zero, McGee was forced to take Dalen out after the 7th inning because of the pitch count limit.
Then the Tigers smacked two doubles in the top of the 8th inning to take the lead before Jared Miles closed it out .
“I trust my hitters, so I knew at some point Hickman was going to give up [a run] and they did,” Dalen said. “It just happened in the 8th inning instead of the 7th.”
It helped Willard complete the combined no-hitter and gave Dalen what he wanted most.
“A win is still a win, so I’ll take it how we can get it,” he said.
Just like Dalen’s performance, it was no ordinary win for this year’s team.
“We’re just kind of carrying ourselves a little differently since that win, you can see it almost immediately the guys are like ‘hey we belong’,” McGee said. This is Willard baseball, we’re going to be good.”
It’s a feeling that should continue, especially when Dalen takes the mound.
