For Republic pitcher Preston McCracken, adversity isn’t about overcoming one bad throw. He’s had to come back from worse. Like when a back injury his sophomore year couldn’t have come at a worse time. “It was right before the season,” said Preston, a junior on the baseball team. “And I feel like I kind of rushed it. I’m happy to be playing again injury-free.”
Then came football season. When the starting quarterback for a Republic team coming off a state runner-up finish suffered another injury. The team was 6-1. “I had a grade two tear in my MCL,” Preston said. “I thought I was done for the rest of the season too.”
The doctor told Preston he would be out four to six weeks. Preston made it back in four, just in time for the first game of the postseason. “I played a drive against Central,” Preston said. “Played a half against Parkview. Then the Branson game I was fully released.”
Released and unleashed. Preston scored four touchdowns to propel the Tigers to their first back-to-back district titles in two decades. That’s pretty good considering he’s committed to Missouri State to play a different sport. “You don’t get to where he’s got to or where he’s going to get to without a really strong work ethic,” said Curt Plotner, Republic head coach. “He’s picked up right where we expect him to and he’s done a great job.”
Preston is averaging more than a strikeout and a half per inning on the mound. And the Tigers are happy to have him as their ace while he prepares to take on hitters on the Division I level. For Preston, he doesn’t have time for hobbies. “That’s my life,” Preston said. “Just school and sports. If it’s not baseball it’s football. If it’s not football it’s baseball.”
And if that life comes with more adversity, he’s already proven he can handle it.
