DECATUR -- The Decatur boys' baseball team opened the season by traveling to Berryville to play the Bobcats on March 14 in what would turn out to be a two-game series.
In the first game, the Bulldogs struggled both offensively and defensively, allowing Berryville 19 runs. Decatur lost the first game, 19 to 1.
First-year baseball coach Jason Porter admitted that first-game jitters got the best of his team.
"We just couldn't hit anything across the plate. On defense, we made so many errors and mistakes," Porter explained. "You make a couple of those and before you know it, they are scoring."
In the second game, the Bulldogs fared a little better, losing to Berryville, 7 to 5.
Porter had two players have great games during the series, Ryan Shaffer and Jay Porter.
"One player who had a great game was Ryan Shaffer," Porter said. "I had him in left field and the team we played had some really good hitters. They were crushing balls out to left field, and Shaffer was able to back up there on the wall and caught at least three on the wall. I was really pleased with that."
Porter's son, Jay, pitched his first high school game during game two.
"Jay had a hit his first at bat," Porter said. "He had a couple strike-outs in the game and he looked really good for a freshman."
Based on what Coach Porter saw during both Berryville games, he plans on building the team around the experience of Shaffer and Jay Porter.
"The one good thing to take from that is to see what we need to work on, and it was a good test to see those things and be able to correct those mistakes," Porter concluded. "By the middle or towards the end of the season, we will be a better team."
Sports on 03/19/2014