Still on the road due to work on their home field, the North Sunflower Academy Rebel baseball team is still looking for a win on the field.
Their one forfeit win is beset with two road losses — a close 7-6 loss at Sharkey Issaquena Academy and a 16-6 loss to Deer Creek School. The Rebels had the lead in each before errors and pitching breakdowns. Head Coach Anthony Rivera’s young team is still coming together and he’s looking for the road warriors to meld into a winning team.
“We jumped out early on Deer Creek, 5-1. We started off solid,” Coach Rivera said. “Then they started battling back. Then 6-5 turns into 16-6 and we got run-ruled. We came unraveled and started making too many errors.”
In the Rebels’ earlier outing against Sharkey, NSA put up a 6-3 lead. A late pitching change with Coach Rivera going to his closer was for naught when that pitcher was injured trying to score from second base.
“He couldn’t finish the game and I had to put an eighth grader on the mound who had only pitched in practice. They walked the bases loaded and only needed one run to win it in the bottom of the inning,” Coach Rivera said. “But I was proud of my guys because they showcased a great skill set on the field.”
He noted against Deer Creek his team didn’t play a full game and “it got ugly real quick.”
The team has games against Humphreys Academy today and then travel to Lee Academy Arkansas on Tuesday, March 7. They finally open on their home field with a district game against Lee Academy on Thursday, March 9.
“Seph Correro, my junior pitcher and first baseman, is literally the glue holding our team together. The first game he pitched a phenomenal game and morale was up. When he’s at first base, that’s a guaranteed out if you throw it his way. I appreciate everything he does for our team. He’s in 110% every day. Regardless of the outcome, he’s passionate and never gives up. The kids feed off his energy.”
Coach Rivera is looking for the road experience to build his team’s chemistry.
“It’s time to start finding our identity because we’ll need one down the stretch,” he said.
