×

Trojan baseball drops season opener to Bobcats in extra innings

On Monday, May 15 baseball began for the Trojans in a close game with Marshalltown.

Beginning the game, the Trojans blasted off to a blistering pace, running up a 3-0 lead in the first two innings. Marshalltown made up ground in the fourth and fifth scoring 5 runs while the Trojans continued with two more in the fifth inning to keep things tied up with the Bobcats.

The tie lasted until the bottom of the ninth where a costly misstep from catcher Gavin Bridgewater led the Bobcats to gain the final point necessary to put away the Trojans. The home plate umpire deemed South Tama catcher Gavin Bridgewater lifted his foot off the plate on a force-out attempt, leading to the Marshalltown score.

The Bobcats won 6-5.

Something noticeably new for Trojan baseball was the retirement of long time head baseball coach Seth Koch. Koch’s successor was his assistant from last season, STC high school math teacher Jerrod Bridgewater.

In talking about the transition from assistant to head coach, Bridegwater noted his new managerial role with the team.

“The transition from assistant to head coach is something I’m still adjusting to. The adjustment is not so much on the field but off, with posting stats, scheduling bus times, keeping up with grades, and having conversations with players about their roles from game to game,” Bridgewater said.

The new coach also mentioned the 2023 team and his relationships with his players.

“We are very young when talking about varsity experience, so I expect to improve as the season goes on,” he said. “That being said, I have been around the majority of these kids for many years, watching/coaching them in other sports so they know how I operate and what I expect. I would say it pairs well.”

The Trojans continued their busy week with games against South Hardin and West Marshall, and results from those contests will be available in next week’s News Chronicle.