Highlands baseball players benefit from early-season trip south

By: William Whalen
Tuesday, April 12, 2022 | 12:23 PM

Hoagie sales, golf outings and the exhausting obligation of monthly fundraisers was all the Highlands baseball team needed to take its first trip south in program history.

With just one week of tryouts and one week of practice under their belts, the Golden Rams loaded the bus for a 13-hour trip to South Carolina to get a few early-season games in Myrtle Beach.

“Some schools go down every year, and they love it,” Highlands coach Jeff Campbell said. “Right now, we’re thinking of going down every other year.”

Highlands (2-1) arrived at the Cal Ripken Experience with an agenda to fill some holes left by graduation. The Rams went 2-1 in their three games.

The Rams jumped out to a 5-0 lead on WPIAL rival Thomas Jefferson before a disastrous fourth inning helped T.J. tally nine runs.

“The game we lost to TJ was just one (bad) inning,” senior center fielder Ethan Hewitt said. “The right side of the field had a lot of errors, and TJ hit whenever they needed to hit.”

Campbell expected the defensive breakdown and though the game ended in an 11-7 loss, he chalked it up as a win.

“Defensively, we fell apart,” Campbell said. “We kind of expected that because we were looking to fill some positions.”

The Rams recovered with two solid outings against Chagrin Falls (Ohio) and another WPIAL school, West Greene.

Highlands broke a 2-2 tie with three-run third inning to get control of the game and eventually pick up a 9-5 over Chagrin Falls. The Rams carried that momentum into their game against West Greene. Highlands’ bats came alive, and the Rams invoked the 10-run rule with an 11-0 win to close out the trip.

The main priority for Campbell and his staff was to look at different players in positions that are up for grabs. Namely, first and second bases.

Seniors Zac Balog and Kaleb Pakulski, along with sophomore Carson Goldberg are in the mix at first base.

Campbell likes Goldberg’s potential.

“Right now, he is showing us that he has the potential and that he can overtake that position,” Campbell said.

Senior Jacob Arner, who is also battling for one of the outfield positions, and freshman Kristian Kocon are in a dead heat to start at second base. Campbell said Kocon is working to adjust to the speed of the varsity game.

The three-game sample size wasn’t enough for Campbell and his staff to make any decisions.

“We came back with more things that we want to see (from the players),” Campbell said. “I think we know where our personnel belongs. It’s just a matter of seeing who wins the battles.”

While coaches were in deep thought about putting the right players in the right positions, the team did exactly what should happen on a spring getaway. They came bonded.

“The trip really solidified the friendship,” said senior pitcher Tanner Nulph, a Seton Hill commit. “Everyone loves everyone, and I think that will help out on the field.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

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