Teamwork Makes the “Game” Work

The Selma High baseball team recently had their first league victory against Dinuba on March 25th. They ended with a score of 6-5, making their CSL record 1-1.

This win was even more special because the team has faced many challenges throughout this season such as having a very young team.

“We only have two returning starters from last year’s squad,” stated Coach Hollet. “We have two freshmen and five sophomores on varsity, and on any given game we have all of them playing at the same time.”

During practices, the team is working on their four core values: Focus, Attitude, Coachability, and Effort.

“[We are working on] a lot more communication,” stated sophomore Drew Cerda who plays short-stop and pitcher. “There’s a lot of kids out here who have never played varsity baseball yet, so [we are] just trying to work on it and get better.”

The team has put in a lot of time and effort into their practices, and their win against Dinuba greatly encouraged them to keep working hard.

“[When] that final pitch that was thrown, that strike three, and then everybody just celebrated,” explained senior center fielder Exodus Rodriguez. “It was a feeling that doesn’t come every game, and it’s nice to feel every once in a while.”

Having many underclassmen on the team presents obstacles like lack of experience and not having a lot of returnees to guide the new players on how the team operates. However, they still have many strengths that set them apart from others.

“We are very loud in the dugout,” said senior pitcher Jaycob Caldera. 

Fans can hear the players from the stands cheering on their teammates throughout the game and when they are up to bat which shows how supportive the players are of one another. 

“I think it [baseball] has taught me companionship, teamwork… and just to be there for one another because we will make mistakes,” expressed Rodriguez. “It’s where we pick each other up, dust it off, and get back to it because there’s another play.”

It’s important to have team comradery because baseball is not only a physical sport, but also a mental game.

“Baseball is a game of failure,” stated Caldera. “You’re obviously going to fail more than you succeed, so you have to learn how to take that failure and turn it into motivation.”

Looking into the future, the team is aiming to win as many games as they can. They hope to make it to playoffs, but more importantly, a successful season means improving their game during practice and every time they play.