Waurika High School begins the 2022 baseball season today by traveling to Wilson to take on the Oil Field Conference foe.
The next action for the Eagles will be one week from today (March 10) when they will travel to Ringling to battle the Blue Devils.
The home opener for Waurika will be March 22 when they entertain Geronimo at the Waurika High School diamond.
Coach Joe Allen’s Eagles will be looking to bounce back from an 8-11 season last year.
The Eagles were 2-2 in 2020 before the season was halted by the pandemic.
This will be Allen’s fourth season at the helm of the Eagle nine and he along with the baseballers will be looking for a season like 2019 when Waurika posted its first winning season in baseball since 2012 with a 16-7 record.
But the Eagles will have some challenges along the way as the 2022 season gets under way.
Two starters must be replaced and the Eagles will probably be without another starter, Treyton Torrez, who is scheduled to undergo further surgery from a football injury suffered last fall.
Another challenge for the Eagles will be the lack of practice time after the completion of the basketball season.
The recent winter weather potentially knocked out practice time and so the workouts this week will be key in the preparation for the Eagles’ season opener.
There are some question marks concerning who will man the mound for the Eagles.
A newcomer to Coach Allen’s squad maybe the answer for the pitching. Aiden Torrez will be counted on to be the top thrower for the Eagles, but he will also have some teammates that can throw strikes and they will take their turns on the mound.
But, the Eagles do return some experience in the field and at the plate.
Carson Williams, Isaac Camarillo, Slade Cathey, Angel Garcia, Malachi Dodson and Houston Scott were some of the main contributors at the plate for the Eagles a year ago and will have to provide the offense in the upcoming season if the Eagles are to be successful.
While those baseballers will be the heart of the offense, they will also be counted on in the field. Experience should be of benefit when it comes to fielding the ball – particularly in the infield.
“We have lots of experience on this squad,” said Allen. “They picked up a lot of experience because they had to step up last year and play a lot as freshmen and sophomores.”
The schedule is challenging as Waurika competes in both the Southern Eight and Oil Field Conferences. The Southern Eight Conference includes a couple of schools that play baseball in the fall and spring and the Oil Field schools usually have plenty of talent and depth on the diamond.
Look for the experience of the Eagles to pay off in the form of a few more wins on the diamond this spring, but Waurika will have to pick things up when it comes to consistency to put together a winning mark in 2022.
Waurika Schedule
MARCH
3: at Wilson; 10: at Ringling; 22: Geronimo; 24-26: at Central High Tournament; 28: Marlow JV; 29: at Empire; 31: Comanche;
APRIL
4: Central High; 7-9: Velma-Alma Tournament; 11: at Springer; 12: at Rush Springs; 14: Velma-Alma; 15: Walters; 21-23: Class A District Tournament.
