COLDSPRING — The Coldspring Trojans hosted an early-season scrimmage against the Hempstead baseball team last Saturday.
Although the scrimmage did not impact playoff standings, the Trojans dominated, scoring 13 runs to Hempstead’s one. The team appeared focused and ready to take on the challenges of the new baseball season.
Head Coach Austin Riddell explained the purpose of the scrimmage: "It was going to be a scrimmage as the pitchers would be going on a pitch count, simply because it is very early in the season, and we want to look at several athletes."
The Trojans will remain in the 3A division this year; however, the UIL playoffs will feature two separate divisions. Riddell said, "This will bring the number of games down by one, to only five. There will be a playoff season similar to football, with a larger class and a smaller class round in the postseason."
Riddell, who has been with the program for a decade, expressed strong confidence in this year’s team. "This is the first time that I have very high hopes for the team to go deep into the playoffs," he said. "Normally, we would field 13-14 players for varsity, but this year we are going to field a lot more."
Reflecting on the scrimmage, Riddell praised his pitching staff. "Our pitching was outstanding. We threw nine different pitchers who combined for 36 strikeouts," he said
However, he noted room for improvement at the plate: "Offensively, I’d like to see better approaches, but that will come with reps."
