Baseball is a spring sport that brings out fans just for the love of the game. I talked with a few players and this is what they had to say about the sport and playing for East.
Graham Brewster ( junior, #1, shortstop) – Brewster has been playing baseball for 15 years now and loves it. He grew up around the sport because his brother played baseball, and it has just been history since then. Brewster transferred from Alleghany High School at the beginning of this school year. When asked how his old school compares to ours, Brewster said, “We just went out and played, and we didn’t really have any energy, just all talent.”
Brewster enjoys the “energy and tempo” of playing for East. He has the following goals for this season: 20 stolen bases, 10 doubles, and at bat over a 350. As of press time, he has 18 stolen bases, 7 doubles and is batting a 389.
Brady May ( junior, #5, catcher) – May is also a transfer from Alleghany and expressed a similar view of his old team: “We just had raw talent. Just not energy or work ethic.”
Baseball is a very stressful sport where there isn’t much room for error. May said he handles the pressure by trying to “stay calm, stay in the moment, try not to think about anything else [but keeping] my composure.” May’s goal is to go to the state championships. As of right now East’s record is 16-11 heading into the playoffs.
Layne Lambert (junior, #12, outfield and pitcher) – Lambert has been playing baseball since his dad got him started when Layne was just four years old. Paul Skenes, also a pitcher, is a pro player Lambert looks up to because “he won rookie of the year and was an All-state [player] his rookie season.”
Sports aren’t supposed to be easy–if they were why would anyone play? Lambert’s biggest challenge with playing baseball is that “It’s really hard to know if you’re good. You can think you’re good, and then something just won’t come out your way. For example,” Lambert said, “you can hit the ball three out of ten and still be a good player.” Lambert shares May’s goal for this season of going to the state championship.
All in all, baseball is a mind-challenging game, one that’s more than just a pitch, a swing of a bat, or keeping an eye on the ball.
