“Down! Get down!” yells the team as Mikko Otterness slides into second base. The Cannon Falls Middle School baseball team has had a successful start to the season. With 2 home runs and a grand slam in previous games, the 7th graders on this team are celebrating their first few wins. Their 6-0 record shows the hard work and dedication that they’ve put in for every game and practice. “We have about 9 hours of practice every week, with 2 hours after school and an early morning practice on Thursdays,” says pitcher Mayson Vogel, talking about his practice schedule. The team hopes to keep up the win streak as they continue the season.
The team has played Plainview-Elgin-Millville (PEM), Dover-Eyota, Randolph, and Goodhue, with two of them being double headers, and won all games by several points. Pitcher Kolton Miller talks about how he feels the start of the season is going, saying, “I think the season is going good, we have improved a lot as a team from last year to this year.” But along with the game record comes a few challenges, as Miller explained, “Fielding and staying positive after a mistake are some of our biggest challenges.” As they overcome these obstacles, they also have goals they hope to obtain throughout the season. “We hope to continue winning games and also improve as a team,” says Slade Schramske.
On and off the field, the players have been working hard to achieve their goals. Preparing in the off-season has been one of the ways the team has been so successful. When asked how they stay motivated in the off-season, Kason Lindahl, a catcher, says, “I stay motivated by setting goals for myself that I push to reach before the start of the season.” Conditioning is also an important way to prepare, says Lindahl, explaining, “I condition by doing weightlifting and practicing baseball a couple times a week before the season starts back up.”
For the remainder of the spring, they are working very hard to keep up the winning streak. “I have high hopes for the rest of the season, and I think we will finish strong,” says Mayson Vogel. Many people enjoy watching these 7th graders just as much as they love playing. One 7th grader who comes to cheer them on, Ruby Kyyra, says, “I enjoy watching them because I like cheering them on and watching baseball.” Hopefully, they pull out more winning grand slams as they end the season.
