By JON WEBB
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
It’s Thursday night, and Jonathan Myatt is shaking his head.
The Barren County coach has just watched his Trojans end a scrimmage with Adair County in an 8-8 tie. The team posted five errors and fell behind early before evening the score in the bottom of the seventh and landing the winning run on third base. But that run would never find its way home, leaving Barren with an unsatisfying unofficial kick off to its 2010 season.
And according to Myatt, there’s no excuse for it.
“We were extremely shaky. We made a lot of mental mistakes,” he said. “We can’t blame it on experience.
“This should be an eye-opener for our guys.”
The Trojans’ eyes should be open fairly wide already, Myatt said. Barren returns an experienced squad that came within one run of its third consecutive District championship in 2009. Much of the team was also part of the Trojans’ squad that compiled 27 wins en route to the school’s first Region championship in 2008.
Despite opening the year winning six of its first nine games, Barren couldn’t quite repeat its 2008 success last season. Although the Trojans finished strong with wins over Hart County, Metcalfe County and a defeat of Glasgow in the first round of the district tournament, a six game losing streak stretching from late April into May dropped the Trojans below .500 for the first time all season, and an 11-1 Region defeat at the hands of Bowling Green gave Barren its first losing season since 2006. Part of the reason for that, Myatt said, is the Trojans’ tendency to fall behind early, a trend that resurfaced in the Adair scrimmage.
“Last year, we’d get behind and get down (early in the game). That’s something we can’t have against Logan County,” Myatt said. “I told the guys if we played against (Logan) like we played (against Adair), it’s going to be a short game.”
Barren will face the Cougars tomorrow in its season opener. The game will serve as the beginning of a three-contest homestand that also includes a noon date with LaRue County (March 27) and a matchup with Edmonson County (March 30).
April will feature games against Metcalfe County (April 1), Monroe County (April 2), Caverna (April 15), Allen County-Scottsville (April 16, 22) and Glasgow (April 20). The Trojans will meet all the aforementioned teams in the final month of the regular season before closing out the year the way it began with a home date against Logan.
For Barren to weigh down the win column once again, the Adair scrimmage will have to prove an anomaly. According to Myatt, it may be just that.
“The guys have worked hard in practice, and we’ve had good days and very few bad days,” he said. “It just so happened one of those bad days fell when we were out on the field.”
The Trojans have enough experience and talent to put those bad days well behind them. The team will feature senior starting pitchers Bart Houchens and Dillon Clark and boast a bevy of upperclassmen filling out the infield and outfield. Younger players such as shortstop Tyler Hammer and catcher Brandon Read will also contribute.
“The leadership is here,” Myatt said.
With that leadership present, and with some luck, the Trojans may eventually cause their coach to shake his head in a more positive way.
