After a slow start to the season, the Oxford baseball team is starting to find its rhythm. Even though the team has many young players, their experience and depth help this team continue to play better as the season progresses.
Coach Cade Hoggard believes this team has the potential to be great because of the leadership that this team shows. The leadership helps set an example and influence those younger players on this team.
“Last year, we were young and very inexperienced,” Hoggard said. “This year, we’re still on the youth side. We have a great senior class with some guys who filled some roles and played in a good number of games last year, but we kind of bring back our entire core.”
Although the team faced tough losses against Tupelo and Lafayette at the beginning of the season, the team is starting to rally together. They recently defeated North West Rankin and MRA. Even though those games are not in district play, they are still good wins to put under their belt.
“Through the challenges at the start of the season, I feel like it has brought us together as we face adversity instead of it tearing us apart,” senior captain James Blackwood said. “I feel like we’re coming together more.”
Having good leaders is a key part of coming together as a team when facing those challenges and not falling apart. Senior captain Whitten Ellis says that their leadership has helped them grow further together.
“Whenever we have been losing games, we seem to give up on ourselves. Having strong leadership helps our team to never give up,” Ellis said.
This team has a lot of pitchers in the bullpen, which helps because if someone isn’t having their best outing, there is another pitcher to back them up.
“That’s probably one of the strongest parts of our team is our bullpen,” Blackwood said.” I feel like the best part about it is whenever guys don’t have their best stuff, which they’re not always going to. We can go to the next guy, the next guy in the pen.”
As the team approaches some tough district play games, they are confident that they can play well and set themselves up for a good run in the playoffs. Ellis is confident that if they play up to their potential, they have all the talent to do well.
“I’m most excited to see how far we can make a run in the playoffs. I really think we have a chance, but we just need to put it all together,” Ellis said.
The Oxford baseball program has not won a state championship since 2016. The goal every year is to win the state championship, but this year the team is very hopeful. They have a lot of belief in themselves and know that they have the potential to win it all.
“The motto is 2026 is the year, and I think they believed that,” Hoggard said. “We’ve been close in the past, and I think they feel like we have the capability of making a run. Our goals have been getting better day by day and week by week, but our end goal is winning a district championship and North Half Championship, and then having a chance for a state championship.”
