All good things come to an end. Such is the case for the young Glenbrook Apaches on the baseball diamond.
The Apaches celebrate Cameron Barnett’s 3-run home run on the road against Newton Academy last Thursday. Tina Wilson/Courtesy Photo
“I was really proud of those guys,” Glenbrook head coach Blake Sorey said. “A lot of people doubted us, said this team was too young, maybe next year. But once we put our minds to it we had a lot of young guys step up and help us be successful. We didn’t have the best record, but we did what we set out to do which was make the playoffs.”
Glenbrook went down in a heartbreaker in game one, a game where Glenbrook trailed by one run in the bottom of the seventh and failed to score a run after loading the bases with no outs.
In game two, the Apaches showed life by defeating the Generals 9-5.
Glenbrook had RBI doubles from Nick Mourad and Tyler Perryman in the win, also getting RBI hits from Parker Christy, Mason Hood and Colt Wilson. Cameron Barnett added a double for the Apaches.
Wilson was the winning pitcher for Glenbrook, going five strong innings and only allowing three hits while striking out one.
In the decisive game three, the Apaches suffered through a nightmare first inning and fell behind 9-0.
With hope fading, Glenbrook showed some guts by hanging up seven runs, but the deficit was too large as Glenbrook fell 11-7, ending the season. The big moment in game three came off the bat of Barnett, a three-run blast in the second inning. Barnett finished with 4 RBIs for the Apaches.
Glenbrook wraps up the 2016 campaign with a record of 14-12. It wasn’t supposed to be a playoff season for the Apaches, who were supposed to be rebuilding with a largely new roster and coaching staff. Credit Sorey for bringing the young group together, even after the team started off 0-6.
Something else to hang their hat on, the baseball team was the only one of the three major sports to make the playoffs.
Glenbrook only loses one starter, Colt Wilson. Wilson was a key cog in the lineup and on the mound all season for the Apaches and he will be missed.
“Colt, when he’s good, he’s good,” Sorey said. “When he struggled at the plate, he would fill those shoes on the mound. He gave us a big win the other night against Newton. The guy gave it his all and that’s all I could ask of that guy.”
However, with an eye toward the future, Glenbrook returns eight starters for next season. The Apaches top hitter by average was an eighth grader (McLean) and the ace of the staff (Perryman) and top reliever (Mourad) will also be back.
“If these guys come back next year, stay healthy and put their minds to it they can be special,” Sorey said. “We have most of the pitching staff back, some really talented eighth, ninth and tenth graders will be back and better. We just have to put our minds to it.”