Mesquite baseball was out to right a wrong Monday night.
The Wildcats had to look on as Hamilton stormed the field after winning the Division I state title in 2014. Mesquite head baseball coach Jeff Holland didn’t let his team forget it either.
“We put it on every practice plan. We had a lot of the people coming back and they know how it felt watching Hamilton celebrate,” Holland said. “This was our turn.”
The constant reminder stuck.
“It stayed with us until today,” Mesquite pitcher Josh Webster said. “We always look back at that…When the game started, we said ‘Guys, remember when it happened? We are not letting it happen again.’”
The motivation did the trick as the Wildcats beat Liberty 5-2 in the Division I state championship game thanks to some timely hitting and a complete game from Webster, despite giving up two runs in the first inning.
“In Division I baseball, it’s tough to get in here. What these guys did, they battled all the way through going undefeated in the tournament. It takes a lot of these guys, and they can play with pressure,” Holland said.
Dealing with the pressure makes the state championship that much sweeter for Mesquite High School. This win marks the first state title for the entire school.
“It means the world,” Holland said. “Mesquite High School has it’s first banner.”
The state championship has been seized, the banner will be in place, the only thing left to do is figure out what image goes on future practice plans.
