The Rossville Hornets baseball team is off to a strong start, sitting at 9-3 through the first 12 games.
Pitching has been a key factor in the early-season success as the Hornets have allowed just 19 runs in their nine wins.
“With the weather in Indiana being so unpredictable, there are so few opportunities to get outside in preseason,” Rossville coach Brad Scott said. “It always feels like pitching is ahead of hitting, and that has certainly been the case for us to start the year. Our pitching has been really good and carried us through the first ten games of the season.”
Eli Barnes and Zac Wainscott have been excellent to start the season. Barnes, a junior, has a 0.52 earned run average through 21 innings. Wainscott, a junior, is just behind him with a 0.67 ERA in 13.1 innings.
The Hornets are ranked number four in 1A according to Prep Baseball Indiana. On Saturday, Rossville split a doubleheader, defeating Frontier 12-4 and falling to 4A McCutcheon 12-1.
“Our offense is starting to come around,” Scott said. “Through the first ten games, we were able to do enough offensively to win some games.
Wainscott and Ashton Abbott lead the team in hits, each with 13. Wainscott also leads the team with 13 runs batted in and has the only home run for the Hornets.
“It seems like there are games when the top of the order comes through and produces, and then the next day your bottom of the order guys score three or four runs that game,” Scott said. “It’s cool the balance that our lineup has.”
– Photo courtesy of Rossville Schools
Rossville has four games this week, including two against Hoosier Heartland Conference opponents.
After winning the conference a season ago, the Hornets sit at 2-0 in HHC play and will look to continue their conference success.
On May 14th, the Hornets will take on the Clinton Prairie Gophers, a game that will be available to watch on Hoosierlandtv.com as a Game of the Week.