[dropcap style=”light” size=”4″]T[/dropcap]he Bruins’ baseball team will face off in a doubleheader against Liberty North High School at 10 a.m. and Blue Springs High School at 1 pm Saturday.
The team comes into the game at (record) on the season. The Bruins started off the season hot, winning their first three games with a run differential of plus 11. However, their winning streak came to an abrupt stop after losing five close games in a row being outscored by only six runs in those five games.
The Liberty North Eagles will prove to be yet another tough opponent for the Bruins. The Eagles have been off to a hot start during the first half of the season going seven and three in the first 10 games. Maxpreps ranks Liberty North as the 26th best team in Missouri.
While not as highly ranked as Liberty North, the Blue Springs Wildcats still pose a tough matchup for the Bruins. They began the season on a four game win streak, but then went 2-4 in their next six games. They sit as the 35th ranked team in Missouri.
Using his prior knowledge and experience against other coaches and teams such as the Eagles and Wildcats, head coach Justin Towe pushes his team early in the season to prepare them for tough matchups later on.
“Since I have coached against most all of the coaches for several years, I have a pretty good understanding of their philosophies and what they like to do,” Towe said. “Given that information, we actually prepare for all of those things in the early season so that they aren’t new to us when we see them in a game.”
Junior Spencer Miles, hasn’t been able to participate in these activities with the team due to a recent injury, however he still pays attention to what the team had been focusing on during their practices.
“I just got back surgery, so I haven’t really been preparing, but I have been at the practices and know what we are working on,” Miles said. “They’ve been doing a lot of mental preparation and focusing on becoming one as a team in preparation for these upcoming games.”
Rock Bridge made the long trip to Florida from March 26 – March 30 to compete against teams across the country. RBHS came out of Florida losing their first four games, but capped off the competition with a dominant (11- 4) win against Denmark High School. While the the Bruins didn’t come out of Florida with the results they wanted, head coach Justin Towe feels like the team gained valuable experience.
“I think the guys understood what kind of preparation and focus it takes to play several games in a short amount of time under stressful circumstances,” Towe said. “We lost three, one run games and another game by two runs.  We could have very easily been 5 – 0 on the trip. We were also able to see how the little things over the course of a seven inning game can really affect the outcome at the end.”
Not only did playing in Florida help the team learn what it takes to play every day, It also showed the players how they want to play the game, with energy and passion said junior Wyatt Towe.
“Playing teams from Miami, really showed us how the game was supposed to be played,” Wyatt Towe said. “The way they showed so much life and passion on the field every single pitch, really taught us what it would take to stay energized and upbeat for a game, whilst also helping from a brotherhood.”
When Towe steps on the field, all thoughts are focused toward the game at hand, not on past performances. This allows him to completely focus on trying to do his best.
“I try not to think about personally how I play every game because baseball is a team game, however it is also very psychological and mental,” Towe said. “So in this way I just go out and play my hardest to instill confidence in myself and to try and lead by example to the underclassmen.”