On-campus batting cage could enhance game results

Metro Athletic Conference play is in full swing for the North Lake baseball club. The season hasn’t yielded the results that were expected of the team, partially due to elements out of the team’s and coaches’ control.

Taking care of the field has been challenging. “We need water to put on the field [to] make it not feel like concrete,” infielder Chris Brinsfield said.

Irrigation is only one reason the facilities are lacking in quality.

“When it comes to the playing field, our surface is as good as any other school in the conference,” Head Coach Corey Mercer said. “But not having basic things like a batting cage makes it hard to run a productive practice. It’s like trying to have a basketball practice on a court with one hoop.”

Other schools in the conference do not have to deal with the lack of resources like the Blazers.

Brookhaven, for example, has indoor cages to use in any kind of weather and any time of day. Eastfield and Cedar Valley also have facilities that make North Lake’s seem pale in comparison.

“I can’t prove that better practice facilities would automatically transfer to wins on the field, but we could definitely be more efficient with our workouts,” Mercer said.

And Mercer should know a thing or two about winning out on the field. He was a part of the baseball program during two successful seasons in 1998-99. Then he continued his career at The University of North Carolina at Ashville before returning to Irving as a coach.

Mercer and Assistant Coach Dane Phillips try to make North Lake an attractive place for prospective athletes to come, and good facilities are a part of the package.

He said that in some aspects, the college’s administration does a good job in helping with that.

“We travel more than any other school in the conference and the school accommodates us well while we travel,” he said.

Improvements have been slowly developing as well. A concrete slab was recently poured behind the right field wall, which will provide a flat surface for a batting cage to be installed.

The hard part is coming up with funding for the batting cage.

“We do some fundraising of our own, but we need help,” pitcher Jordan Lambe said. “We put a sound system at the field recently and all we got from the school was a microphone.”

The team’s win-loss record is below .500 thus far, but the important part of the season is coming up. April is littered with game dates against conference rivals, which leads to the conference tournament in early May. The Blazers hope to compete for the Metro Athletic Conference championship and prolong their season.

The National Junior College Division III World Series will take place from May 20-27 in Glen Falls, N.Y.