To say Sacred Heart baseball was off to a hot start might be an understatement. After 2019’s 8-12 campaign, the Crusaders were 9-1 overall before spring break in 2020. The baseball season was postponed, then ultimately canceled leaving many teams to wonder how their season would have gone.
For head coach Larry Watkins, he is proud of how his Crusaders started the season and hopes his seniors cherish the hot start.
“I was so pleased with how our guys played to start the season. I was happy with how they were responding to a new coach. They are such a good group of kids and picked up on things easily. I thought we were getting better and better as the season progressed. I hate how the season ended for them, especially our seniors. We only had four seniors but they were leaders of the team.”
Luke Hicks, Ewan Robinson, Brayden Holliman, and Judson Treganowen were the four seniors on the Sacred Heart team. When Watkins received the news of postponement, then cancelation, he sent a message to his players.
“I sent a text to them and told them how happy I was with them in the short time we had together. All of the kids - particularly the seniors - had great attitudes and work ethics. We don’t meet our kids until late because they all play multiple sports. I was just proud of them because of what they were accomplishing. This stuff stopped us right before district play, and we had a tough district to play in, but I was looking forward to watching them compete for it as much as they were ready to play and compete,” said Watkins.
Coach Watkins has been around the diamond for more than 40 years, adding that he has never been a part of a canceled season.
“This is my forty-third season and I’ve never had anything close to coming like this. We kept thinking it would be a short delay then we would get back started, but that was not the case. We understand that it is not just affecting Mississippi, but the country and the world. It is really hard to believe how it happened. I know everyone is ready to get back to normal, but our next concern is getting to summer baseball. Everything is at a stand-still right now.”
Despite the season being cut short, Watkins is still hungry for baseball, even quietly going to the baseball field to keep it up to par and working on next season’s schedule.
“I’ve been going to the field trying to keep it ready and in shape. I took the break and it showed me I wasn’t ready to leave baseball. It is in my blood and has been a part of my life, I just really enjoyed coming back. I want to make sure to thank Sacred Heart for giving me the opportunity. I have been working on next season’s schedule, but it is hard trying to get with everybody with all of this stuff going on. I know everyone is wanting to get back to normalcy and keep moving forward. Our seniors laid a foundation, and we will miss those guys.”
