By Rogan Schenck
Photo by Bryant Carroll, Sr.
The Willow Lions’ varsity baseball team went 16-11 this year in their most challenging season yet.
“We did an experiment this season,” said head coach Alexander Merkley. “I scheduled a tougher schedule than I’ve ever scheduled before, trying to avoid scheduling those really easy teams, and trying to schedule some of those tougher teams.”
Their win-loss record may give the illusion that they were not as successful as the two years prior, where they went 18-5 in 2021 and 21-7 last year, but the team had a much harder schedule this season than ever before. “We lost a few more games, but at the same time I think we battled against some tougher teams, and beat some tougher teams that we have never really beaten before,” said Merkley.
Another reason this has been arguably the most monumental season yet for the Willow Lions’ baseball team is that this is the first year that they have had a home field at the high school campus. The new complex features a baseball field with two state of the art dugouts and batting cages equipped with all the proper markings needed to compete in the LHSAA. It doesn’t stop there, as development of concession stands and, most importantly, a bullpen are to come in later months.
Like all other sports teams at Willow, it was tough for the few years that the field was under construction. The Willow Baseball Lions had to make a temporary home at Avenger Field on the Fly. After the long-awaited arrival of the field, the team finally has a home they can call their own. “It was definitely a huge sigh of relief when the field became open to practice this fall,” said Merkley.
Another reason this possibly the most notable season in the Willow Baseball Lions history was their district championship game against De La Salle. This game went 22 innings, lasting a total of six hours! This was the longest high school baseball game ever in Louisiana state history. Unfortunately, the Lions ended up losing that game, “but it was pretty cool to be part of making history,” Merkley said.
“I think everybody felt generally okay,” said Merkley of how the game wrapped up. “I was extremely happy with how they fought and battled. We were tired, we were thirsty, and it was something that none of us had ever experienced before. Both teams just pitched really well and played really good defense, and ultimately they got the better of us, but we played some of our best baseball of the season that night. As for morale, I think we were just hungry to see if we could play like that again.”
The Lions ended up making it to the second round of the playoffs where they had a bye in the first round. “That was something that we had never done before,” said coach Merkley. After the first round bye, the Lions ended up getting eliminated by Vanderbilt Catholic in the second round.
