Baseball

The Atoka Wampus Cat baseball team is preparing for their upcoming season that officially starts in March. I interviewed Jake Wilkins, an AHS senior baseball player.  When asked why he plays baseball he responded, “I play because I love the friends I have made throughout my time playing baseball.”  Jake also added, “I’ve been playing baseball since t-ball, so that’s around 10 plus years.” “I love how simple the sport is. You see the ball and you hit the ball. You catch the ball and you throw the ball.” When I asked him about what his expectations and goals are for this upcoming season he replied, “My expectation for this season is to hit about 300. I expect us to be able to win around 10 games and for us to make it to super regionals.” Willie Jackson, another senior baseball player, stated, “The reason I play baseball is because I enjoy the sport itself. I have played baseball since I was five years old. The reason I love baseball is because I grew up around it and it’s a sport that lets me show my talent to others. The people around me encourage me to be the greatest. I have some very high goals for this season. My top one is to make it to state, obviously. Next to that is to win more games than last season as we were only 4-27. My last goal is to show others what kind of team we really are.” Wampus Cat baseball coach, Trevor Cook, had this to say to the Wampus Cat News, "I have always had a love for sports. I was able to play basketball and baseball in high school and even played baseball collegiality. I had a passion for the game along with having really good role models as coaches." "I have been coaching 12 total year. 10 of those years at Atoka. I love being able to mentor young athletes and watch them succeed in not only sports but in life as they grow up into adults. My expectations are for us to be better day in and day out. We have a saying, be better than you were yesterday. My outlook is for us to compete everyday and stay the course.”