With the dynamics of Eupora’s roster year to year, it hasn’t been easy for coach Ben Aldridge to steadily build his Eagle team but he is doing it.
From a 6-22 team in year one that found a way to get better as the year went on and win a playoff series to last year’s team that finished 15-13 with a third round finish, it was a nice jump from year one to year two. Year three was set to be a rebuilding year with the loss of veteran leaders and a whole lot of fresh faces.
Aldridge’s team has refused to abide by the laws of a rebuilding year. Instead, the team put its head down and got better and it’s led to a Class 2A, Region 4 championship.
After a 3-10 start to the year, the Eagles are winners of nine of the last 11 games and are playing their best baseball heading into postseason play.
“You look at the record of those opponents at the beginning of the year and it’s impressive,” Aldridge said. “Ethel, Ripley and Bruce won their division, East Webster came close to winning theirs. I told our guys that these playing these guys would help us as the year went on. My players enjoyed playing these teams because it made them better.”
Eupora lost to Union on March 7 and followed that up with two losses during Spring Break against Ripley and Lausanne Collegiate. Aldridge has said those two losses at Corinth against those two teams would be the turning point of the season.
The Eagles ripped off six-straight Region 4 wins and have won three-straight games to end the season. The latest came with a two-game sweep against Philadelphia and a shutout victory to close the regular season against Belmont.
In the wins 13-2 and 15-3 wins over Philly, Aldridge wanted to get more bodies in the game to get the experience needed for postseason and for down the road. The team then would bear down and beat Belmont 1-0 on Monday. It was a good precursor to postseason play.
“When it comes to this time of year, somebody will get an opportunity that might not have had those in the regular season, and we’ve got to be prepared for it,” Aldridge said. “Last week, we were fortunate to get some guys in and throw some opportunities out there.”
Opportunity is knocking again starting Friday with the beginning of playoffs.
The team has won at least one series in the first two seasons under Aldridge and they’re four wins away from improving the win total for a third-straight season.
Standing in front of Eupora is a Calhoun City team that finished fourth in its division, but the Wildcats have a proud program. Aldridge knows enough about the group to know that they aren’t going to be an easy out.
“From what I’ve been told, they have two arms that can go. They’ll do anything they can to get on base, so you’ve got to be prepared for that,” Aldridge said. “The word that we have really thrown out there is servanthood. We’ve seen these guys serve one another and pull for the guys in front of them. If you look at the best teams across the board, they’re doing that and I hope we can carry that into Friday.”
Game time on Friday in Eupora is set for 6 p.m. Game two will be held on Saturday at Calhoun City with a game three if necessary on Monday evening at 6.
