Frontier off to hot start this baseball season
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NEW MATAMORAS -- The most difficult test to date for the Frontier baseball team left a bad taste with the Cougar ballplayers.
Three home games on the docket this week could remedy the situation.
Starting Wednesday with St. Marys followed by River Thursday and an OVAC Class 2A semifinal with powerhouse Toronto on Friday, the 8-1 Cougars are basically seeking any sense of consistency to their schedule.
"At one point during the season, we missed six games in a row because of the weather," Frontier coach Kurt Satterfield said. "We practiced nine days in a row in the gymnasium. We couldn't get outside for nothing. That's the most I've practice inside a gymnasium and I've been here for eight years. It gets old.
"It gets frustrating, but the players are holding it together. The morale is still there."
Frontier's pursuit of a possible perfect season ended after last Saturday's 6-2 loss to Tyler Consolidated in the championship game of the sixth edition of the Matt Boggs Wood Bat Memorial Tournament in Kidwell. The Cougars trailed 3-2 before the Silver Knights created breathing room with a three-run sixth inning.
Command of the strike zone left the usually accurate Frontier pitching staff for its only loss of the season. Coach Satterfield counted five hit batters.
"We plunked a kid in the bottom of the sixth inning then made an error and things just got rolling for Tyler," Satterfield said. "The kids loved using the wood bats. It was kind of cold and one bat did snap. (Monday) at practice they wanted to use them."
For quite some time, Satterfield and his assistant coach Corey Powers have been anticipating this particular group of players to reach the varsity level. They've envisioned something special being created from a roster of six seniors, senior juniors and four freshmen.
"I've been coaching these juniors and seniors since they were 6 years old when they were playing tee-ball," Satterfield said. "We have been waiting a long time for them. We have started off on the right foot. We've just had bad weather."
Senior J.D. Schmidt is one individual who has remained a constant at Frontier. Schmidt, who is hitting .580, began the season hitting from the lower half of the lineup, but has earned his way into the clean-up spot even though he is not considered a major masher.
"J.D. is not a power hitter -- he is a gap hitter. If there are people on base, I love it. I don't think he has struck out."
While Schmidt is the consummate utility player in the field, his primary positions are third base, center field and pitcher. When junior Noah West is not on the hill pitching, his duties as a catcher drive opposing runners wacky.
"Noah has a cannon for an arm -- we have three strikeout-throwout double plays this year and they are because of him," Satterfield said.
The wet weather is supposed to break in time for Frontier to play three games in three days this week. Last year at this time, the Cougars were slotted in 1A for the OVAC, but the school stepped up one classification for the 2022 season by a mere handful of students.
"These three games will define who we are," Satterfield said. "The players are ready to run another eight straight wins."
Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com