We’ve spoken before on this page about how exciting springtime is in Charlotte County because of the county’s proclivity to produce remarkable talent on the baseball diamond and on the tennis court. Now we reach the time of year when Charlotte County student-athletes will get to play these sports a bit longer than others because of that remarkable talent.
The postseason is nearly upon us!
Randolph-Henry High School’s varsity baseball team entered this week with two regular season games left to play. The Statesmen have the possibility of going into the postseason with an overall record of 15-5.
Not every team makes it to the Region 2A tournament. The top 12 out of 14 teams earn a regional berth, but Randolph-Henry has nothing to worry about there because of its pronounced success thus far. It will be among the higher seeds.
The Lady Statesmen making up the Randolph-Henry varsity girls tennis squad also have nothing to worry about when it comes to qualification — they finished the regular season with a perfect 14-0 record.
I have a special appreciation for teams that put in the hard work during the regular season, and practice before that. There are few things sweeter than seeing a team that worked hard all year have an edge in the postseason when glory is up for grabs. They earned it.
Particularly at the professional level, it seems that some teams and/or players lately have a tendency to coast at various points during the regular season, waiting to fully apply themselves in the “games that really matter,” meaning the postseason.
Conserving energy during a lengthy season is not unwise, but if you hold back too much, too often, I think it can transform into a habit, one that will not serve anyone well when the going gets tough.
I salute Randolph-Henry’s hardworking student-athletes and hope to report on them late into the postseason because of the investment they made during the regular season.
Titus Mohler is the sports editor for The Charlotte Gazette and Farmville Newsmedia LLC. His email address is Titus.Mohler@TheCharlotteGazette.com.