The Humber Hawks men’s baseball team lost 11-8 to the Sheridan Bruins in their home opener on Sept. 11.
The Hawks gave up 10 runs in the first three innings while committing seven errors in the game.
Humber fought back by scoring five runs with Jack Young delivering three runs and hitting a double, cutting the deficit to three in the sixth inning.
But the team was unable to close the gap in the seventh inning and was handed its first loss of the season by the Bruins.
Despite the defeat, the Hawks entered the season with new motivation and a hunger to improve following last year’s playoff early exit.
Outfielder Justin Groves said before the game that the team's postseason last year left them more humble and hungrier heading into this season.
“I think this year kind of humbled us, and I think that’s going to be the biggest key coming into this year, we’re a little bit more humble now and a lot more hungry than we’ve ever been,” he said.
Groves said the team’s key to the championship is coming together as a group and ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
“It’s hard to win baseball games when you have three or four different guys pulling separate directions, so we just need to all work together as one big group, and I think that we have the team to do it this year,” he said.
Head coach Troy Black, now in his fifth season with the Hawks, said while playoff seeding is important, the team's focus should be on trusting the process and not being result-focused.
“Baseball is tough, like you can be doing everything right and have some negative things happen to you and not have a ton of success,” he said. “Eventually, if you’re doing things the right way and you’re talented like we are, things will break through.”
Black said the team must treat each opponent the same and not let expectations get in the way.
“We have to make sure we treat all of our opponents the same,” he said. “As long as we don’t let expectations get inside our heads, we’re poised to have some success.”
Broadcaster Zack Benoit praised Humber’s roster and said he expects the team to be stronger this season.
“It’s a really good team, and you know, last year they kind of scuffled a little bit in the playoffs, but I think they’re going to bounce back this year,” he said.
The Humber Hawks travelled to Sarnia, Ont., on Sept. 13, where they lost 8-7 to Lambton.
The Hawks will look to get back to winning ways as they travel to Mississauga, Ont., for another meeting with Sheridan in a two-game series on Sept. 17.
