Baseball has started up again this year, and unlike most years there are four sophomores on the varsity baseball team this season including Brad Burckel, Jamey Richey, Kollin McCartney, and Collin Cooper.

    “It’s fun to be young on varsity because you get to have fun with the upperclassmen and get to learn from them,” Burckel said. “I am looking forward to playing the game I love and working to win district this season.”

  Baseball is a lifelong sport. Varsity players are usually juniors or seniors in high school. Therefore, it is exciting to be a sophomore on a high school varsity team.

  “Nothing beats the feeling of standing on the mound,” Cooper said. “I’ve been playing baseball since Tee-Ball, so it doesn’t intimidate me at all to play with the older guys.”

    Richey plays second base, Burckel is a shortstop, Cooper is a pitcher, and McCartney plays centerfield. The Eagles will be playing in the Robbie Surratt Memorial Tournament this weekend.

  “It feels normal to play with the upperclassmen because since I was in 8th grade, I’ve played up with 18 year old teams getting experience,” Richey said. “I’m looking forward to playing good competition and facing the best players in east Texas.”