Sometimes you just need to get away from it all. That’s what the Kenmore West baseball team did and it’s already paying off.
Andrew Fron had the first two homerun game of his career as the Blue Devils blanked Lewiston-Porter, 7-0, Tuesday afternoon.
It was Ken-West’s second win, and complete effort, in a row since their team bonding trip to Cleveland over the weekend.
The Blue Devils were admittedly flat in a loss to Grand Island the day before they left for Cleveland.
Time away from home where they just focused on friendship instead of actually playing ball allowed the boys to take a collective breath and just enjoy being together.
“I think the kids appreciate each other more now that they’ve been around each other. We had that team bonding,” said Blue Devils coach John Haynes.
“We were together the whole weekend. We had a lot of team activities. Don’t get me wrong I think the wake-up call (was) after the loss to Grand Island was to come back, regroup and focus. But I think a lot of it had to do with the trip and team bonding. Kids try to get along. Not just varsity, the JV kids got along with the varsity kids. Just one big family.”
In past years, the Blue Devils had created a tradition of taking an early season trip to Cooperstown. A trip that was always highlighted by playing at historic Doubleday Field.
The Cleveland trip was a departure as it wasn’t about playing a game. The Blue Devils went to an Indians game together and visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They just hung out and had some laughs.
No pressure of pitch counts and final at-bats. Just time spent together enjoying the experience of being teammates.
“It really brought us all together. Even though we didn’t play a game we still had a great time at the Indians game and in the hotel,” senior Andrew Fron said.
“I think it made us more of a family. These (guys) are all my brothers and I wouldn’t (want) any other team to play with for my senior year.”
Junior Dom Schmidt, who went the distance against Lew-Port agreed with Fron saying how the trip was a much needed morale boost for everyone that not only has the team ready for the stretch run of the season. It reminded them that years from now, long after the memories of final scores and who played the most fades, it’s the memories of time together as brothers that will stay with them for the long haul.
“It was definitely a good time for us especially coming off of the loss to Grand Island,” Schmidt said.
“A lot of us were down. We knew it was a huge game but at the end of the day what really matters in the bond you make with your team. It was a great time.”
