Motivated again by disparaging comments, The Harvest Prep Baseball team made West's Coaches Chew on their Feet!
Stop disparaging HPS! Twice this season, teams have had to deal with "foot-in-mouth" disease. Harvest Prep coaches have successfully used poor sportsmanship as bulletin board material for the HPS baseball team, motivating their 2 upset victories.
"Foot-in-mouth disease" is an informal, metaphorical phrase for the habit of making embarrassing, insensitive, or tactless remarks. It is a pun on the real livestock disease (foot-and-mouth) and the idiom "to put one's foot in one's mouth," suggesting a chronic tendency to say the wrong thing.
Over the last 10 completed seasons (2015–16 through 2024–25), the Harvest Preparatory School varsity baseball team had a combined record of:
1 win
119 losses
1 tie
Harvest Prep entered the season not knowing whether they would have a coach to lead their team. A coach stepped up, but was unable to continue for the season. Recent graduates Keaton Webb and Nate Franklin took over the helm, and many wondered whether these young 20's guys were up to the challenge.
Harvest Prep defeated West 7-3 when the teams last played back in April of 2023. HPS did not win a game the following season. Yesterday, HPS entered the game against West looking for its second win.
Year-by-year breakdown
| Season | Record |
|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 0–18 |
| 2023–24 | 1–17 |
| 2022–23 | 0–14 |
| 2021–22 | 0–16 |
| 2020–21 | 0–17 |
| 2019–20 | 0–0 (COVID-shortened season) |
| 2018–19 | 0–8 |
| 2017–18 | 0–15–1 |
| 2016–17 | 0–14 |
| 2015–16 | 0–14 |
This victory marks the first season in at least a decade that HPS has won two games, and the first time during that span that the Warriors have recorded two double-digit offensive performances.
Warriors Show Heart, Earn Signature Victory
"So Nate works with their assistant Coach, apparently he was running his mouth all week long. Before the game, I promised my Seniors that we would deliver another win before they’re out of here. The game started off close, got to the 5th, and West took the lead 5-4, and the head coach started calling my team soft and that we’re not on their level. After the inning, I got my team in a huddle told them ,“everybody acts tough when they’re up,” and talked about how we need a huge rally in this inning. And we had a 7-run inning and took the lead 11-5. We had David come in to close the game out, he had all 3 outs (2Ks and 1 ground out to him on the mound). It’s also the 1st multiple (2+) win season since 2015. "
Sometimes the scoreboard only tells part of the story.
For the young men of Harvest Preparatory School baseball, this victory was more than just a number in the win column. It was about perseverance, belief, and refusing to quit when quitting would have been easy.
After battling through difficult seasons and learning lessons the hard way, the Warriors finally broke through with a hard-fought win that players, coaches, parents, and supporters will remember for a long time.
From the first inning, the energy felt different.
Harvest Prep came out focused, active, and confident. Players were communicating in the dugout, encouraging each other after every pitch, and playing with the kind of effort coaches dream about. Ground balls were attacked aggressively. Outfielders backed each other up. Pitchers worked quickly and trusted their defense.
Most importantly, the Warriors played together.
The offense delivered timely hits throughout the game, manufacturing runs with smart baserunning and disciplined at-bats. Instead of trying to hit home runs, Harvest Prep focused on moving runners, putting the ball in play, and forcing pressure on the defense.
That approach paid off.
When adversity came late in the game, the Warriors did not fold. They answered.
A key defensive stop in the final innings preserved the lead, and when the final out settled into a glove, the emotion poured out immediately. Players celebrated not just because they won a baseball game, but because of everything it represented.
This was a reward for showing up every day.
A reward for practices in cold weather.
A reward for staying committed during tough stretches.
A reward for teammates who continued believing in one another.
Programs are not built overnight. Culture is not built overnight, either. But games like this can become turning points. Younger players begin to understand what is possible. Confidence grows. Standards rise.
The Warriors showed something important: resilience.
In today’s world, many athletes transfer, quit, or look for easier situations when things become difficult. These young men stayed the course. They kept competing. They continued representing their school with pride.
That matters.
Wins are always exciting, but the character developed through adversity often becomes the bigger story years later.
For one afternoon, however, the Warriors were able to enjoy the feeling every team chases.
A handshake line.
Smiles in the dugout.
Parents are cheering from the stands.
And a reminder that persistence eventually produces results.
Harvest Prep baseball may still be building, but this win proved something important to everyone watching:
The Warriors have not stopped fighting. Congrats, Coach Webb, Coach Franklin, and the HPS baseball team.
Comments
Post a Comment