Reds enjoyed Music City experience

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

From a night out at the Grand Old Opry to playing elite competition, the Strathmore Reds midget triple-A team had a great experience on their feature trip to Tennessee from June 30 to July 8.
The young Reds learned a lot from the more experienced teams who play baseball year round.
“Every team we played down there were all 18, 19-year-olds,” said bench coach Zane Anderson.
“We’re a young team, we have a lot of first years. It was great to show the boys that they can compete against the best, older players from the states so that was good.” Despite going 1-3 in the tournament, the Reds were thrilled with their lone win against a familiar opponent.
“We beat the Vermont team which was nice because we actually played them in Alaska last year,” said Anderson.
“The Tennessee team was very good as well, big strong kids. They’re a private school, so they draw from a big area, not just their community. The Louisiana team was the best team we’ve played.”
There were a lot of players overwhelmed by the experience and Anderson thought some of the veterans took a leadership role in calming those nerves.
“We’re playing a team six feet and 180 to 200 pounds,” said Anderson.
“It was pretty overwhelming for some of the guys, but they handled it pretty well.”