Douglas Caps Tough Week With 10-1 Loss To Park Vista

Douglas knew it was up against a Park Vista team that could give it problems Thursday. What it didn’t know was just how tough it would be to face a team that lost in the state semifinals last year and was hungry to take out their disappointment this season.

If Park Vista has a hangover from playing in the state semifinals, the team certainly did not show it this week. After defeating playoff rival Flanagan on Wednesday night, the Cobras showed on Thursday why they may be the team to beat in Class 8A.

The Cobras played their second consecutive solid game against a perennial playoff team in Douglas, and when the smoke cleared, the final score read Park Vista 10, Douglas 1. That was the type of lopsided score that could swell any teams’ head going into the regular season.

“They’re excited, they’re enthusiastic, after all they are kids,” Cobras head coach Larry Greenstein said when asked how he plans on keeping his team grounded. “You don’t want to shut that out. The goal is to keep the energy and momentum. We don’t want to lose that energy. They’re a good bunch of guys, and it could be a really nice season if they just stay focused.”

Focused they were, on this day. After Douglas took a 1-0 lead early in the game, Park Vista hitters took the wind out of the Eagles’ sail with five runs in the second and third innings. The second inning was keyed by back-to-back doubles from catcher Abe Nasser and second baseman Brett Lashley. In the third, Nasser’s sacrifice fly closed out a three-run inning that began with a one-out double by Tyler Kendall. The sac fly was an example of how unselfish the Cobras were in the game.

“I was very pleased with the situational hitting,” Greenstein said. “It’s early in the year, and that is what you want to preach. Usually it takes you a lot longer to get there. Tonight, we were able to execute. Situational hitting is a big part of the game, especially with these new bats. You don’t see balls flying out like they have in the past, so you better be able to move runners and get ’em over and get ’em in. So I was real happy with the way the guys swung the bats today.”

The pitching and the defense wasn’t bad, either. Park Vista starter Kyle Weeks allowed only one unearned run in two innings of work, while Shane Bussey and Matt Paciello combined to shut out the Eagles over the final five innings. Defensively, Lashley was a part of two two big plays. The first was a short-hop grab on a hard-hit line drive, which the senior second baseman turned into an out, and the second was a 5-4-3 double play to end the fourth. For his overall contribution to the win, Lashley was named the Player of the Game. Although the team played well this week, Lashley understands it is a long season and that the team must keep its focus.

“It’s going to be key for us to keep ourselves grounded,” Lashley said. “There’s always those one or two games where teams can sneak up on you. I’m pretty confident we are going to be able to stay focused. Me, Tyler and Rob (Coman) are going to try and contain the hype, and hopefully keep guys’ heads from getting too big.”

On the other side of the field, head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald knows he has the talent to compete, but he is still working on getting all that talent to play as a team. Despite having a rough week, Fitz-Gerald trusts his team will come around and be ready to go when the time is right.

“We’re trying to get them all to play together,” Fitz-Gerald said. “It’s been a long road, they’ve put a lot of hard work in, and it’s going to take some time. It’s a work in progress. We’ll get back to work tomorrow, practice hard tomorrow, practice hard on Saturday, and come ready Monday and start our season off on a good note. The good thing is that come Monday, everybody is 0-0.”

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