It wasn’t the senior day Homewood-Flossmoor baseball wanted.
Many of the Vikings’ usual starters didn’t see the field until a few innings in because seniors were given a chance to start. Still, H-F did a lot to beat itself in a 7-1 loss to TF South. Coach Marcus Rogers said it was a continuation from the day before.
“We practiced like crap yesterday,” Rogers said. “I had to run them yesterday and practice because we think we can just show up and play because we’re H-F. We don’t have the respect we need for the game to be able to go out day in and day out and play our butts off.”
Logan Sesol got the start, pitching the first two innings and giving up four runs on three hits in the second. The Vikings committed three errors in the frame.
Antonio Brown Jr. took over in the third and threw the final five innings. He allowed no hits and struck out three in his first two frames.
“My coaches told me ‘Just trust your stuff and stop hopping on the mound,’” Brown said. “It just flew from there. Just trusting my stuff and trusting them, I was able to get through the innings and be better like this.”
The Red Wolves scored three more in the fifth, though. Brown gave up a pair of hits and walked two in the inning, but the runs were again largely the result of poor defense and missed opportunities for H-F.
A catchable foul ball dropped to the turf a few feet behind first baseman Jhames Holley. A line drive tipped off the glove of shortstop Mikey Watson and into left field.
“Antonio pitched outstanding,” Rogers said. “This is the best outing of the year for him and it’s not even close. He was good today, really good. And that’s what we need, somebody to step up.”
The Vikings didn’t capitalize on chances at the plate, either. They left seven runners on base. The only run came when Evan Bradford doubled and then scored as Jalen Webb reached on a TF South error in the sixth inning.
“When you don’t hit, it’s tough,” Rogers said. “When you make four or five errors and don’t hit, you’re setting yourself up to lose.”
Still, it was a day of reflection. H-F honored 19 seniors before the game, each taking pictures on the field with family before the first pitch. Many of those players have been with Rogers since he first took over the Homewood-Flossmoor program three seasons ago.
“It’s going to be bittersweet, for sure, to have all these guys leave us,” he said. “We have some absolutely tremendous kids here that are going to go very far in sports and even in their careers. It’s bittersweet to lose all these guys.”
