A hitter’s slump in baseball is inevitable. Every player falls into one at some point in their career, and it can last for an unprecedented amount of time. A slump typically ends once the player notches a hit after a drought of no hits—but that is often easier said than done.
In Saturday night’s game at Harwich, the Y-D Red Sox pulled off a come-from-behind win with a clutch go-ahead single from Elon’s Ryan Sprock in the ninth inning. In addition to Sprock’s single, a couple of players in the lineup who were stuck in a hitting slump pulled through with some big hits.
Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy started the season 0-for-6 at the plate in his first two games. In the last three games, he has gone 5-for-9 with six RBI and crushed a three-run home run Thursday to put Y-D over Falmouth. Aloy said at the plate, he has been locked in on picking his pitch to hit.
“I’ve been focusing on hitting the ball hard and swinging at strikes,” Aloy said. “I’m getting a good feel about the zone now.”
In Y-D’s preseason scrimmage, Georgia Tech’s Drew Burress had an outstanding performance. He had three doubles and a grand slam, leading the Y-D lineup on offense. However, he went hitless during the first week of the season.
In Saturday’s game, he broke out of the slump and hit a line-drive single to left field. Burress said that while he did not have an ideal start to the season at the plate, he feels more settled now with a hit under his belt.
“It’s all about learning how to battle adversity, and it's been a tough first few games for me,” Burress said. “Everybody's been there, and finally getting on the board is all I could’ve asked for.”
A hitter at this level has the physical skill and ability to hit 90 mph pitches. It is often the hitter’s mindset during their at-bat that has the greatest impact on performance at the plate. Burress said for him, it is not a swing thing or an issue with his physical swing.
“I've played enough baseball in my life that my bat knows where to go,” Burress said. “It's just a matter of being up in that box competing and telling myself that the pitcher’s got nothing to beat me with.”
With some solid hits to back them going into the next cycle of games this week, both Aloy and Burress hope to continue this offensive energy at the plate to help add to Y-D’s recent success.
Photo by Sophie Solarino
