MARSHFIELD — Pittsville baseball has built its culture on hard work and, in a sport of inevitable ups and downs, focusing on what’s next.
And while it’s been just over a decade since the Panthers reached the WIAA baseball state tournament, it’s no mistake that they have finally broken through.
On the back of back-to-back sectional appearances and gutting losses, the Panthers got over the hill with a 13-3 win over Highland on June 10, punching their ticket for a chance to compete for a Division 4 championship.
“I think it’s just this group of kids,” Pittsville coach Justin Rayburn said. “Some of these guys have played on all those sectional teams. So, I think they kind of knew what to expect going into the sectional and I said this before, but this is one of the hardest working teams I’ve ever had.
They do things that we don’t ask them to do; they just do it. For example, on Saturday mornings, they’ll get a group together and go down and hit the batting cage. Or they’ll just spend a lot of time outside of our practice time working on baseball. So, I think we’re just pretty lucky to have such a hard-working group.”
For the Panthers, the work starts far before the first regular season pitch in the spring. With baseball, the more reps you get, the more natural the game becomes, and Rayburn and the Panthers do whatever they can to gain a competitive edge, even playing before sunshine is abundant.
“We play when it’s cold,” Rayburn said. “I think it kind of starts from those early games where you learn a lot about yourself when it’s 35 degrees out, and you’re playing in a freezing cold game. I think that’s where your season starts.
“Because even though baseball is a fairly short season, there are some ups and downs. There was kind of a low in the middle of the year where we weren’t playing our best baseball, and we kind of regrouped, refocused, and just kind of started peaking at the right time here at the end of the year.”
For Rayburn, a key to this season’s breakthrough has been all about eliminating big innings but also recognizing and knowing how to deal with them when they come. They know that every outing won’t be perfect. It’s the response that matters. He feels attention to these key details have been crucial to the team’s success this season.
“Our guys have done a pretty good job of just focusing on what’s next,” Rayburn said. “If we win a big game, Okay, what’s next?” Or if we had a terrible inning. All right, what’s next? I think that kind of message has made a big difference.”
Rayburn called the Pittsville community “a baseball town” and can feel the community buzzing about the Panthers opportunity to bring home a state championship in Grand Chute. Their home crowd has brought the noise for each of their playoff games in their run to state, and Rayburn expects no difference at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium on Tuesday, June 14 against Johnson Creek in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinal.
After bringing home the sectional plaque to the Panther’s community, the team is hoping to inspire their youth once more and add a state title to their collection.
“We drove the bus home that day and there were little league games going on all over the town, so the boys wanted to drive the bus around all the little league fields. So, we did,” Rayburn said. “We drove to all the Little League fields and honked the horn, and the boys held the sectional plaque out the window. That was pretty cool.
Just the other day, I was on a run, and somebody honked and yelled something about going to state. So, the whole town is obviously aware of it, and we’ve had extremely good support from our community. You see it on signs around town, and I would expect on Tuesday it’s going to be a pretty big crowd.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Reporter Alfred Smith III at alfred.smith@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @AlfredS_III.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: ‘What’s next’ mindset sways Pittsville baseball back to state for 1st time in 10 seasons
Reporting by Alfred Smith III, Marshfield News-Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
