Highlighting spring seniors: Baseball

Seniors: Daniel Copenhaver, infield; Lucas Whitacre, outfield; Kevin Brown, infield; Nathan White pitcher/first base

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With Adrian Pullen taking over the Colonels’ program this season, Whitacre said he and his teammates were excited about the possibilities this season had to offer.

“This is the most pumped up I’ve ever seen our guys in my four years,” Whitacre said. “We were all excited to come out and start a new team with a new leader and just get after it and win some games this year.”

Unfortunately, that will never happen for the James Wood seniors. A team that several coaches had mentioned as a dark horse contender for the Northwestern District title did not get the opportunity to play an official game.

“Oh, it’s pretty disappointing,” Whitacre said. “We grinded hard this winter, just about every day of the week doing something different — weightlifting and different programs the coaches have been putting us through to get ready for the spring season. I was looking forward to having fun and winning a lot of games this spring for our new coach. It was disappointing not to be able to do that.”

Whitacre said the grind was a long one as he and his teammates put in the time to prepare for the regular season.

“I don’t think many people do realize that James Wood baseball is pretty much an all-year kind of deal,” said Whitacre, who plans to major in criminal justice at Lord Fairfax Community College with the hopes of becoming a policeman. “We’re always doing something in the fall. We have fall workouts, winter workouts and then comes spring and we’re ready to play because we’ve been working together all year.”

Whitacre says he will miss the time playing with his fellow seniors.

“We were all pretty close, always talked in and outside of baseball,” he said. “I think most of the good memories are before and after the games, just cutting up with your friends, just being teammates.”