The Savanna Bulldogs bring a clean slate into the Pitt 8 Tournament and will look to capitalize on the opportunity to compete with the top teams in the conference.
Savanna (3-8, 3-2 Pitt 8) racked up a 17-13 win against Indianola in last year’s tournament and finished fourth. Coach Andrew Jewell said mental mistakes have been the thorn in his team’s side this season and hopes with a fresh start in the tournament, they can make the right plays to make a run.
“A couple of errors here and there, walks and hit batters have put us into tough situations, but once we get back into the groove of filling up the zone and making plays we’re gonna be right back in it.”
The Bulldogs began the year 3-1, including an 11-3 win over first-round opponent Indianola. Savanna is on a seven-game losing streak and will look to their senior leaders to help get the team on track.
Jewell highlighted senior shortstop Madden Smith and senior right fielder Braydon Horne, saying they have really stepped up their game this season and have worked hard to do so.
“Madden’s a terrific kid, hard worker and tough as nails and same thing with Bray Horne,” Jewell said. “We’re really going to rely on them and if they’re rolling, then we’re going to be able to roll with them.”
Jewell said, while he would love to win the championship, being able to play some of the better teams in the conference will hopefully show they can stay competitive with everybody.
“I would love to go out and win it, obviously, but I think picking up a win in the first round and getting to play somebody like Stuart would be a good challenge for us,” Jewell said. “I’d like to be able to get out there and show that we can compete with them because I do believe that we can, on our best days, compete with anybody.”
Four-seed Savanna’s Pitt 8 Tournament run will begin with a rematch against five-seed Indianola at 1 p.m. Thursday at Haileyville.
