Headed Home: Generals open homestand Friday night
Generals come back to Riverside Stadium to face off against McKinney Marshals after successful six-game road trip
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Above, Generals outfielder James Hipp rounds second base during a Generals home game. Hipp is hitting .292 for the Generals, who are tied for first in the TCL.
Six-game road trip
How did they do?
at McKinney, W 5-3
at McKinney, W 7-4
at East Texas, W 5-0
at East Texas, L 4-5
at Coppell, W 6-1
at Coppell, W 3-2
Four-game homestand
What's next?
7:05 p.m. Friday ...
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Six-game road trip
How did they do?
at McKinney, W 5-3
at McKinney, W 7-4
at East Texas, W 5-0
at East Texas, L 4-5
at Coppell, W 6-1
at Coppell, W 3-2
Four-game homestand
What's next?
7:05 p.m. Friday vs. McKinney
7:05 p.m. Saturday vs. McKinney
7:05 p.m. Sunday vs. East Texas
7:05 p.m. Monday vs. East Texas
Fourth of July weekend events
Friday
Blood drive 5:30-8 p.m.
Free admission if you give blood
Giveaway: Thundersticks
Saturday
If you bring a small American flag, admission is $1
Giveaway: Pair of Los Lonely Boys tickets to winner of contest
Event: Hot dog eating contest, winner receives game-used Generals bat
Sunday
Giveaway: Free programs
Church night: $2 off normal reserved seat price, $1 off normal general admission price
Monday
National Guard Night
If you wear camouflage, admission is $1
Toast to the Coast will be performing
Arizona Cardinals' Jerheme Urban will be in attendance.
The college athletes on the Victoria Generals are all motivated to preform by different things, but they are all going back to college at the end of the Texas Collegiate League season.
And more than anything, they all have something to prove to their teams back at school.
Blake Ford, who has proven himself as a reliable starting pitcher for the Generals, said his college experience at Lamar was becoming frustrating because he was not getting the opportunity to start games.
"I wasn't getting the chance to be a starter, and that was something I really wanted to work on this summer," he said. "I want that role and I know I can be competitive through an entire game."
He said his college coach at Lamar challenged him before the summer, and since then Ford has established himself as one of the team's aces, with an ERA of 0.56 and 28 strikeouts in five starts. He said that with continued success, he will have concrete evidence of his skill to show when he goes back to Lamar.
"This isn't a major college conference, but there's some pretty good talent in the TCL, and I've been pitching well," he said. "I think we've all been doing well. If I can do well here, I can do well (at Lamar)."
Ford has even developed his leadership skills. He said this is one of the first times in his career that he has been an older player on a team, and that has helped him realize his responsibility.
He said he also owes a lot to Generals coach Chris Clemons, who works closely with the pitchers. As a former major league pitcher, Clemons has brought out the best qualities in the entire staff, according to Ford.
"He's helped me quite a bit since I've been here," Ford said. "He's really big on getting ahead of batters and being more of a pitcher on the mound."
James Hipp, an outfielder who will be going back to Liberty University after the summer, said the experience has helped him grow as a person, not just on the field.
"I've really benefitted from everything the experience has offered me," he said. "I'm here with my host family, I enjoy the guys I'm playing with, I'm staying in a grove and I'm getting to play baseball. There's really nothing negative I can say about it."
Hipp and Ford agreed that the Generals have been through some of the growing pains common with young, new teams. After a hot start, the Generals lost five of six games at home, which caused some concern heading into a recent six-game road trip.
But the Generals responded to a challenge by Clemons, and won five of the six road games and will take the field at Riverside Stadium on Friday back in first place.
"I'm just glad we picked it back up," Ford said. "I think we've been in almost every game, it's just sometimes we've found ways to lose.
"We were struggling for a while and it felt good to get back into first place, especially on the road. You're supposed to win at home, so when you win away it's a bonus."
The Generals will start a four game homestand at 7:05 p.m. against the McKinney Marshals. After the ups and downs of the early season, Ford said the team is ready to just focus on winning the league.
"We're a little over a third through the season, and I think everyone knows each other and we're coming together very well as a team," Ford said. "I think we should do pretty well from here on. We know how to beat every team in the league, and we just need to keep doing that."
