It was a beautiful opening day in Paris on Monday when the Lamar Warriors came to town to open the 2021 Paris high school baseball season. Warm, sunny weather greeted the large crowd who gathered with much anticipation to the Eagles 2021 baseball campaign. The Class 4A Lamar Warriors, having already played five games previously, were playing Paris in a non-conference game.
Sophomore Mason Bradley started the game on the hill for the Eagles. After giving up a walk to open the game, Bradley settled-in quickly and successfully retired the next ten Lamar hitters. Bradley found himself in a good old fashioned pitching dual with Lamar starter Jacob Key. The two dominant pitchers controlled the game, and as a result, there was not much offense generated by either team.
Both team committed early-season errors that included Lamar outfielders running into each other instead of calling off the other on a fly ball to left field, and a grand ball that went between and Eagles infielder. But what proved to be most deadly to the Eagles was a sequence of passed balls / wild pitches in the sixth that broke open a 2-2 game and allowed the Warriors to manufacture two runs late in the game. Lamar relief pitcher Brady James worked quickly and threw strikes to end any hopes of an Eagles comeback in the seventh. And when the game was over, Paris had played a very good game for its first game of the season against a seasoned 4A team that had played five previous games.
Perhaps the most exciting thing for Paris fans is the strength of the Eagles pitching with Mason Bradley and Duke Walker along with the middle infield strength of Bradley and freshman Konnor Edwards. Walker made spectacular catches in center field on fly balls that were both hit short and long against the fence. There is a lot of talent on this team, and although it is relatively young, the Eagles could make some noise this year in the conference race. Paris played well in just its first game against a quality opponent.
Today, the Eagles will have another opportunity to play a quality opponent when the Waldron Bulldogs come to Paris. First pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. As of the time and date of this story, it is unknown to Resident Press who will start the game for the Eagles.
Monday night was also the debut of new lights on the Eagles home field. The new lighting performed well and there were few, if any, dark spots anywhere on the field. The Eagles baseball program has added nice touches to the presentation of the game that makes the day a great fan experience for everyone in attendance. Great music, introductions of players, “walk-up music” as players approach the plate for at-bats, etc., have given the program a significant upgrade.
And if you cannot attend the game, tune in to the play-by-play on the sports brew. If you did not listen last night, you missed a great internet streaming of the game. In fact, the quality was so good, it sounded like a major college baseball broadcast. I listened to the game as I shot photos for this story, and I was very impressed. I recommend that fans bring their phones and headphones to listen at the ballpark! To listen to the live stream, simply go to thesportsbrew.net and follow the link to the game broadcast.
Fans from both schools can see additional photos from this game on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports. All photos can be copied free of charge.
I will be at today’s Paris Lady Eagles softball game to cover their match-up with the Waldron Lady Bulldogs. First pitch for today’s softball game is scheduled for 5 p.m. The Lady Eagles defeated Magazine by a score of 14-0 in their game on Monday. Resident Press will have a story on the Lady Eagles game on Wednesday night in the online edition of Resident Press.
So the 2021 baseball and softball seasons are off in full swing, and as the weather improves, there will be many opportunities for fans to come out and enjoy some great weather and great baseball and softball. And Resident Press will be there to bring you all of the action throughout the spring!
See you at the ballpark!
