BETHALTO - Trimpe Middle School had an exciting baseball season with their new team gracing the field.
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This year, Trimpe Middle School introduced baseball to their lineup, with 26 seventh- and eighth-grade players comprising two teams. Coach Jason Huhsman and Athletic Director Jeff Ochs noted their enthusiasm for the new sport at Trimpe, and they believe it will help develop the players before they enter the high school baseball program.
“Bethalto takes a lot of pride in their sports programs,” Huhsman said. “It’s something that’s been a long time coming. I coach high school baseball as well, so we’ve been trying to get middle school baseball because most of our schools in the high school conference have it. The more you can get hands on the players and teach them your ways and that, it always helps.”
Most of the players had experience playing baseball already, but they were eager to join the school’s official team. They finished their season 4–10, and Huhsman said he was “very happy” with how the team played.
“The record didn’t really show how well we played and the things that the kids learned,” he explained. “I was very happy with the strides they made and the things they learned and hopefully will carry along with them.”
It was a “no-brainer” to start a baseball program at Trimpe, Ochs added. He noted that Superintendent Dr. Jill Griffin, Trimpe Middle School Principal Laura Gipson, Assistant Principals Sandy Erzen and Zach Bilyeu, and the Board of Education were “all very supportive” of the new program. He also expressed his gratitude to Huhsman as a “fantastic” coach.
Huhsman and Ochs hope that the middle school baseball program will prepare students to play high school ball at Civic Memorial High School. Ochs noted that Civic Memorial has “a tough schedule,” playing many bigger schools in the area. He hopes the players can get a headstart through the middle school baseball program.
“CM baseball has had a lot of success over the years, and I know the coaching staff over the years has really wanted baseball in the middle school just to be able to get their hands on and work with those kids,” Ochs said. “I think there’s just a lot of excitement because of that, and it’s just been a good thing. It just helps us become stronger.”
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