No matter what, Rockwall High baseball coach Barry Rose and his Yellowjackets are committed to being true to who they are.
“All season long, we’ve tried to be aggressive and keep the pressure on teams,” Rose told Texas Scorecard. “That’s gone a long way in things like us stealing nearly a hundred bases this season. With the playoffs here now, we’re not about to change that.”
With senior star and TCU recruit Beau Wimpee sidelined for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury, Rose knows things aren’t about to get any easier for his 22-8, 10-2 in 6A Region II District 11 team.
That’s where he’s hoping what he and his team of assistants have been preaching all year long in his first season with the program will kick in.
“We’ve talked about establishing a culture of being selfless and relentless every day in what we do,” he said. “Our kids have worked hard all year for this moment and we’re going to stay focused.”
Wimpee was joined in the .400 hitting club for the Yellowjackets this season by senior centerfielder Zach Henry, who finished the regular season at .448.
“You don’t just replace a guy that hit .400,” Rose said. “But we’ve had a lot of young guys that have been stepping up and Beau has been right there in the dugout with us cheering and leading them on.”
On the mound, senior right-handers Brandon Troxler and Jeremy Bomer have been nearly just as dominant as Wimpee and Henry at the plate, combining to go 11-3 with an ERA of just over 3.0.
With him now being in his 16th season as a head coach and Rockwall having qualified for the playoffs 17 straight seasons, Rose said everyone pretty much knows what to expect going forward.
“We’ll take everything one game at a time and just try to stay focused on the things we can control,” he said.
