The head coach of the WACO Warrior baseball team (3-21 overall) saw growth in his team during its 2015 campaign. After a five year absence, head coach Shannon Rugg resurrected the Warriors’ baseball program last season, finishing the year winless in 15 games.

After starting the season on the short end of their first six games, WACO won their first baseball game on June 5, a 6-5 triumph over the Harmony Rockets (3-11 overall). WACO added two more wins earlier this month, sweeping the Columbus Wildcats (0-20 overall), 11-1 and 9-7 on July 7 in Wayland. WACO was competitive in several other games this year, losing four games by five runs or less.

Rugg says he saw his team grow throughout the summer, especially when it came to moving on from a bad game. “We have talked over the last two years about not worrying about the score of the game,” Rugg said, “Let’s go out, do what we do, and let’s see what happens in the end.”

WACO’s season came to a close last Monday in Winfield, a 4-3 loss to the Holy Trinity Crusaders (1-18 overall). The Warriors lose two seniors, Ben Herzinger and Josh Shumaker, but are expected to bring back eight players who played impactful innings off this year’s squad.