DURANT, Iowa–For the first time in 17 years, the Durant Wildcats baseball team will make the trip to the state tournament. They shut out Monticello on the road 6-0 to punch their ticket to state.
Shawn Dierickx felt his team had earned the honor of progressing so far: “Knowing that this team had so much talent and the physical tools to go a long way, my job as a coach was to figure out how to get past the mental side of winning so I created a motto that simply stated: Togetherness + Effort + Accountability + Motivation = Success. Our boys have embraced these values and it has created success.”
Dierickx also felt the team’s rapport helped motivate them and keep them going throughout the season: “Along with on the field, believing in themselves and having each other’s back at all times has created an atmosphere that doesn’t allow them to get down. They fully understand that if they play clean (no errors), hit like they are capable of and the pitchers can hit their spots they will always have a chance at the end of a game. They simply won’t give up.”
Durant looks forward to making their first state tournament appearance July 27.
