By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
It would not be an understatement to say that recent seasons for Coach Joe Kramer and his West Union Dragons varsity baseball squad have been a struggle. Literally any malady that can strike a high school baseball team has found the Dragons and the wins have been impossible to come by.
Kramer’s 2022 squad consists of 12 players, at least when all of them are available at the same time. Young and inexperienced, the Dragons lost their first three outings of 2022 by combined scores of 52-4. Smarting from those losses, the Dragons hosted the Ripley Blue Jays on Thursday, April 14, a team that has also seen its share of hardships in recent years.
The visiting Blue Jays jumped to a 9-1 lead but then fell apart defensively and the Dragons took full advantage. West Union came all the way back from that early deficit and defeated the Blue Jays by a final score of 14-11, tasting victory for the first time in two seasons.
Now with a “W” under their belts, the Dragons were slated to be back in action (weather permitting) on Monday, April 18, a challenging road trip to Whiteoak. They were scheduled to be back on their home diamond on Tuesday to host Fayetteville, followed by trips to Peebles and North Adams on Thursday and Friday.
