What a way to start a season! The HC Angels opened their 2025 baseball season on February 17 with a doubleheader against the Cullman Chargers, and they wasted no time getting things started. Two games, two victories, and some exciting moments at the plate made for a great opening night of baseball.
There is always something special about the first games of a new season. After weeks of preparation, the boys finally get to take the field together, put their hard work to the test, and begin writing another chapter of HC Baseball history. This particular opening night, however, meant even more to our baseball family.
Back-to-Back Wins for the Angels!
Congratulations to our HC Angels on sweeping the opening-night doubleheader against the Cullman Chargers! The boys started the season with two wins and gave us plenty to celebrate along the way.
Wade Wingard provided one of the night’s biggest highlights when he stepped up for his very first at-bat of the evening and sent the ball over the fence for a home run! What a way to make a statement and begin a new season!
Ethan Bucher added another home run of his own, giving the Angels two exciting trips around the bases to celebrate. Congratulations to both young men on those big hits, and to the entire team for starting the season with a pair of victories!
More Than an Opening Night
February 17, 2025, marked exactly eight months since we lost Coach Clay. Eight months since the man who had poured so much of himself into HC Baseball was no longer standing on the field with his boys. And now, here they were, beginning another season without him.
I knew this season would be different. For so many years, Coach Clay had been at the heart of everything we did on a baseball field. He had coached, taught, encouraged, challenged, and believed in these young men. Baseball was something we had built our lives around together, and returning to those familiar places without him was something I was still learning how to do.
But watching the Angels take the field that night was a blessing. They were still playing. They were still competing. They were still encouraging one another and carrying forward the things Coach Clay had worked so hard to teach them. Seeing them start the season with two wins was wonderful, but seeing them continue what he had built meant even more.
Playing for Coach Clay
After the games that night, I shared how proud I was of our Angels and how much I believed Coach Clay would have enjoyed watching them. I could just picture him smiling, cheering, and celebrating right along with the boys.
I was so proud of each and every one of them. Not simply because they won, but because they were there, together, moving forward and honoring someone who had given so much of his life to them and to HC Baseball.
Those two victories were a wonderful way to begin the season, but the greatest blessing for me was watching these young men continue to be HC Angels. They honored Coach Clay that night, and they blessed my heart more than they could ever know.
A New Season, the Same Heart
Every baseball season brings new challenges, new opportunities, and new memories. We knew there would be plenty of work ahead for the 2025 Angels, but opening night gave us a wonderful beginning. There were two wins to celebrate, home runs to remember, and a team of young men ready to keep playing the game they loved.
More importantly, there was still that HC spirit. The hard work, the encouragement, the determination, and the love for one another that Coach Clay had spent years helping build were still there. That meant everything.
Congratulations, Angels, on a fantastic start to the 2025 season! Thank you for the effort you gave, the way you represented HC, and the joy you brought to a night that held so much meaning. I love my HC Angels!
Building HERITAGE
Honor • Effort • Respect • Integrity • Trust • Accountability • Growth • Excellence