Macon Bacon look for a strong finish in the second-half of the season
The Bacon are second in the West Division with 16 games remaining in the regular season and need to finish first or second to clinch a playoff spot.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) –As the 2023 Coastal Plain League season commenced, the absence of the reigning champions, the Savannah Bananas, created a significant void and set the stage for a new team to rise and claim the position of the league’s top contender.
“I honestly wouldn’t say pressure. Yeah, that was the talk kind of going into the summer; it’s like who’s now going to be the top dog in the league,” said Macon Bacon head coach Easton Waterman. “So that’s always a question, but honestly, we don’t really think about that. We just go out there and do our thing.”
And that thing just happens to be come-back victories.
“I say it all the time. We are the cardiac Bacon,” said designated hitter/utility player Jackson Cherry. “Seventh inning through the ninth inning, we kind of flip that switch. I think that’s really important. We got to outlast teams, and between our pitchers and our hitters, I believe we have the most talented lineup, and there’s no reason we should lose any game talent-wise.”
While talent certainly plays a role, the primary factor behind the teams’ success has been their exceptional work ethic.
“Yes, we have good baseball players, but we have better dudes on the team,” said Waterman. “Like these guys, they love playing together. They love showing up to the yard every day and putting in work. They’re here early. They stay after. On our off days, there are guys here getting in their work in. So, just straight work ethic and character, that’s what’s allowed us to be so successful so far.”
Now with just 16 games left in the regular season, it’s time for the Bacon to lock in.
“Our guys have done a really good job of kind of shutting the scoreboard off. We don’t have a lot of guys that pay attention to the stats, to the rankings,” said Waterman. “We don’t look at where we’re at in the division a lot. We just focus on what we can do to win this game that’s right in front of us. And then at the end of the summer, if we do that enough times, we’ll be right there in the hunt to take home a CPL Championship.”
The Bacon are second in the West Division with 16 games remaining in the regular season and need to finish first or second to clinch a playoff spot.
