CHESAPEAKE, VA (WTKR) — Grassfield baseball is turning heartbreak into motivation. After losing in the regional quarterfinals last season, the Grizzlies have turned it around with a 12-2 start to 2023.
"We need to leave a better legacy. That started right then and there," said senior Brentton Fentress. "Since that game we've been grinding, taking just a few weeks off throughout the year."
"Love coming out here and watching all the guys perform well," said Quinn Canning, a senior second baseman.
This season becoming a passion play for Canning and Fentress, the two named captains for a team they grew up and learned to love baseball with.
"It makes me feel good that they have that trust in me," Canning said.
The two have taken lessons from the leaders in their lives, whether they were former teammates or family members.
"My dad's been in the Navy for 26 years," Fentress said. "I keep in the back of my head, 'What would he do in this situation?'"
Those bits of leadership advice showing up on the diamond from encouraging teammates in the game to making sure things they take the extra steps to be prepared.
"As they're setting up, Quinn and the guys get together has a list of tasks and every day, everybody does their job," head coach Gary Spedden said. "It's that kind of togetherness and leadership that helps us be successful."
"Leading by action," Canning said. "It's easy to say to do the right thing but if you're actually leading the correct way, it's easy to follow."
The strong start was part of their plans going into their final year of high school baseball, but the senior duo starts leaving a legacy with much more than what they do on the diamond.
"We're close on the field but we're super close off the field, so there's a trust and relationship that we all have," Canning said.
"It's not everyday that I'm going to start and it's not every day I'm going to be in the lineup," Fentress said. "At the end of the day, if it helps the team, that's what matters."
