Outlaws ‘excited’

Day after day, the Lawrence Outlaws baseball team hits the road, playing in games all over the state of Kansas in front of minimal support.

Finally, they get to stay home this weekend. And they’re pretty excited about it.

The Outlaws will play host to their home tournament starting today at Free State High. Their first game in the tournament will be at 8 tonight against Basehor.

“A lot of them are excited because a lot of family and friends get to come watch,” Outlaws coach Matt Schubert said. “It’s a weekend at home, and it’s nice to be able to sleep in their own bed for once.”

Schubert said his Outlaws were playing good baseball right now. At 18-10, there have been a few games that slipped away, including Tuesday’s sloppy 6-5 loss to Pittsburg in the championship game of the Pittsburg Wooden Bat Tournament. The Outlaws committed five errors, leading to a slew of unearned runs.

To counter the miscues, the team had a practice devoted strictly to defense on Wednesday, hoping to get the cobwebs shaken in time for the tournament.

Lawrence has enjoyed a bit of a break in the demanding schedule, thanks to a few rainouts and a few scheduled days off.

Now, back home, the Outlaws are feeling a much-welcomed advantage.

“They’re fresh and they’re ready to get after it again,” Schubert said.

“Counting this tournament, we’ve got this weekend, next weekend and then the zone tournament. It’s time to get refocused.”

The tournament will run through Sunday at Free State.