Prep baseball: Real nice recovery

If you walked into a recent Cottonwood baseball practice, you'd have no idea the Colts were barely removed from their worst loss in three years and on the eve of their biggest game of the season.
    Loudspeakers boomed Steve Miller Band's "Take the Money and Run" while the squad lackadaisically warmed up, chatting and laughing with one another.
    Yet, the next afternoon, the Cottonwood baseball team did what it seems destined to do: The varsity squad served rival Murray with its first region loss of the season. In the following weeks, Cottonwood went on to defeat several other region opponents and secure a spot atop Region 6.
    The first player to get on base in Cottonwood's eventual victory was leadoff hitter Eric Doi. After a called third strike rolled to the backstop, Doi scrambled to first, becoming both the Colts' first baserunner and first runner to cross the plate.
    Much like Doi's ugly-yet-productive at-bat, the Colts' subsequent 4-3 victory wasn't their prettiest performance. After capitalizing on key Spartan errors, Cottonwood did just enough to stay ahead and come away with the win.
    "It's not hard to get up for a game against Murray. After I first transferred, I got a lot of flack and I got called a traitor a lot. It's dying down now, but it used to be pretty bad. But it was lots of extra motivation to excel," said Doi.
    Three years ago, Eric Doi was struggling his way through a challenging baseball season, just like his team is now. Before his freshman year, Doi had made the controversial choice to transfer to
   
   
   
    Cottonwood High School instead of going to Murray.
    And while the decision to transfer appeared mercurial to some of his former teammates, Doi's loaded choice was more about family politics than those of the diamond.
    A good scholar in his own right, Eric vividly recalls receiving an A-minus on a math test and being told, "Wow, that's the lowest score a Doi's ever gotten."
    Constantly embarrassed by negative comparisons to his academically spectacular brother and sister, the centerfielder decided then and there to avoid the unrealistic tattoo of his siblings and take his talents elsewhere.
    It also didn't hurt to transfer to a school with the best baseball team in the state.
    Starting with his freshman year, Cottonwood has won three consecutive state baseball championships, the first in 5A and the last two in 4A. And while they're no longer undefeated in Region 6, the Colts' loss to Cyprus several weeks ago was only their first region loss since bumping down to 4A.
    "I don't regret a thing about transferring to Cottonwood. I don't feel any pressure academically because nobody knows my background. We have the best team in the state and if I screw up on the field, I have eight other great baseball players to get me back," said Doi.
    Doi's success is more impressive considering he's managed to stand out on a team stocked with stand outs.
    The short outfielder, not blessed with extraordinary physical gifts and without a single home run throughout his high school career, carries one of the best batting averages on the team and even managed to earn a second team all-state nod in 2007.
    With only a few weeks remaining before the final state baseball tournament of his high school career, the diminutive Doi has a shot at securing a rare honor: a chance to earn a fourth championship ring and once and for all excel over former teammates who "after coming to Cottonwood, didn't turn out to be real friends at all."
    "It would mean a lot. The last few championships haven't really been mine because they're for the seniors. That would make this one even better because I'm a senior and it I didn't get it, it would make the others not mean as much," said Doi.
   
   Summary
   * The Cottonwood baseball team has recovered from an early loss to be one of the top teams in Region 6.
    * Eric Doi has been the sparkplug for the Colts' offense, setting the tone by getting on base any way he can.