Immediately after finishing a doubleheader against the White Sands Pupfish in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on Wednesday night, the Tucson Saguaros loaded their team bus for an overnight road trip back to the Old Pueblo.
The Saguaros (30-13 before Wednesday) are set to host White Sands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Cherry Field. The first two games start at 7 p.m., while Saturday鈥檚 will have a 1 p.m. start time.
Willie Ethington has been a key to Tucson鈥檚 success. A one-time 17th-round pick of the Boston Red Sox, Ethington entered Wednesday鈥檚 doubleheader batting .378 with three home runs and 33 RBIs. The Star talked to the 24-year-old Mesa Mountain View High School grad on Wednesday. Here鈥檚 what he had to say:
What did you know about the Saguaros before coming to play in Tucson?
A: 鈥淢y knowledge was that they won a championship in 2016 and they鈥檝e been a good team every year. This is my third year in the league. I was in Garden City, Kansas, my first year and then Bakersfield, California, my second year with the Train Robbers and now I鈥檓 here. I came down here to be closer to home, which is nice, and then I followed Bill (Moore). He鈥檚 been my coach for the past three years.鈥
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Being from Mesa, were you very familiar with Tucson?
A: 鈥淥h yeah.鈥
How has playing in Tucson been different than playing in Bakersfield or Garden City?
A: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bigger city, so it鈥檚 a little different. With the smaller cities, you kind of get to know everybody. We鈥檝e been switching fields, so it鈥檚 been kind of hard.鈥
Do you even get much time off to really get to know each place?
A: 鈥淣o, not really. I went to Mount Lemmon while I was here.鈥
What鈥檚 your day-to-day routine? Are you staying with a host family?
A: 鈥淲e have late games, so we stay up late. Then wake up, eat, then pretty much head out to the field after that for practice and get ready. We practice and then eat and then get ready for the game. We start getting ready four hours before the game.鈥
What has been one of the most fun experiences you鈥檝e had this season so far?
A: 鈥淕etting to know all the guys. There鈥檚 a lot of great guys on this team. And going on a 10-day road trip to California was really fun. Being with those guys in a hotel for 10 days and playing good baseball 鈥 I think we came together a lot over there, so I think it鈥檚 special. I think we learned a lot from each other there. To me, that鈥檚 experience 鈥 playing out there on the road.鈥
What鈥檚 your favorite thing about traveling for baseball?
A: 鈥淚t (stinks), but it鈥檚 one of those things that鈥檚 good experiences 鈥 you鈥檙e going to new cities. Seeing the small cities, too. A lot of these teams are in small cities, so trying to see these small cities that no one鈥檚 ever really been to or that we鈥檝e only ever really heard about. Like we went to Roswell and we went to the museum out there. That was cool. It鈥檚 cool to see what the small cities have, especially since a lot of us are from big cities.鈥
How long have you been playing baseball?
A: 鈥淚 got drafted in 2012, so professionally I鈥檝e been playing for six years. But I鈥檝e been playing since I was out of the womb.鈥
Has baseball always been your sport?
A: 鈥淵eah, I mean I played basketball and football and all that in high school. I quit football because I didn鈥檛 want to get injured for baseball, but baseball was the main focus and always has been the main focus of my life.鈥
What about baseball drew you in?
A: 鈥淭he competitiveness. It鈥檚 such a hard game, (but) there鈥檚 not a lot of scoring. When something does happen, it鈥檚 very exciting. There鈥檚 a lot to it. It鈥檚 a very mental game and I like the challenge. It鈥檚 something you always want to get better at since it鈥檚 one of those sports that you don鈥檛 really succeed as much as the other sports. I just fell in love with it since I was little and I will always love it.
You are nearing the end of the season. What are you looking forward to?
A: 鈥淭o win a ring 鈥 that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 looking forward to. Get to the championship. I think we have the team, mentally and physically.鈥
The Saguaros have the third-best record in the Pecos League and are leading the Southern Division. You guys are staying competitive, what鈥檚 going to need to happen to make sure you don鈥檛 lose momentum?
A: 鈥淪tay mentally focused, stay consistent and we should be fine. Stay healthy. If we stay healthy, we鈥檙e fine.鈥
Contact reporter Norma Gonzalez at 520-262-3265 or ngonzalez@tucson.com.
Thursday
鈥 Who: Pupfish at Saguaros
鈥 When: 7 p.m.
鈥 Where: Cherry Field
Norma Gonzalez
Sports reporter
