Salem Red Sox ready to right ship in second half of season

Salem feels renewed since of pride thanks to new, positive approach

SALEM, Va. – Putting the past behind and moving forward -- we do that a lot in life. When it comes to the Salem Red Sox, that's how they're viewing the first half of the Carolina League Season. 

Salem had a record of 25-42 in the first half, finishing last in the Northern Division. First-year manager Corey Wimberly said the ballclub struggled with doing the right things in order to compete each night. But they found a spark as the All-Star break drew closer. The Sox went on a five-game win streak where they were nearly unstopppable at the plate, scoring 34 runs during that time span. Salem has used that as motivation as they now sit atop the Northern Division to start the second half of the season. 

"I think one of the main things that changed in our offense is that we started to put the focus on the positive things and not the negative," said Wimberly.

"Not a pitch that got called bad here or there or not a situation that we didn't come through. We talked about the positive ones and how we can maintain the positive energy inside our clubhouse, and I think that's been huge for our team so far," Wimberly said. 

"You know, we learned so much from our failures this first half, and we're just going to carry what we've been doing these past few games," said Red Sox outfielder Jagger Rusconi.  


About the Author:

Eric is no stranger to the Roanoke Valley. He is a Roanoke native and proud graduate of William Fleming High School.