FILER — Last year was not a typical Filer baseball season.
The Wildcats went 2-18 after finishing. 500 or better in the past five full seasons.
Filer was a young team with just two seniors. So when the Wildcats returned to the diamond this spring, they wanted things to be different. Then they got run-ruled in their first three games.
“Our first three games were complete and total crap,” senior Rylan Browner told the Times-News. “We got run ruled the first three ones and then we went to practice and we wanted to change. So we just turned around and fought and fought and fought.”
The fight is a key difference from last year. Whereas last season Filer played more as a group of individuals, this team plays together. The Wildcats have won four of their last six games, already doubling their win total from last season. That includes a 6-4 win over Buhl after Filer went winless in Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference play in 2023.
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“They’re a fighting team,” head coach Josh Paxton told the Times-News. “I see us battling it out with most teams this year.”
Paxton is in his first full season as a head coach after taking over near the end of last season. He’s coached a lot of the kids on the team since they were young, and came in a lot more prepared.
Paxton believes in fundamentals, and noticed the team lacked baseball IQ and at times was afraid to admit what they didn’t know. He’s been drilling the basics of the sport time and time again to build a foundation. That’s led to better defense, Paxton said, even for a young group. More than half of Filer’s rosters are freshmen or sophomores.
The Wildcats have received strong leadership out of seniors such as Browner and Corban Lewis, who have helped bring the younger players along. While last year’s team wasn’t cohesive, this year the chemistry improved. The team enjoys practicing with each other, and everyone gets along. That’s led to better communication on the field, and there’s more chatter in the dugout and on defense than last season.
“It’s a big difference,’ Browner said. “When you’re talking and having a good time, you seem to make the plays seem easy. But when you’re down on yourselves and not talking at all, you start fumbling it.”
Along with better chemistry, Paxton has tried to instill belief in his team. It’s an athletic group, and wants them to know how capable he thinks they are. Sometimes it’s still a struggle, but the Wildcats have been resilient so far.
Filer has won four games with a victory margin of seven runs. In a doubleheader against Parma, the Wildcats had just two hits in a 7-2 loss in game one and trailed 6-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning of game two.
Paxton gathered his team and told them they were better than the Panthers, and it was time to show it. Filer scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 6-5, and then five more in the bottom of the fifth to take a 10-7 lead. Parma scored runs in both the sixth and seventh inning, but Bridger Phillips shut the door with a strikeout for a 10-9 win.
Just three days earlier, the Wildcats beat Buhl 6-4 to pick up a win in Sawtooth Central Idaho Conference play. Filer’s confidence this year boosted because of early wins. Teammates trust each other more, and there’s more belief in what they can do. For Paxton, that’s just part of the process. He just wants to see his team continue to grow like they have early in the season, and the results will follow.
“I think we’ll be super competitive by the time we need to be,” Paxton said. I told them we have 22 games to figure out who we are. If we win or we lose, I don’t care as long as we grow and we’re moving in the right direction. And that’s been our mentality from day one.”