WILLARD — Before Wednesday afternoon's practice, Dalen Stewart lied on his back and closed his eyes. His teammates lied around him — some with hats over their faces — in silence.
Stewart, a senior on the Willard baseball team, never would have imagined he would still be practicing with his teammates just a few months earlier.
With his eyes closed, he pictured the crowd at U.S. Baseball Park in Ozark as he stood on the mound. The packed stands cheered him on as he commanded his off-speed pitches past the bats of his opponents.
He also pictured failure — if he were to walk someone or allow a hit, he thought about how he was going to respond to the next better.