For many young athletes, long road trips can be quite draining.
The Southwest Shockers' current trip, however, became an exciting excursion of not only learning, but also fun.
The Shockers Red and Black teams traveled to Omaha, Neb. to participate in "The LockerRoom" College World Series Tournament from June 21-25. The competition, as the name details, coincides with the CWS, taking place a short distance from TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
It took about nine hours to complete the drive from Lawton to Omaha, but as a perk, the Shockers attended CWS games.
Pitcher Brett Hopkins, a Western Oklahoma State University commit, said the experience provided impeccable learning opportunities.
"It's a pretty good experience to get to see how they do things and how the players carry themselves," Hopkins said. "How they get prepared to play games with strategies and batting practice is pretty cool to watch."
Of course, the Shockers haven't let that distract them from what they are in Omaha to do | win baseball games.
Shockers Red swept through pool play, defeating teams from North Dakota, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Colorado by a combined score of 38-15 to advance to semifinals today at 10 a.m.
Shockers director Perry Warren said the team has done well this season, but that goes without saying. The Red team sports a record of 29-2 so far this season and has shown no signs of slowing down.
"We're shaping up to be one of the better teams," Warren said. "A lot of people are comparing us to our team in 2015 that went to the national regionals in the American Legion league."
Warren said the reason for the Shockers' existence is to help kids who aspire to play at the next level and beyond. Hopkins serves as a testament to that goal.
The Granite native said being on the team has helped him develop into the player he is today.
"Everything in school ball is slow," Hopkins said. "The games are slow and the competitiveness isn't there. It just makes you better and makes everything in school ball look easy.
"It prepares you for the next level, and you get used to it."
Bo Hopkins and former Lawton High standout Kyle Fultz coach the Red team.