Winning is good, but sometimes it's just nice to play.
Just ask Josh King, a Fulton senior who spent the first 10 games of the baseball season on the bench after tearing three ligaments in his knee in a district football game at Boonville last fall.
With the Hornets leading Father Tolton Catholic 13-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning on Friday night, head coach Darren Masek told King to grab a helmet and a bat for his first plate appearance of the season.
The dugout cheered when King took the first pitch for a ball outside.
"It helped me a lot," King said of the support. "It shows that they care and want me to get out there and play for them."
His teammates got a little louder when King connected with the next pitch, hit sharply enough that the Trailblazers' shortstop couldn't handle it. King - not running anywhere near full speed down the base path - reached on an infield single.
"I'm excited for Josh," Masek said. "I feel bad for what's happened and the fact that it's his senior year and he hasn't gotten an opportunity to play.
"He was excited to get him that one at-bat and I'm happy for him."
King would be replaced on first by senior pitcher Randall Cole and the Hornets would go on to flatten Father Tolton 17-1 in five innings at the high school athletic complex.