Many school districts are struggling with a shortage of school bus drivers which would definitely impact a district's ability to transport students to extra curricular events that are scheduled after school. Some districts are fortunate to have school vans in which coaches have been certified to be able to drive to offset a need for a bus, this definitely helps with teams that smaller numbers of athletes.
Facts:
1. Salem arrived late
2. Both teams played 7 innings
3. Minerva was the team that made the most of their opportunities and appeared to execute down the stretch.
One valuable takeaway from athletics is that it prepares you to handle adversity. Sounds like the "main argument" as to why Salem may not have performed "their best" is because of lack of proper warm up time. I say proper, because once off the bus, although they did take the field, stretch, throw, etc., there did not appear to be a sense or urgency to be efficient with the time they had.
Stop making excuses, pointing fingers, etc. If we as adults keep making excuses, our children then learn to accept those excuses and they will fail. The season is still young, there is a lot of ball left to play which allows these young men to continue to learn, grow and develop in the game of baseball and life.
Good luck to all!