The weather is starting to warm up again and the smell of freshly cut grass is running through the air – with it comes America’s pastime: baseball.
The spring sports season is just beginning and the baseball team is back out with high hopes and aspirations throughout the program. Senior Robbie Carling is ecstatic with energy about the season. He said, “I feel pretty strong. The team is looking great. We are all coming out and working really hard right now. That is always a good sign. We are a young team that has a lot of experience, so there is a lot of promise for the years to come.”
Despite being a young team, there are a lot of high expectations this year. The players are all looking to function as one. Junior Matthew Robustelli said, “This team is really experienced. All the players here have had Varsity experience under their belt, which is huge because they have all been in the big games; experience is key here because we are so young.”
The players on the Varsity level are excited for the season that is just beginning. Despite the high levels of energy, the team understands that the baseball season is not a dead sprint, it is a marathon. Senior Robbie Carling feels that the strengths of the team outweigh the weaknesses of the team. He says, “I feel that we have a solid defense and I truly believe that is what will separate us because we have a strong schedule and will have to focus on the fundamentals. This season really is going to be all hands on deck, and this team has the ability to step up to these challenges and achieve our goals.”
The leadership of the team stems from the coaches, who have implemented the ideas that this year’s team is working hard to succeed with. Coach Robin put it all into perspective saying, “We have been very competitive these past two years. I feel that this team is capable of taking the league championship home again this year despite the small numbers. We got a really tough schedule and a very strong league, so we are going to have to bear down and grit through it if we truly want it.”
The high aspirations and hype for the season is not just present within the Varsity level, but all throughout the entire program. The JV level has also bought into what the program is looking to achieve for the years to come. Sophomore Scott Mccool explains how the entire team feels about the upcoming season, saying, “I feel really good about the team this year. We just had our first scrimmage with the first games of the year right around the corner and we are looking really good going into it.”
The entire program understands what the intentions of the season are. In preparation to be able to compete at the Varsity level, everyone is focused on the tasks at hand. Sophomore Nic Alvarez explained what he feels how the team is looking to approach the season, “We are looking to grow this year from the start of the year and we are looking for all of us to improve by the end and prepare for the next step in the program.”
Success at the Varsity and JV level are both equally important. Coach Prograce explained what the goal of the season is for this team. “We got to know the fundamentals so when these guys go onto that next level at Varsity so they are ready for the challenge.” It will be exciting to see what the baseball program is able to accomplish this season. With such high set goals and a determination to work hard, it is hard to not see success in the future of the entire baseball program.
By Ian Blair
The Claw 