The boys’ baseball season came to an earlier than expected end after suffering an 11-4 defeat to the Whitman Vikings on Tuesday, May 12, crushing their hopes of a back-to-back state championship.
The Cats got off to a strong start by scoring in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead, though it was short-lived as the Vikings equalized in the top of the second off of a wild pitch. The Cats failed to regain the lead in the second, allowing the Vikings to break the tie and eventually score three additional runs in the top of the third. The Cats were able to claw back at the Vikings and cut the deficit to one, but Whitman’s much more consistent hitting allowed them to continuously apply the pressure and stack runs on the Cats, with the game finishing 11-4.
While this might not have been the result expected of the Cats after last season’s state championship win, the team still performed very well in the regular season, finishing ranked first in the division and paired with many dominant wins, including two against rivals B-CC.
“I think the season went very well overall, although I think there is a lot to build off of when it comes to thinking about next season,” junior Logan Rayment Cruz said. “We ended the season with a great record, which is always a positive, but I think the expectation was back-to-back state championships.”
Four of this year’s seniors will be continuing their baseball careers at the collegiate level: Grant Matalia at Ithaca University, Spencer Gilcrest at Emory University, Sam Weston at Stevenson University and Evan Retzlaff at Wilson College. Despite the loss of another strong class of seniors, the team will remain full of talented players who will hope to contend once again next year.
“It’s been an incredible experience building a bond with the team, and it’s even rougher as a senior,” senior Jack Gilder said. “I’ve been on varsity for three years, so I’ve been with two different senior groups and saying goodbye to them always felt weird. Now being the one that you’re saying goodbye to is a lot worse.”
