Baseball season has descended onto the KO community and the varsity baseball team is looking to build on the success they had last year and push further into the playoffs.
Here in the early part of the season, the Wyverns have put themselves in a favorable position to make a deep playoff push with a solid early season record of 4-2. Senior pitcher Captain Devin Wolff spoke on the team’s start to the season. “The team has learned a lot about themselves,” Wolff said. “We have come back to win three times while being down in the last few innings, which shows our grit. We are 4-2 and hope to keep that going with a couple of big games coming up in the next few weeks.”
Opening Day commenced at home on March 31, against a strong Taft team. The team took care of business and secured the win 4-0. Wolff took the mound for this contest and dominated, racking up 15 total strikeouts over 5.2 innings before senior pitcher Jack Gold was called in for relief and collected three strikeouts. Senior first-baseman Brady Nichols batted in a run in the first inning and junior third-baseman John Kumpa hit a rocket off the bat to bring it two other runs in the third inning.
The next five games saw the team go 3-2. The team hit the road for the second game of the season, facing one of the best teams in the Founder’s League, Westminster. KO battled but was overwhelmed by the strong Westminster team, taking a tough loss 15-4. Assistant Coach Peter Jones spoke on what happened in this game and how the team is looking to improve from it. “We didn’t have timely hits, our pitching wasn’t nearly as effective, and our fielding was poor,” Coach Jones said. “I think we should be able to field better as the season goes on.”
The Wyverns were able to bounce back nicely in their next matchup against Trinity-Pawling School, winning with a score of 3-0. Wolff once again took the mound and secured his second win of the season, totaling seven strikeouts over four innings. Junior pitcher Sean Habeeb took the final three innings and locked up four strikeouts.
The team suffered a setback in a rematch against Taft School where they lost 6-5. Junior pitcher Adam Merritt delivered a solid performance, allowing two runs over five innings. The Wyverns led this game 4-2 in the sixth inning; however, the Taft bats lit up and made a comeback to secure their victory.
The team did not let the loss to Taft affect them though. The next opponent was a perennially strong team, Avon Old Farms, that they faced on the road. The team stepped up to the challenge and didn’t waver. Wolff once again took the mound, putting in five innings of work, holding the Avon Old Farms bats to three runs and racking up seven strikeouts. Junior outfielder Jack Decker had a stellar four-hit game with two runs batted in. The overall efforts of the team paid off as they defeated Avon Old Farms 10-6.
The team kept this momentum rolling with a close win against Kent School, where they won 9-8. Wolff spoke on how the team has come together in key situations. “A couple of people who have been really important in our wins is [junior catcher] Nate Bowes, [senior outfielder] Mac Louis, and Decker,” Wolff said. “Overall the whole team has been hitting well and pitching well lately.” Coach Jones added to this. “There’s a lot of experience on the team,” he said. “Very few players are playing their first varsity games.”
The team had a rematch against Avon Old Farms where they were outmatched and lost the game 6-1, putting the overall record at 4-3. The team’s next matchup is on April 22, against Trinity-Pawling on the road, a team they’ve defeated once, so they’re hoping history repeats itself. The season is still young, and the team is still looking to make a deep playoff push. Good luck to the varsity baseball team on the rest of their season.
