The baseball team (3-3) defeated Hillsdale (4-2) on March 10 after a three-run seventh inning to tie the game at four and another three-run 10th inning to ice the game 7-4.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Dons were down 4-1 with the bases loaded when senior catcher Elliot Biagini hit a line drive down right field. The ball slipped through the infield and senior first baseman Kyle Nichol scored.
The Dons continued to pick up momentum as the next two batters reached base, with junior third baseman Camron Grant hitting a sacrifice fly to tie the game.
Senior outfielder Anthony Calvo saved the Dons in the eighth inning by preventing Hillsdale from a potential walk-off victory. As Hillsdale senior Matthew Leong drilled a hit down right field, Calvo made a diving catch to prevent any damage from the Knights.
After a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, the Dons took the lead in the 10th, scoring three runs off five consecutive hits.
“I think we had our second or third,” Biagini said. “We had a base hit to get a run in, and that kind of just sparked it. Hitting is contagious.”
However, the Dons struggled for the first six innings, trailing Hillsdale 4-1. The Knights scored four runs in the first three innings, while the Dons went down in order in the second and third innings.
“We went out and faced probably the best four pitchers we’ve ever faced to start out the season,” said head coach Lenny Souza. “The first guy that threw today, [senior pitcher] Jaxon [Skidmore], was amazing.”
In the fourth inning, junior pitcher Conor Hourigan was brought into the game, throwing seven innings of shutout ball and ultimately picking up the win.
“Hourigan was huge in coming in and shutting the door,” Souza said. “They had bases loaded in the fourth inning with no outs and we got out of that.”
The Dons are off to a rough start after losing both of their preseason games against Palo Alto (4-2) and Sacred Heart Prep (5-1).
Their struggles in the preseason are attributed to losing players from winter sports and not meeting the grade requirement of a 2.0 grade-point average.
“It’s always tough being a winter or spring sport,” Souza said. “You don’t have your finished product until the teams from that previous season are eliminated from playoffs.”
Having finished 15-9 overall last season, the Dons suffered from not capitalizing on close games.
“Urgency is a big thing. It’s not just our team, but in general,” said senior shortstop Chris Swartz. “Sitting on leads and waiting for someone else to make the big play lost us a lot of games. We need to stay up the whole game and not be complacent.”
Souza has high praise and expectations for the seniors.
“There are seven, possibly eight seniors who could possibly move on and play baseball at the collegiate level if they wanted to,” Souza said.
Out of their 20 member team, the Dons have 12 returning players. Their increased experience is expected to fuel their successes this season.
“We were very young last year,” said senior pitcher Evan Andriola. “This year we have a lot of seniors.”
The Dons have a new addition in freshman shortstop Jace Jeremiah. Although he was only moved up to varsity to fill in gaps from missing players, Souza believes he will be a permanent player.
“We were excited to get him at Aragon this year,” Souza said. “[He] is probably one of the five best players on this team as a freshman already.”
Many of the players have worked during the off season to prepare for the spring, such as playing fall ball.
“A lot of the guys, we play fall ball together, which is always a great way to rep,” Andriola said. “We take the winter off to give our arms a break.”
This year, Souza has also brought on coach Chris Vargas as a hitting coach to help the players develop necessary skills.
“[Vargas] played on the Peninsula White Sox for me a while back,” Souza said. “He’s added a fresh set of eyes for the players and he’s been a real impartial view for the program.”
The Dons are also focused on improving the efficiency of their practices.
“I think we’re trying to shorten practices and get quality repetitions versus the quantity,” Souza said, “We’re just really trying to not take any days off this year.”
These practices have helped the players develop a stronger mindset for this season.
“We’ve talked a lot about making changes, having practices not being so lackadaisical,” Andriola said. “So just intensifying practices so that when the games come around, we know how to react to intense situations and we can keep our cool when the games get close in the seventh inning or late in the game.”
The Dons defeated Mills (1-7) on March 12 and will play Terra Nova (3-3) on March 15.
