Baseball swinging for playoff spot

Through 17 games the men’s varsity baseball team is 8-9 overall and 4-8 in conference.

The team is fighting for a playoff spot. They recently had crucial games against St. Mary’s and Calvert Hall which are, according to head coach and Athletic Director Steve Teter, “important for their playoff hopes.”

On April 21, they beat St. Mary’s 8-2, but on April 22 they came up short against Calvert Hall 5-11.

“This is one of the most talented groups I’ve coached, but we just need to put all that talent together,” Teter said.

According to several players, two seniors who have stepped up this season are second baseman and pitcher Paul Wilson and first baseman Will Tokarski.

“Paul and Will have shown great leadership this season and have helped the younger guys as well,” senior designated hitter Matt Lozinak said.

The team will try and rely on them to make a late playoff push.

“We have experience, but the younger guys are really good as well which helps us,” Wilson said. “That should help the team for the next couple years.”

Mike Moxley is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.

Badminton smashes through season

The women’s varsity badminton team currently holds a record of 4-4. The team, competing in the IAAM “B” conference, originally had 34 players. The team now has 11 varsity and 22 jv players because varsity player junior Yena Kim dropped out due to knee injuries.

“Our toughest schools to beat this year will be Old Fields and Maryvale,” women’s badminton varsity head coach Teresa Gauthier said. Old Fields has been the only school to beat the varsity team, handing them both their losses this season. Despite the losses, the team has key players that will lead them to the championship.

“Sophomore Lily Chen and junior Erin McCaughey are both undefeated and are the number one and two varsity singles players. Juniors Giana Liberatore and Emily Schiavone are the number one varsity doubles players as well,” Gauthier said.

Chen, who just transferred from a school in Kentucky, never played badminton before, until this year. “I like badminton. I can meet new friends from other schools and improve my skills from practicing,” Chen said.

Compared to last year, the team is already performing much better in their matches. “I think both JV and varsity improved a lot this year. We really learned to work hard as individuals to help the team play as a whole,” Liberatore said. “Each match we play helps decide a win or loss overall as a team.”

With seven varsity players graduating this year, the team will lose a large percentage of their players. However, Gauthier isn’t too worried about players leaving. “We have a lot of good people on the team so we will be better than we were this year even if the seniors leave,” Gauthier said.

Azanae Barrow is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.