After having their spring season cut short last year, the varsity baseball team is stepping up to the plate with a clear goal in mind: play as a team, and make every moment count. The team played a challenging opening game on Thursday against Cooper City, and since then have collected a 1-2 record with a 7-6 victory against Key West on Friday.

“There’s a lot of things going on right now that are out of our control, so as a coach, I’m just trying to have the best possible season,” Coach Manny Crespo explained. Like almost all other sports teams, the baseball team is likely to face further setbacks due to COVID-19. These setbacks can include cancelled and postponed games, as well as potential quarantines due to positive test results. 

Crespo and the team consider the Key West game a positive starting point, setting the determined attitude for the season ahead. After a close matchup going into extra innings, the Raiders trailed 6-5 at the bottom of an intense eighth inning, until junior Will Bettridge hit a walk-off home run, scoring two runs and bringing the team to victory.

“[The Key West game] was a good team win and we all came together,” said junior Chris King, who pitched for two and a third innings. “That game I think is really going to help us play together better and defeat teams we thought we couldn’t beat, which really helped our team chemistry.”

Despite gaining some momentum from the Key West game, the team suffered their second loss on Saturday, but is looking towards improving their record at their Senior Day game on Thursday against Somerset Academy Silver Palms.

“Recently we’ve been trying to change the culture,” added Crespo about the team’s mindset going forward. “We’re going to work together, work hard, and we’re going to be pretty serious about this.”