It has been a series of ups and downs for the Garnets in their first five games of the season, as they got off to a 3-2 start, including two games in Florida and three back home.
The Garnets opened the season with a 6-3 win over the team with last year’s best overall record in Class B, Bronxville. A five-run third inning was more than enough for the Garnet pitching staff, which was helped by four scoreless innings from Shephard Griffiths and another scoreless two and a third innings from Charlie Margiloff. Margiloff went two for two at the plate with two walks, and senior Dillon Schmidt launched his first home run of the season.
The hot start was quickly extinguished by a 12-0 loss to Ketcham, one of the best teams in New York. Ketcham has four players who have committed to playing baseball for Division I teams, and they include major league prospect Owen Paino, who has committed to Ole Miss. The Garnets mustered only two hits in the loss.
The team then returned home the following week to heavy April downpours. “It was a little frustrating coming back from Florida and getting all the rain,” said Coach Mike Bruno. “I felt like we lost some momentum.”
The Garnets, however, then won two out of their next three games, including a win against Byram Hills, a tough 3-1 loss to Walter Panas, and a blowout 12-3 victory over Saunders. Griffiths again pitched effectively, this time against Byram, where he struck out 12 batters over seven innings, holding the Bobcats to just two hits.
On offense, both underclassmen and veterans have had an impact. Sophomore Nolan Hutson scored three runs and stole three bases in the victory over Byram Hills, while senior Tommy Broderick has had three RBIs in his last three games. Senior A.J. Miller has driven in the most runs, while sophomore Jackson Pineault is hitting .375 since the Garnets returned from Florida.
“The team has a nice mix of young and old,” Bruno said after the victory on Tuesday. “Moving forward, our goal is always to keep getting better day in and day out, so we can play our best baseball come playoff time.”
The Garnets will have the advantage of playing four of their next five games at home, but they’ll have to contend with Ardsley, Eastchester, Yorktown, and Pelham over that stretch.
