In Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale, Dr. Jekyll was very good and his alter ego Mr. Hyde was very bad. If a baseball team can undergo a similar metamorphosis from game to game, Rye Country Day had a “Jekyll & Hyde” first two weeks of the season.
By Mitch Silver
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s tale, Dr. Jekyll was very good and his alter ego Mr. Hyde was very bad. If a baseball team can undergo a similar metamorphosis from game to game, Rye Country Day had a “Jekyll & Hyde” first two weeks of the season.
The Wildcats showed their good side March 28 when they defeated the visiting Rye Garnets 10-6 in their final pre-season scrimmage. Freshman Enzo Stefanoni gave up a run on four hits while striking out five in four innings of work. Seniors Peter Shu and Quinn Kurzner had two hits and an RBI apiece, and Matt Webster stole three bases.
The following Tuesday, the Wildcats handled St. Lukes 8-1 in their Fairchester AA opener before drinking some kind of potion that made them lose to the King School the next day by the reverse score. Bouncing back, They dismantled Hopkins Grammar 9-1 in their next FAA tilt.
In between, Brooklyn’s Berkeley Carroll hung a 4-0 loss on the home team in a tremendous pitcher’s duel between Ivy-bound aces. Tyler Fernandez (Cornell) surrendered just 1 hit over 5 1/3 innings and struck out 12. BC’s Ian Miller (Harvard) went the distance, striking out 9.
Going into Wednesday’s game against Rye Neck High — 21-3 last year with 11 returning seniors — the Wildcats had scored 27 runs in their wins and just one run in their two losses. Who would show up at the Hornidge Road field?
It was Hyde … with a vengeance. After scoring in the first inning Country Day coach Michael Pollak watched as six of his pitchers yielded 17 runs in five innings before the game was called by mutual consent.
“‘Tough game’ is putting it mildly,” said Coach Pollak. “Rye Neck was always going to be a challenge. We are still in search of a third starter. We have bullpen options behind Tyler Ferenandez and Enzo Stafanoni, but we haven’t found that third guy we can extend beyond a couple innings. If Tyler or Enzo were on the mound against Rye Neck, it would have been a completely different ballgame. That being said, they were very good and they beat us up.”
