Catching the pitcher off guard, Peter Ling ’20 inched off third base and quickly exploded to steal home base on a feet-first slide. In that game, Andover baseball defeated St. John’s Prep away in a scrimmage 9-5. Later in the week, Andover continued the momentum with a 9-2 over Andover High at a scrimmage in Northborough, Ma.
On Saturday, Andover was successful both on the mound and at the plate, according to Peter Ling ’20.
“We pitched all of our pitchers, [and it] was good to really see all the different kinds of talent we have on our staff. Our bats really came alive, and we ran the bases really well. It just felt really good to get back on the field for the first time since Florida,” wrote Ling in an email to The Phillipian.
Andover entered its first scrimmage without some of its outstanding players from last season, according to Lucas Stowe.
“Last year our team ended the year at 20-2, winning the CNPSBL championship. That was one of the best teams I will probably every play on. We lost a lot of seniors last year, all were key players. We lost our center fielder, our left fielder, a right fielder, our third basemen, a second basemen, a first basemen, and 3 of our first 4 starting pitchers,” wrote Stowe in an email to The Phillipian.
Despite losing leadership, the lower classmen have stepped up both on and off the field, according to Ling.
Ling said, “I think that this year’s team is a lot younger, with a lot of lowers. We lost a lot of starters last year, and a lot of leadership as well. However, I’ve already seen so many new leaders stepping up, and our lowers are beginning to do a better job at being more vocal. Our team was very senior heavy last year, with most of our starters graduating after that year, but it is definitely reassuring to see such an energetic group of guys this year.”
On Wednesday, against Andover High, Andover saw home runs from Co-captain Tristan Latham ’19, Jonathan Santucci ’21 and Jackson Emus ’19. Additionally, each of Andover’s pitchers made an appearance.
“[Santucci] hitting his home run today and being as fired up as ever was awesome to see. he has become so much more of a leader and a teammate already, and I know he’ll do great things this year,” said Ling.
Eric Giarnese ’21 wrote in an email to the Phillipian, “I think we realized how much our team can actually hit and it gave us confidence in our offense a lot more with the amount of home runs and hits we had. Overall I’d say the power our offense has.”
Andover has its sights set on another championship but looks to start small with controllable aspects of the game, according to Stowe.
“Goal number one is always win another championship. Goal number two is to beat Exeter. Besides that, we have a bunch of mini-goals. KG always says that if we take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves,” said Stowe.
Phillips Academy Varsity Baseball will play its first game of the season this Saturday against Bridgton in Northborough.
Editor’s Note: Peter Ling ’20 is a Advertising Manager for The Phillipian.
