Fielding a hard hit ball at third base, Jack Penney ’21 tagged the base before throwing the batter out at first base. Penney’s defensive efforts helped Andover Baseball defeat Cushing Academy 13-1 at home on Wednesday. With the win, in addition to Andover’s 3-1 victory over Belmont Hill earlier in the week, the team is still undefeated.
On Friday, Andover carried itself with the same amount of effort it has brought to each win during the season, according to Sebastian Mexico ’21.
“The energy was just like any other game. [Head Coach Kevin Graber] teaches us one thing, and that is basically to do everything with enthusiasm. He wants us to really keep that going,”
According to Eric Giarnese ’21, Andover’s seniors greatly contributed in all facets of the game.
Giarnese said, “Jackson [Emus ’19] pitched two really strong innings and gave up no runs. He also contributed [a run batted in] early in the game on offense as well. [Co-Captain] Andrew Ciufo played exceptional defense and was a big bat in the lineup with two hits as well. [Co-Captain] Tristan Latham [’19] was an absolute brick wall behind home plate and had a huge double early on that drove in two runs.”
Looking ahead, Andover hopes to continue its aggression, and increase its effort running the bases, according to Giarnese.
Giarnese said, “[Coach Graber] thinks we hustled well but can hustle so much more. He also said we need to work on rounding first base hard after singles into the outfield. He did say that we absolutely crushed the ball today, which we did, but we can always get better.”
Andover will face Worcester Academy in a double header away on Saturday.
