Robert Brown ’25 skillfully pitches a ball.
Saturday 4/20 – Andover: 1, Worcester Academy: 3 (1st header)
Saturday 4/20 – Andover: 8, Worcester Academy: 4 (2nd Header)
This past Saturday, Big Blue Baseball faced off against Worcester Academy (Worcester) in a doubleheader. Although the team lost the first game of the doubleheader, the team’s resilience and hunger for revenge motivated their following victory.
Luke Gallo ’25 spoke about how the team prepared against Worcester through countless drills to strengthen the team’s skills. Whether working on cutoffs, where the infielder receives the ball from an outfielder to make an easier throw to a certain base, or working on ball placement when hitting, the team practiced relentlessly for this upcoming doubleheader.
Gallo said, “We also worked on defensively just keeping it clean and making outs. We trust our pitching enough that we didn’t really need to practice it, so our pitchers are pretty good… In the infield, we work on, like, quick hands. In the outfield, just work on their routes to the ball and throw into the infielders when we have our cutoffs and things like that.
Owen Callahan ’26 discussed the team’s expectations when facing Maverick Rizy, a top-rated baseball player from Worcester. Drawing on their experience from last year, Callahan highlighted how the team’s preparedness allowed them to perform better and hit more effectively against him.
Callahan said, “We kind of knew for the most part what we were going to get with him. It still didn’t make it necessarily extremely easier, but we had better mentalities going into the game. And we knew what to expect and we did a good job at executing on that.”
Rishvith Kandru ’25 added to Callahan’s point, emphasizing the importance of staying mentally prepared against anyone. Despite Rizy being one of the top prospects in the United States, Kandru emphasized the importance of the team not feeling intimidated.
Kandru said, “ Just stick with your approach… We put the bat on the ball a lot. We faced a lot of good pitchers. So, everyone looked confident up there. Everyone looked good.”
Callahan highlighted Jace Roosien ’24 who hit a double against Maverick Rizy and Isaac Lamson ’24 who made a diving play at third base. He emphasized how both plays were crucial during the point of the game, and added a lot of energy to the players.
Callahan said, “Isaac made a diving play to his right and he got up in time and threw the ball to first base with enough time to throw the guy out. It was a great play. It’s a play that I knew he could make, but he was given the opportunity to make it and he executed very well.”
After losing the first game, Gallo described the team’s intense passion throughout the match. Noting the countless hours the players dedicated to the game, Gallo highlighted how the team was fired up following their initial loss.
Gallo said, “Before games everyone’s usually just pretty pumped up. We all care about winning; we all care about baseball. It’s our life and our sport… Having that second game for us was pretty big. It helped us win because we came with a kind of vengeance.”
Callahan spoke fondly of the strong camaraderie within the team, emphasizing how everyone shares the same drive and motivation to work hard and win, which unites them all. Looking ahead, he is hopeful that the team can maintain this mindset and confidence.
Callahan said, “We know how to play as a team. And the key to our success is we have a shared mentality and shared approach when we play our games.”
Boys Baseball will play on Friday at home against Winchendon.
