Mikah Krystofolski ’27 pitches in 4-0 shutout against Bridgton.
Andover: 4 – Belmont Hill: 5
Andover: 4 – Bridgton: 0
Andover: 10 – Cushing: 1
Baseball (4-2) completed its three-day stretch of games with a commanding 4-0 win over Bridgton Academy on Friday, after suffering narrow losses in away games against Dexter Southfield School and Belmont Hill. The team continued to triumph with a dominant 10-1 victory against Cushing Academy away this Wednesday.
Reflecting on its losses last week, the team agrees that playing away is harder, especially with unfavorable playing conditions due to poor weather. Michael Doherty ’27 noted that the cold weather contributed to its tough loss against Belmont Hill.
“It’s still pretty early in the season. We were trying to figure out our pitching lineup, and it was freezing cold. They threw in a pitcher we’ve never seen before, and we were hitting them pretty well, but they got a couple of hits, and we fell apart. We stopped hitting. We got cold quickly, and we’ve struggled with away games, but we bounced back pretty well,” said Doherty.
The Belmont Hill game was close throughout, with a one-run difference separating the teams for most of the game. Despite losing by one run, players like Mikah Krystofolski ’27 stepped up to the challenge, singling twice. Doherty also gave shoutouts to Michael Gilligan ’26 and Luke Gallo ’25 for their impressive performances.
“Luke Gallo had a big double that caught us an RBI and got us a run. Micah Krystofolski got a huge hit in the first inning. He also got a bump down for a hit, which was also big. Micah performed well. Michael Gilligan started the game. I forgot how many innings he went, but he stayed in for a long time and did well,” said Doherty.
The team faced Bridgton Academy at home to cap off the three-day stretch. The game was highlighted by excellent play all-around. Jacob Honor ’27 praised Krystofolski and Jun An ’27 for their performances, calling Krystofolski the MVP of the match.
“Micah pitched super well for us. He was shut out during the pitching. He threw six innings, and he was locked in. We also just had many big hits during the game. It was great. Jun had a few really nice hits, and we played this game together all around,” said Honor.
To begin its next stretch of away games, the team faced Cushing. It was one of the easier matches this season, as Andover won 10-1, according to Miles O’Neil ’28.
“We jumped ahead early, up 2-0 with Luke Gallo hitting a home run. We kept adding runs throughout the game, and our pitchers did a great job. We switched out pitching a lot and had a bunch of guys throw out. We also played great defense. Micah made an awesome play, and we also hit well,” said O’Neil.
The team’s next match is a double header against Worcester Academy. O’Neil noted that they will continue improving as its next game draws nearer.
“We’re going to practice this Thursday and Friday, but I’m not sure what we’re going to work on. Probably hitting and pitching and defense. We’re just going to keep on trying to get better at everything,” said O’Neil
Baseball will face Worcester away this Saturday.
