The Annandale Atoms Varsity Baseball team beat conference rivals Lake Braddock in  the first round of the conference tournament.

The Atoms were victorious, overcoming Lake Braddock with a score of 3-2. The game was tied after the standard seven innings, so the game went into extra innings.

Players on the Atoms varsity squad were very pleased with the team’s performance and are excited to advance on to regionals.

“The game was awesome,” sophomore Aaron Boyd said. “It was an intense game, but we were able to come through and get a win.”

“[The game] was a real nailbiter,” sophomore Jacob Roop said, “Our team played well overall and that helped lead us to a victory.”

It was a close ballgame and the Atoms had to pull through with a strong pitching performance in order to win the match.

“We played pretty well but we hurt ourselves with costly mistakes,” Boyd said, “Our pitching was great. It really saved us.”

“We didn’t play a perfect game, but it was a hard-fought win,” Roop said, “I am glad we are advancing.”

One of the great things about the win is that it was against conference rivals Lake Braddock.

“It felt amazing to beat Lake Braddock,” Boyd said, “We hate them, plus they beat us in the regular season.”

After their win against Lake Braddock, the Atoms faced off against West Springfield in the second round of conference play.

Unfortunately, the Atoms left the field with a tough loss that night as they fell to West Springfield with a score of 2-6. The players aren’t happy with the loss, but their season is still very much alive.

“The game sucked because we didn’t play that well,” Boyd said.

To bounce back from this loss, the team has to improve their play in hopes of winning the next game in the first round of the regional tournament.

“We’re looking to improve on our hitting as well as base running,” Boyd said.

The Atoms’ have a lot of players who have received awards this season.

Senior Steven Schwartz won Conference Pitcher of the Year, junior Shawn Courtney was elected to First Team All-Conference, senior Tyler Pacak and sophomore Colin Corey were elected to second Team All-Conference, while seniors Noah Wolfenstein and Travis Swann along with sophomore Jacob Roop got honorable mentions.

“I am honored to receive an honorable mention,” Roop said, “I am also very proud of my teammates who have also received awards, it’s great to see our hard work get noticed.”

On Friday, May 30, the Annandale Atoms Varsity Baseball team will be playing in the first round of the regional tournament. As of press time, the opponent, time and location had yet to be determined.