Although falling short 12-18 to nationally ranked Paul VI in their first scrimmage, the Atoms still look ahead to the regular season with high expectations.
“We really hit the ball well,” senior Brian Uglietta said.
“Our pitchers looked good, and we have a lot of pitchers to use this year.”
Coming off last year’s season in which the Atoms earned a 14-7 record, tying for the best regular season record in the conference, the Atoms still look to improve and attain even more impressive feats this year.
“We have hit in the batting cages of the tee and off each other. We also have thrown and worked on pitching and fielding,” senior Tucker Mack said.
Individually, the Atoms have also extensively prepared.
“I worked out with a pitching coach twice a week in the winter,” Mack said.
Trough this much hard work and dedication, the Atoms seem poised to achieve great accomplishments this year.
With large amounts of preparation during the offseason, the Atoms possess high expectations coming into the season.
“Conference championship and deep into regionals are goals that we have our eyes on,” senior Grant Thompson said.
Having seven returning starters, the Atoms are in high spirits going into the regular season.
“Energy is really high. Everyone’s excited to get the season started and make a run. We’ve played together as little kids,” Thompson said.
“A lot of us have been waiting for this moment and talking about it since we were little. It is our last bang as a team.”
Synergy is crucial for a team to have in order to outplay opponents. A team can achieve it by playing with each other for a long time.
“We have played baseball with each other since we were kids,” senior Colin Corey said.
This really shows the familiarity among members of the team as they have grown up with each other, allowing them to learn each other’s instincts and communicate more effectively during games.
These abilities will enable the Atoms to play more efficiently, resulting in less errors, as well as exception play, making more plays during games.
The Atoms have looked forward to baseball season all year long, ever since last year’s crushing defeat to the T.C. William Titans in the first round of the conference playoffs with a score of 4-5 in overtime.
“It gives us good experience and a lot of motivation to prove what we can do,”Thompson said.
Winning the conference championship is not a simple task, especially in a conference that is filled with formidable opponents.
“Lake Braddock, T.C. Williams and West Potomac will be our biggest challenges due to their good pitching,” Mack said.
Additionally, the Atoms possess some weaknesses. The seniors who graduated last year provided great pitching throughout last year’s season.
“We have had pretty dominant pitchers in the past two years compared to this year,” senior Tim Johnson said.
The Atoms do believe that their strengths outweigh their weaknesses to a great extent.
“We are a pretty good hitting team. Always have been,” Johnson said.
Next on the Atom’s agenda is a scrimmage against Episcopal High School.
Following is the first conference game at South County High School against the Stallions.
Then, the Atoms travel to Myrtle Beach where they will participate in the Mingo Bay Classic.
A total of 12 teams from all over the East Coast compete against each other.
“It should be competitive and fun. It is good baseball to get us ready for the rest of the season. It is an opportunity to build team chemistry as we start the season,” Johnson said.
Please come out and show support for your Atoms as they can build off the energy and win games!