Atoms baseball has scuffled over recent weeks, dropping five consecutive games and dropping their record on the season to 6-8.
AHS suffered their most recent loss on April 21 to the Hayfield Hawks, falling behind in the game early and losing by a final score of 2-8.
The Atoms gave up seven runs across the first two innings, putting them into a difficult situation for the remainder of the game. Senior Tyler Plank starred in 5 1/3 relief innings pitched, with great command of his fastball and curveball allowing him to get ahead of batters and keep them off balanced.
“It’s no secret that we have struggled recently, but that is something we have worked hard to correct in the cage and in practice recently,” junior Evan Newton said. “We feel like we competed with a very talented Hayfield team and are confident that we can continue to improve down the stretch in important district games.
The offensive attack in the game was led by sophomore T.K. Decareau with two hits and three stolen bases in the game. Decareau has developed into one of the Atoms best hitters, batting over .400 in the Atoms last four games.
“I would say the combination of advice from my dad and coaches paired with my approach of staying more relaxed at the plate have helped me,” Decareau said.
AHS started the season with extreme promise, capitalizing on that promise with a shocking 6-4 upset over West Potomac during a Spring Break invitational tournament. Senior Finn Scott-Daniels pitched six outstanding innings in the win.
Since the victory over West Potomac, the team has batted just .145 collectively and has struggled to break out against talented pitching.
“As a team, we have struggled to hit and score runs over the last couple of weeks,” head coach Christopher Bagot said. “We have faced some pitchers that have executed well and kept us off balanced, but we have been working hard in practice on refining our approach and grinding out good at bats.
The team has also struggled on the defensive side of the ball at times, with lackadaisical games defensively against Mt. Vernon on April 12 and Edison on April 14.
AHS pitchers have done a good job of getting ground balls. Although the success of the team lies on the defense’s ability to turn the ground balls into outs.
The Atoms have two district games this week. They will travel to face the Falls Church Jaguars on April 26 and the Justice Wolves on April 29. The Atoms have defeated both the Jaguars and the Wolves earlier this season, and will have to battle to pull off consecutive victories again.
“I hope our team is able to make an end of season push, and that starts with getting back to our winning ways on Tuesday against Falls Church,” Bagot said.
With a 2-5 district record, AHS will have to play to their highest level down the stretch in order to earn a higher seed in the district tournament.