The Peddie varsity baseball and softball teams had their season openers at home against Lawrenceville on March 30. The boys varsity played a tough game, but lost 2-0. Varsity baseball captain Alexander Hermanson ’16 was on the mound, and had a total of six strikeouts in a full seven innings. Looking at his goals for the season to come, Hermanson ’16 said, “The goal every season is to be the best competitor in the MAPL and the state. That does not mean we have to win every game.”

He reflected upon his loss by saying “as long as I leave it all out on the field, I am doing my job and we will generate wins.”

Anthony Spadaccini ’18 said that “the team was disappointed with the loss, but there are lots of good signs for the team heading towards the rest of the season.”

For the eight seniors on the team, this is their last season in Peddie uniforms, and they want to do something special. Hermanson ’16 says that if the team continues to play this way all season, he will be a “very happy captain” and there will be two new championship trophies earned for Peddie.

On the girls’ side, Peddie came out on top after a hard fought game. The final score read 6-5 in Peddie’s favor, despite the fact that the Falcons trailed early on. Sydney Hixenbaugh ’18 said  the team’s determination helped them not give up.  Coach Tim O’Reilley’s advice was to “just swing.” When the Falcons were losing 4-0, the team continued to fight, which eventually led them to their victory.  Hixenbaugh ’18 said that “when the team falls, (they) always come back to make up for each other.”

The team played smoothly even though there were several adjustments in the field. Shortstop Carly Hattman ’16 made several important plays to prevent Lawrenceville from scoring.  Drew Washington ’17 did a good job playing third base, even though it is an atypical position for her usual pitching/first base position. Usual outfielder Judy Castillo’17 played first base.  Aili Hermanson’19 effectively fielded most of the balls at second base.

Hixenbaugh said she is “confident that the team can become unbeatable when set up for a challenge.”