The varsity baseball team, led by senior Michael Sall and head coach Pat Mooney, is looking to get hot as the later half of the season approaches. The team currently sits at 11-9 with only a few regular season games left as well as upcoming tournament and invitational, they look to improve in the state standing before districts on May 4th and the State tournament on the 11th.
“Now that the later half of the season has started, I think we are going to start playing to the best of our abilities and see some guys heat up,” Sall said. “I’m looking forward to a great rest of the year.”
This roster is filled with a mix of youth and experience. There are 9 sophomores, 4 juniors, and 8 seniors including Sall. It’s not just one class that contributes to team success as well. Sophomore Braden Caito leads the team in ERA with 2.67 and Liam Smithberg tops the roster with a 0.552 OBP. Junior Tony Conigilio is 1st in triples with 3, 2nd in stolen bases (10), and 3rd in hits with 18. The senior class has had the greatest impact on the team. Seniors Mike Wheelock and Henry Bartholomew lead the team in batting average (.396 and .382) and hits with 21 and 19. Sall also is second on the team in ERA with (2.72).
“I’m really excited to see how they play the rest of the season and just all the new guys that are coming in. They are playing hard and contributing a lot,” Sall said.
The team has taken on this blend of youth and experience very well. The younger players have done well listening to coaches and taking it slow, while the seniors have been patient with them and understanding that it is going to take time. Everyone on the team showed great dedication by showing up to offseason and early morning workouts. Sall believes that this helped the team “mesh” early on in the season.
“The seniors get along great with all the new guys. It has just been awesome to see how well everyone has acclimated to the new team and new environment,” Sall said.
The season did not start off how the Jr. Jays would have hoped. Their season opener was against the now 21-3 Millard West Wildcats, and resulted in a close 6-5 loss. They then traveled down to Kansas City, MO for a double header against Staley High School. The Jays lost the first game 14-2 but then won the second 4-1. This was the start of a 4 game win-streak. The start of the season has been a microcosm of the season as a whole. The team will lose a game or two and then follow it up with a small stretch of wins. As we approach the later half of the season, the team looks to gain more consistency and rack up some solid wins headed into the postseason.
“I’m looking forward to playing better overall as a team, and for what all the future games have in store for us,” Sall said.
Coach Mooney does a great job at creating a competitive but calm culture around the team and looks to older players as leaders. Michael Sall is exactly what the head coach has been looking for. Sall and other seniors have done a great job at conveying Mooney’s message of “patience” to the rest of the team. Coach believes that if the team stays patient things will start to come together.
“Coach Mooney is big on being patient throughout the season and as soon as late April rolls around he knows that we are going to start playing our best baseball,” Sall said.
