Baseball Pummels Cushing Twice
Big Red’s baseball team prevailed in both of their doubleheader games against Cushing Academy on their home turf last Saturday, garnering two more winning scores of 10-4 and 5-2 to add to season record, which stands at twelve wins and three losses. The team is currently seeded second in the Central New England Prep School League (CNESPL) play-offs this Saturday at Brown University.
"Everything was in place for both games: hitting, pitching and fielding, which makes the game a joy to play."
Exeter’s hitters were unparallelled by their Cushing opponents. At the start of the seventh inning of the first game, postgraduate Nick Hall’s hit prompted three runs to extend Big Red’s lead from 6-4 to 9-4, while senior Nick Moore hit twice in both games.
Hall was also a standout pitcher in the second game, pitching all seven innings, allowing seven hits and striking out eight. Teammates also noted younger pitchers stepping up to the mound. “Our prep Cade Thompson pitched very well coming in relief for us,” said senior and co-captain Collin Shapiro.
In both games, the boys made some impressive plays in the field, including a catch by Shapiro in center field, senior and co-captain Harrison Money throwing out a base runner trying to steal second base, and postgraduate Henri Pratt picking a runner off of first base.
These critical plays, coupled with timely hitting, ensured Exeter’s victories and boosted the players’ morale. “Everything was in place for both games: hitting, pitching and fielding, which makes the game a joy to play,” said senior Nate Bogardus. “Everybody’s happy when you’re winning as the result of everyone playing well.”
Shapiro credited the boys’ fortitude throughout the game to their relentless support for one another. “Team spirit is always good for us,” he said. “We had to stay focused and keep our bats alive for the whole game.”
Bogardus said that the victory felt especially rewarding because of Cushing Academy’s historically triumphant baseball team. “We played two games against Cushing, who our coach Dana Barbin likes to remind us ‘has more league titles than anyone else’,” he said. “It feels good to have won two games against against their program.”
As the school year comes to an end, assistant coach Tim Mitropolous is thrilled about the team’s past wins and looks forward the team’s final games. “It is always a good weekend when you can go on the road and get two victories. The team played well and had some clutch moments to make sure we solidified the wins,” he said. “This week we will continue to get better and compete at a high level everyday. This will put us in the best position to be successful.”