Baseball’s playoff run comes to an end

Sandra Koretz/Chronicle

PITCH PERFECT: Pitcher Andrew Citron ’22 stares down a batter in the baseball team’s 6-3 win over Crespi Carmelite High School on March 25.

Ella Yadegar

The baseball team lost 6-1 in the CIF Southern Section Di- vision I quarterfinals to JSerra High School 6-1 at O’Malley Family Field on May 13. The team ended its season with an overall record of 22-8-1.

In the 2021-2022 season, the team won the CIF-SS champion- ship with a 29-4 record.

The team’s only run came from pitcher Bryce Rainer ’24 after a run batted in (RBI) hit from center fielder Jacob Gallo- way ’22 in the first inning. The squad remained ahead until the sixth inning, when JSerra High School scored four times to take the lead.

The team faced JSerra High School twice in the regular sea- son, winning 2-1 once and losing once 8-3. Infielder Rowan Jen ’23 said the players’ confidence in each other contributed to the team’s winning record.

“I think we just continued to stay together and build that trust and [connectedness],” Jen said. “Down the road, it is really about how close the team is and how much you trust the guys.”

Pitcher Jacob Magna ’24 said even though the team was not able to record as high a win rate as the 2020-2021 season, it
aims to regroup before the 2022-2023 season.

“It was a really tough loss this year, but we can only build off of it and come back stronger next year,” Magna said.

Jen said for the team to be successful in the future, its players have to practice overcoming adversity together.

“Facing adversity has really brought us closer together,” Jen said. “We are with each other all the time, so we are really close with each other, and there is a lot of mutual trust. Playing with that mutual trust allows us to al- ways know that the guy behind us is going to have our back, and that gives you a lot of confidence when you play.”

The team made it to the CIF quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. In the 2020-2021 season, the team defeated JSerra High School 3-0 in the CIF playoffs. Infielder and pitcher

Alex Shane ’22 said although he and his teammates hoped to make it further in the playoffs, he is proud of the team’s success.

“We have been play- ing together for four years, and some of us for closer to eight [years],” Shane said. “It is hard to put into words what these guys have meant to me, but [I know] that they will be my brothers for life. It was a super challenging year with injuries, but I am proud of this team’s resilience, and we left it all out on the field. Although we did not win it outright, the team is definitely proud of being co-champs of the Mission League.”