Varsity Baseball Kicks off Season With Walk-Off Win Over Trevor

Player of the Game Adam B. ‘25 and Catcher Alex T. ‘25 shake hands after victory over Trevor. Alex caught eight innings of baseball, and Adam had 10 strikeouts.

Varsity Baseball, who reached the semifinals of last season’s NYCAL playoffs, kicked off their season on April 5 with a league win over Trevor Day. The game is of increased importance as UNIS no longer has a baseball team, and Grace Church, in its first year in NYCAL, is not playoff-eligible; as such, four of the five teams make the playoffs, and a single loss can impact postseason rankings more than in previous years. 

Browning had been up 4-1 after a four run 3rd inning, led in part by a bases-clearing three run double from Matthew B. ‘24, and 5 and ⅔ innings of one-run (unearned) ball tossed by Adam B. ‘25. The Trevor Dragons stormed back in the top of the 7th with a three run inning, and the game was sent to extra innings.

Second basemen and pitcher Santos S. ‘25, who went 1 for 2 on the day with an RBI and two walks, silenced the Dragons’s bats with a scoreless top of the eighth. In the bottom of the 8th inning, however, the Panthers’s bats came alive.

Matt C. ‘25 led off the inning with a hit to left field. Wil D. ‘26 replaced him on first base, and then stole second. Ryan W. ‘27 sent a shot to right field, and Browning had runners on first and third. 

Making his way to the batter’s box was Adam B. ‘25. With two outs, two on, and a chance to send the Dragons home with a loss, Adam did what he has been doing since his Freshman season: come up big when it matters the most. On a 3-2 count, Adam hammered a pitch out to left, and before the eyes of a stunned audience, the Panthers had walked it off.

“I was so happy to come through for the team — that would’ve been a tough one to lose to start the year,” Adam said. Wil D. crossed home plate, and the Panthers rushed onto the field to celebrate a hard-fought victory. Adam, as you may have guessed, was named Player of the Game, and received the accompanying chain. 

On the dynamics of the team, Adam said: “We all care about one another, and I think we’re going to have a lot of fun this season.” 

The Panthers face the Dragons once again on Monday, April 8, under the solar eclipse. Subsequently, the team faces league-rival Calhoun on April 11 and 12. 

“This year, as opposed to my previous two years, our team has been extremely engaged in the process of excellence. There have been guys working towards this season since the beginning of this year in the fall,” Catcher Alex T. ‘25 said. “This team cares and wants it the most that I've ever seen.”