The new baseball field opens in T-minus 10 days, but how well do we actually know what’s been going on with the baseball and softball teams during this thrilling anticipation? Although the teams might have had a difficult start to the season due to the lack of an accessible field, our teams have definitely made due.  Yet, the difficulty isn’t over for the softball team. Their side of the field will not be included in the grand opening on April 30, as it is still under construction.

Sophomore Varsity Baseball player John Calabrese said the baseball team has been practicing in the bubble since October. “It is very limited because we haven’t gotten a real practice outside yet. It is very tough to do so much in the bubble because the space is very tight. I can’t wait to get on the field. It will be beautiful,” Calabrese said. As for games, he said baseball has been beating teams by a good margin of runs every game. “I think we are currently the best team in the Ivy League. We are currently 7-1 and our only loss is to the number 2 team in New Jersey [The Hun School].”

A crew of seniors leads the baseball team –– Warner Young, Devan Kodali, Gio Colasante, Oliver Chung-Greco, Issey Gestel, and Holden Lipton. Kodali has been committed to Vanderbilt since his sophomore year. “Over the Florida trip [over Spring Break], we played a top ten team [at] IMG and ended up tying them and were one hit away from winning. [Junior, pitcher, and George Washington Baseball commit] Matt Queen has really shown up for the team,” said Kodali.

Young, a Franklin and Marshall commit, added, “I am excited to play on this field. It is a much-needed upgrade. It’s our senior year and a good way to close our [high school] careers.”

The Poly Varsity softball team is young but seasoned athletes, with a majority of players in their freshman year. Seniors Ella Carter and Emma Spring lead the youngsters.

Carter has been on Varsity Softball at Poly for the past five years. “We have been practicing since September as we had in the years pre-Covid. We began our tryouts and regular-season practices in February,” Carter said. “Unfortunately, to compromise for our not having a field, we have spent a lot of our practices in the Legacy Gym. Our first time getting on a dirt field together was during our spring season trip down to Florida.”

As for the Varsity Softball games, Carter said there have been few, often due to cancellations. Despite this, the Varsity Softball team is undefeated in the Ivy Prep League and 4-1 in their overall games. “It’s been a great start, we have outscored our competition 51-15 so far,” said Carter.

In terms of highlights, eighth-grade pitcher Tori Eanes threw a no-hitter on the mound against Portledge Academy. In another game against Horace Mann, Ella Carter went three-for-three with three home runs against Horace Mann. “We haven’t had any nail biters so far as you can imagine, considering our scoring ratio. But the games have been very fun and we got challenged most recently in our single loss against Xaverian, which is a team that always poses a great game for us,” said Carter. “Although we fell short, it was a great experience for our younger players in particular to have the chance to face some higher-level pitching, fielding, and hitting.”