In a home league game against San Marcos High School (16-5-1), the varsity boys baseball team (11-14) fell to the Knights 7-2 on April 25.
The Falcons led 2-0 through the first four innings, with San Marcos tying the score in the top of the fifth. The game remained tied until the top of the eighth, when the Knights brought in five runs to secure the win.
Varsity head coach, Chris Possemato, shared some highlights.
“We called up a freshman, Cullen Green, who’s playing shortstop, and he made two really nice plays,” Possemato said. “He also got a clutch hit that drove in a run, so that was a really big bright spot. Dylan Camren pitched really well, he went four innings, and that was his best outing, I think. Overall, that’s the farthest he’s gone.”
Liam Moran (12), an outfielder and second baseman for the team, also highlighted strong moments.
“I’d say a highlight was when Dolan Maher drove in the tying run,” Moran said. “We were also making good plays out in the field.”
While the final score reflected a tough loss, Possemato emphasized the team’s positive outlook and overall performance.
“They handled the defeat well,” Possemato said. “We’ve been on a bit of a tough run here, really it came down to one inning and a couple outs, so if you look at the whole game, we played really well for six innings. Our guys are still showing up even though they’re not performing as well as they’d like to or as they have in the past, but they’re staying persistent and they’re staying with it, so I’m proud of that.”
Moving into the bottom of the sixth, the Knights gave up a walk, leaving the Falcons with a chance to get ahead. However, the inning ended with a runner left on base.
Vince Moore (10), a catcher and corner infielder, shared what the team does well and where they can improve.
“Our team will continue to play lockdown defense,” Moore said. “A weakness needed to improve is clutch hits, to drive in runners and not leave them on base.”
Moran discussed what the team could build on during the remainder of the season.
“I feel like we just need to be better at coming from behind,” Moran said. “We have a losing record right now, but we still have a chance to have a good season, so I feel like we just need to band together as a team to pull out a win and a winning record … Our strengths are just playing well in the field for sure, and picking up our teammates, but I feel like some of our weaknesses could be just showing up that day or underestimating our opponents and just our on-and-off energy.”
Moran also noted the energy brought by the Knights.
“I feel like their bench energy was a big part of the game,” Moran said. “They carried the momentum throughout the whole game and just had more energy, which is why I feel like they pulled out the win.”
Looking ahead, Possemato remains positive.
“Of course, we want to finish strong,” Possemato said. “The biggest thing is to stay positive and be playing our best baseball at the end of this season. We’ve been putting together better at-bats offensively, we have a few pitchers that have been doing really well, and defense has been doing better, but I think overall, we need to make less mistakes and play a complete game with 21 outs.”
Moore shared how this game reflected the team’s broader goals.
“This game’s performance reflects that we need to be able to finish close games,” Moore said.
Moran discussed his own thoughts alongside Moore’s.
“I think we really just need to string together hits and manufacture runs to just win these games,” Moran said. “As a team, [we have to] come together so we can pull them out.”
