“Every time I’m with Fran O’Connor or Riley Schwertz, I can’t stop laughing the whole time. Every senior on the team is hilarious and made my freshman year a great one,” Freshman Patrick Baker said. According to some players, the seniors will be greatly missed; especially since this is the end of the season of their final year. They’ve had a great final season, ending with nine wins and five losses. They started the season by becoming section champions in spirit. The team then hit a “rough patch,” Baker said, and they lost a few consecutive games. Even though getting into the running of the state championships is even harder than section, the team was still keeping it in their hopes. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication, but they did make it to playoffs. It also took “a lot of preparation for the season, a ton of energy, teamwork and talent,” Sophomore Aaron McSorley said. “It was definitely worth all of the hard work because our goal every year is to make it to playoffs, and it feels great to obtain that goal,” Sophomore Matt Feits said, “and hopefully we can go far in the playoffs this year.” Unfortunately for the team, the first game they played in the playoffs wasn’t a success. The good part, though, is the fact that they were dedicated through the journey. There have also been many memorable plays on the field. Sophomore Mark Zurick said that he enjoyed when O’Connor hit a grand slam against South Fayette. He will also remember the game against Quaker Valley when Senior Derek Fajtak had a “walk off walk.” A “walk off walk” is when the batter doesn’t swing at all four of the pitcher’s balls. The pitcher then walks the batter to first. In this case, the “walk off walk” won Freedom the game. The team has an unusual pre-game ritual; they pray. The team takes a knee in the formation of a circle. With this team, the coach or captains don’t stand to pump up the athletes. As for the baseball team, everyone recites “The Lord’s Prayer.” O’Connor is especially proud of the team this season. “Our work ethic makes me proud; yes we have times when we goof around, but when it’s time to get serious and focused, we are,” he said. The athletes are already looking forward to next season. Baker said he can’t wait for all of the new freshmen to fill up the water and carry the equipment to the diamond. On a more serious note, the team is looking forward to replacing the senior starters. Eight of the nine starters happen to be seniors. “They are losing eight seniors, so it’s going to be tough,” O’Connor said, “but I believe their work ethic and drive will be better so that they can return to playoffs.”