With the baseball season beginning, people are curious: will the team live up to last year’s season? So far, the boys have shown determination and a strong team bond as they begin the season and work to build off the success they had last year. The Bulldogs lost a few key seniors, including catcher Thomas Ward (‘25) and first base Ryan Fessler (‘25). The boys had to work extra hard to fill these positions before the season started, the players taking these spots were Anthony Taddeo (11) and Jonathan Davis (10).

To prepare for the season, the team had optional open gyms and started mandatory practice in January. Along with early practices, the team began bonding as early as they could to allow their team dynamic to thrive. Because the school is not very big, the team gets to bond even more and get to know each other even better. Trusting teammates is important to the game, which is why the boys keep tight friendships with each other.

“I think that’s the beauty of playing at a school like ours. The chemistry we have gives us such an advantage because we trust one another completely,” Nicholas Fessler (10) said.

The boys have gained an array of fans after the vigorous games they played last year, which sent them to playoffs, WPIALs and states. Last season was the first time in school history that the baseball team won WPIALs and was sent to states. To keep up the good vibes, the boys made videos on social media tracking their wins and created their own saying, “What’s up, bros,” which was a hit among students and fans. The boys then created shirts for the states that fans could buy, which featured their saying. With their support and determination, the boys fell short at the state championship game, ending their winning streak.

“So many people showed up last year, we had the entire town behind our backs. The overall support helped us perform way better, because every inning we were playing for the fans and our school. Freedom is extremely overlooked by people, and because of the fans packing the stands, it gave us confidence and motivation to show why we shouldn’t be overlooked,” Anthony Taddeo (11) said.

So far this season, the boys have had one scrimmage, but no official section games. Their first scrimmage was on March 9, against Chartiers-Houston. The scrimmage was held at the EQT Stadium, where the boys won WPIALs last season. To end the game, the boys topped the Buccaneers by a score of 14-1, taking the first game of the season. Their first section game is on March 16, against Fort Cherry at the home field. With the first win of the season, the boys are optimistic and ready to see how the rest of their season will play out.