Varsity Baseball Sweeps Field During Final Home Game of Season

Written by Mikayla Eccleston ’25, for The Alcove student newspaper.

This baseball game was one to behold. By the end of the first inning Greenhills’ varsity baseball team was up 6-0 against Summit Academy. They never let up, and by the fifth inning the score had grown to 12-2, when the game was called early.

The Summit Academy Dragons were unable to get any runs in the first or fourth inning. Greenhills’ pitchers were throwing strikes and making it hard for Summit to put the ball in play and, when they did, the Gryphons kept them off the basebath with their solid defense.

“We started off strong and just never looked back,” said Varsity Co-Captain Sam Dorfman ’23. “Getting a win is a good feeling.”

Greenhills played aggressive baseball. Players swung the bat confidently, stole bases often, and watched their run count climb.

“We had a tough game yesterday, so one of the things we talked about today was just leaning into every pitch and being energetic and focused,” said Head Coach Tom Ward. “We had a lot of good at bats, and we did not have any base running errors.”

This season for Varsity Baseball has been difficult due to the higher-ranked baseball teams they played against earlier this season, like their first home game against Huron Valley Lutheran with a close final score of 5-4.

“We definitely developed a lot,” Dorfman said. “It has been really really fun to lead the team [and] see the improvements in all of our players from start to end of the season.”

This was especially challenging because the team is so young; primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores.

“We have a super-young team,” Varsity Co-Captain Nathan Burke ’23 said. “It is nice to be a role model for the younger kids and just kind of see them grow and develop.”

As the team practiced more and continued working hard, they turned the season around.

“We’ve won five of our last six games, so we are kind of on a little bit of a roll,” Ward said. “Everyone is working really hard, which is really good to see before Districts.”

Greenhill’s is 9-17 this season, as they head to MHSAA Districts on June 4 against Manchester High School.

“The more games we play, the more situations we face, the more we learn from each of those things,” Burke said. “We’re super-talented and we were playing really well today.”

June 1st was the final home game of the season, which had a special meaning for senior co-captain Riley Day ’22. He didn’t miss his chance to make his mark on the game, stealing home during the first inning.

“Super happy for Riley,” Ward said “He had a great game.”

Day joined the team last year as a junior. In just two years with the team, Day has become a co-captain and leader as the team’s only senior.

“I am pretty bummed that this is my last year,” Day said. “I have definitely shown a lot more leadership skills [and] communication. On the bright side, I had a lot of fun and I will miss this team that helped me become a better person.”