The Student News Site of Wilde Lake High School

The Paw Print

The Student News Site of Wilde Lake High School

The Paw Print

The Student News Site of Wilde Lake High School

The Paw Print

Wilde Lake Boy’s Baseball Steps Up To The Plate

Wilde Lake Boys Baseball Steps Up To The Plate

A losing season is a season in which a team loses more games than they win; butin the athletes’ minds, it means much more. It means that they need to work harder. It means they have to train harder. It means they have to practice harder. And, above all, it means they have to find the drive to win.

Wilde Lake boys baseball finished its 2013 season with a record of 4 wins and 13 losses: a “losing” season. And although it seems difficult, although Wilde Lake has been underestimated for years, the players believe that they can perform at their best potential and win more games this season.

Last season ended on a bad note, says senior Tommy Aubin. They lost in the first round of playoffs. “We were frustrated,” he said, “the outcome was a tease of how well we could really do.” On the MaxPreps playoff predictions, Wilde Lake baseball was not even listed in the possible top 25 teams in the 3A class. It was ranked behind four teams, all of which did not win any games that season.

Despite this, junior Matt Aubin saw potential at the end of the season. “It was a start to greatness that we will achieve next season,” he said.

Athletic Director at Wilde Lake Mr. Rau was one of the coaches of the Oakland Mills baseball team last year and remembers when his team played Wilde Lake. “They played us very tough, they were a very good team,” he said. Although his team beat Wilde Lake, he recalls them being very well coached and showing a lot of potential.

When the team lost, it was often disheartening, says Matt, because one of the team’s goals was to limit errors. Nevertheless, they learned quickly how to pick themselves up from a tough loss. “We were mentally tough,” said Matt.

“We were always upset [when we lost] but we were always ready for the next game. We had a lot of heart,” said Tommy Aubin.

Junior Sergio Irizarry-Cruz recalls that many of the losses were close-calls. “We were always disappointed, because we often came close,” said Cruz.

Whenever the team won a game, it tried to remain classy, says Matt. “We acted like we’d been there before,” said Matt Aubin. He noted that although they were excited, they tried to act like they were used to winning and that it was no big deal.

The players agree that this season will be different and that the fans should expect a very different outcome. Despite having a losing season, Matt Aubin is hopeful that the team will be state champions at the end of the season, while Tommy believes that baseball will the best athletic team at Wilde Lake this year. Cruz is more realistic and hopes that the team can perform at its best potential for the entire season.

To match these expectations, new leadership is going to step in this season. Last season, senior captains Thomas Mee, Nick Wright, and Brandon Pelitier led the team. Now that they have graduated, the team will need to decide who will lead them in the 2014 season. Many seniors have already stepped up to the plate and plan on leading the team this spring.

Tommy Aubin believes that he will bring a different type of leadership to the team this year. He says that he will not be strict or demanding but, “a teammate that will always pick my boys up and encourage them to always push harder,” he said.

Matt Aubin approves of the new leadership stepping in this year. “It’ll bring the younger players to the better mind set,” he said. Cruz isn’t demanding much from the new captains this year. “I just hope they can inspire the team to play at their best potential,” he said.

The team believes that it can accomplish its goals for this season and right its wrongs from last season. With the winter season coming to a close and the spring season coming fast, it’s just a matter of time to see if Wilde Lake boys baseball will rise to the challenge and be successful this year.

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Wilde Lake Boy’s Baseball Steps Up To The Plate