Jason Mitchell
A swing and a miss! This sums up the Poly boys baseball season thus far. The Panthers started the season 1-6 with multiple close losses. But despite their slow start, the team is on an upward trajectory and on track to end the season on a high note. They now stand at an improved 5-11 overall record with an even 3-3 Prep League record.
In their recent league series versus the Providence Pioneers, the Panthers were able to pull off an exciting five-run win in extra innings on Tuesday, Apr. 22, their first win in over a month. They followed up this win with a blowout 11-1 victory by mercy rule the next day on Babcock Field to seal the sweep over Providence.
Despite the tough overall record, the team is finishing the season strong and striving to put in their best effort. Head coach Wayne Lovett said, “We’re improving game by game and becoming closer as a team. Our overall record might not look good, but the growth has been phenomenal.”
Struggling with constant losses requires a lot of resilience and passion. Highlighting the team’s resilience, junior catcher Alex Chui said, “A player that stood out the most in the past couple of games was [sophomore] Caiden [Kennedy]. He had a hurt hip but still played through it, and it showed how much he cared about the team and season. The Providence game was a demonstration to fix our weakness of struggling to create momentum offensively.”
Throughout the season, the team has experienced some growing pains with the loss of multiple key players.
“The season started off rocky, with us struggling to get into a rhythm,” said Kennedy, a sophomore and outfielder. “But recently we have been able to turn things around and really play as a team. We have done a great job of getting on base and moving runners, which has allowed us to find success.”
After losing three college commits last year, the team is looking to capitalize on its current talent to finish the season on a positive note.
Lovett emphasized what has fueled the team’s recent turnaround: “We needed to get healthy and start playing for each other. The talent has always been there. We’ve tightened up defensively and started trusting our approach at the plate, and it’s starting to show.”
Lovett also shared how the team is positioning itself for a strong finish: “Last week was big by sweeping Providence. We’re in a good position to finish top three in League and qualify for playoffs, which has always been a goal.”
For CIF playoffs, every opportunity matters, and the Panthers are taking it one game at a time. With growing momentum and team chemistry, Poly looks ready to make the final push in their series against rivals Flintridge Prep. No matter how the season ends, the team’s perseverance and growth have been a victory of their own.