The tall, towering figure stares down at the batter from his grassy green turf mound. He commands the pace of the game and its outcome; every pitch he throws can determine if his team wins or loses. He turns his attention to the crouching catcher, who flashes him one finger pointed down. The symbol representing a fastball, the pitcher nods his head and comes set, relaxing every single one of his muscles. The crowds cheer and roar, but he hones it out, focusing on one thing, the strike zone. With a sudden burst of energy, he lifts and bends his leg backwards, only to release this torque and extend forward towards the plate, hurling the red-stitched baseball at a whopping 90mph. The baseball pops against the leather mitt, and a temporary silence fills the air, only to be replaced by the booming voice of the umpire; “strike three, you’re out!”
This scene was a common occurrence in Kyle Muller’s ’16 dominating performance against Irving High School, and this game was amongst four that varsity baseball competed against over the course of two weeks. From March 28- April 9, Jesuit faced both Irving High School and Nimitz High School twice in district play. These games were very important to the team as playoffs grew closer, and they would be facing one of their toughest opponents. Let’s see how they did.
First, on Monday, March 28, Jesuit took it to Irving High School at their home field and came out with a decisive win of 3-0. On the offense, Jesuit was shut out until the eight inning, when they scored all three of their runs. Their first run came from a triple hit by Kyle Muller ’16, which scored pinch runner Maccoy Lopez. The second run came from a sacrifice fly by Bryce Bonner ’16, which sent pinch runner Chris Campagna cruising over home plate. Finally, the third run came from Jared Kengott ’18, who crushed a home run to left field. As for defense, Jesuit dominated Irving with pitcher Kyle Muller’s ’16 commanding performance. Watching this spectacle, pitcher Heath VanKirk ’17 stated, “Kyle was really on and it was great to watch, he mowed down those hitters.” Muller carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, until it was broken up by Irving’s one hit of the game, and he struck out 21 over the course of eight innings, securing a victory for Jesuit. In the process, Muller also broke a national high school record, striking out 24 consecutive batters over the course of two outings.
Next, on Friday, April 1, Jesuit faced Irving High School on their home turf, and cruised out with a 12-0 win. The victory was a team effort, which included great performances from various players, Bryce Bonner ’16 with 3 rbi, Kyle Muller ’16 with 2 , Pete Hamrick ’16 with 1, Jared Bond ’16 with 3, Connor Lynch ’16 with 1, and Jake Ryan ’17 with 1. On top of this, pitcher Jacob Palisch ’17 threw a no-hitter, which was the team’s third of the season. He struck out eight over the course of the game and retired the first 14 batters in order. Reflecting on the team’s performance, pitcher Nic Colombo ’17 stated, “We really battled hard and just played really well. Our bats were on fire!” Overall, this victory pushed Jesuit one step closer to playoffs, and continued the team’s undefeated district season.
The next week, on Tuesday, April 5, Jesuit battled Nimitz at Nimitz High School, and unfortunately lost 4-8. The team started the game off strong with 2 runs scored over the first and second inning, crushed in by seniors Conor Lynch and Matt Horvath respectively. However, Nimitz came back and scored 4 runs in the third, propelling them to a 4-2 lead. Jesuit tacked on 1 run in the fourth, but Nimitz responded with another 4-run inning in the fourth, establishing a large 8-3 lead. In the fifth, Jesuit managed to score yet another run, but ultimately, their comeback was stopped, resulting in the team’s first loss of the season. This crushed Jesuit’s undefeated district run, and many of the players were disappointed in the performance. Giving his thoughts on the game, Heath VanKirk ’17 stated, “We struggled a little bit offensively, but we know what we are capable of, and it will be a great season.” Despite a poor performance by the team, the players were not entirely discouraged, and they were all ready to play the next game with the same effort and determination that they have given throughout the entire season.
Finally, on Friday, April 8th, Jesuit clashed with Nimitz on their home turf, and came back from their previous loss with an uplifting 5-0 victory. For the first three innings, the game was seemingly uneventful, neither teams able to score a single run. It wasn’t until the fourth inning, that Jesuit scored their first run, ushered in by a wild pitch which sent Maccoy Lopez ’18 over home plate. Following this costly error for Nimitz, Horvath scored off of another wild pitch, and Bond scored off of a scorching single from Hamrick, establishing a 3-0 lead for Jesuit. In that same inning, Jesuit tacked on two more runs with a double from Kyle Muller ’16, raising the lead to 5-0. With this solid offensive performance, came yet another dominating performance from Kyle Muller ’16. Muller allowed just two hits, and struck out 9 batters in his fifth win of the season. Inspired by the team’s victory, pitcher Wyatt Hasson ’17 stated, “We bounced back and played really well. It just shows how well we can do when we come together.” This win proved crucial to the team’s race to playoffs, and pushed them to even greater heights.
Overall, with three shutout victories, two of which from star outings by Kyle Muller ’16, and one unfortunate loss, it looks like Jesuit is in a strong position to win district and make another playoff run. However, the team’s season is not over yet, and there are still three more district games. Please come out and support your Jesuit Rangers!
