By Aakash Jain ’14
THE ROUNDUP

After 17 games, the baseball team has a 12-5 record as of April 1, and is making preparations for a playoff run.

The team is eyeing a top-eight playoff berth to gain a bye in the first round.

“If we win a majority of our next nine games, we should get a bye,” said varsity player Nolan Weinstein ’14.

Head coach Mr. Tom Succow said that he expects the team to be successful in the playoffs because of its determination, which he said has led to some of their biggest wins, such as against Corona del Sol and Sandra Day O’Connor.

“I really like the way that our team competes,” Mr. Succow said. “We’ve won some games because we kept on competing through seven innings.”

He added that their biggest win of the season so far came against Harvard-Westlake March 27.

“We beat Harvard Westlake last Thursday morning in the Horizon tournament,” Mr. Succow said. “They were ranked No. 1 in the country and they were the national champs from last year.”

Mr. Succow identified Ryan Castellani ’14, AJ Zubia ’14, Garrett Rupp ’14 and Jackson Sipes ’14 as seniors who have stepped up for the team and contributed the most to its success.

He added that the pitching staff has exceeded expectations.

“Jackson Sipes and Christian Glosser combined on a no-hitter last week against Corona del Sol,” Mr. Succow said. “That was a huge lift for our pitching staff.”

Mr. Succow said that the team’s defense “has been a little shaky at times” but that they have made adjustments accordingly.

Weinstein said that despite some tough losses, the team is confident that it will be successful going forward, echoing Mr. Succow’s statements regarding their wins against Corona del Sol and Harvard-Westlake.

“We’ve lost a couple games that we should’ve won, but we’ve also beaten a lot of quality teams,” he said.