Under the lights of the AHS baseball field, the varsity baseball team took on the Lake Braddock Bruins on April 9. Though the team looked to upset the Bruins, they got off to a sluggish start and never recovered, losing 15-2.

“Our pitchers need to throw strikes and compete throughout the whole game,” said junior Ryan Keck, who was the losing pitcher for the Atoms.

Keck struggled to find the strike zone against the powerful Bruins lineup, walking three batters in the first inning. Lake Braddock scored seven runs in the first two innings, highlighted by senior Bobby Klein’s mammoth home run over the right field wall. The Atoms turned to senior Kevin Fields to try to stop the bleeding, and later to junior Eric Reynolds, who finished out the game for the Atoms.

“We definitely didn’t play our best game of baseball,” said junior Greg Nielsen.

The Atoms were within 9-2 in the fourth inning following a rally spurred by senior Nathan Clayton’s triple, but they never rallied any further, dropping to 2-2 on the year.

“The team needs to keep putting the ball in play and we need to cut down on the amount of walks we’re giving up to opponents,” said senior pitcher Ryan Schubert.

Next up for the team is a very talented Woodson team that is coming off a walk-off victory over the Robinson Rams. The Cavaliers are 2-2 on the year and will host the Atoms on April 13 at 6:30 pm.