Atoms fight for top two in district

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Recently playing in their spring break tournament down in Myrtle Beach, the Boys’ Varsity Baseball team started their five win streak by defeating Osbourne High School.
“We had a couple rough games in Myrtle Beach, and those games really inspired us because we weren’t playing up to our potential, which was what helped keep our drive on our five win streak,” senior Joseph Kurland said.
To keep the streak going, the Atoms defeated the high ranked West Springfield Spartans in a close game that went into five extra innings. The Atom’s hard work began to pay off and were able to bounce back from their recent losses during spring break. Gaining a total of four wins, three being district games, the Atoms were able to move up in the district and are placed as one of the top 55 baseball teams in the state.

“We started out slower than most of us probably thought and hoped we would. However, I am seeing a lot of progress and I think we have a chance to be very successful when we all perform up to our abilities,” Boys’ Varsity Baseball Coach Dan Porter said.
Unfortunately, the Atoms lost 7-5 in a tough game against the number one seeded Lake Braddock. With a 6-5 record and being 3-2 in the conference, the Atoms are 3rd in the district along with West Potomac and South County. Hoping the advance and work their way up in the ranks, the Atoms work to improve their game.
“A weakness we have is not playing to our potential, but when we’re at our potential we have no weaknesses,” senior Grant Thompson said.
The boys have played together for the past four years and some even before that, strengthening their team chemistry and ability to play well together.
“We’ve been playing together since middle school, and some of us even elementary school,” senior Tucker Mack said.
Being third in the district, the Atoms are in a great position to move forward in the postseason.
“Our goals for the season are to win the district championship, and go far into the regional playoffs and continue to win,” Thompson said.
The Atoms are a fundamentally strong team, competing head-to-head with the number three team in the state (Lake Braddock) and beating a team who is in the top 20 (West Springfield).
“Some of our strengths are our hitting, defense and ability to work as a team,” senior Aaron Boyd said.
With nine games left in the regular season, the Atoms strive for greatness on their road to glory.
“Overall, we are a very athletic team and we can take advantage of that on the base baths, by stealing and taking extra bases when possible. Our goal is to throw strikes, make the routine play on defense, and play good team baseball on offense by trying to come up with big hits, not striking out, and moving runners over,” Porter said. “We have the ability to be successful, but we need to be more consistent. Our goals for this season is to be the final team standing.”