Baseball, ‘America’s favorite pastime’, is quite popular at Annandale High School. Players dream of hearing the click of the bat, sending the ball out of the park.
The Atoms, however, have not ended the season with a winning record in the past three years. This year seems to be more of the same, as Annandale has lost their last 5 games, but five games still remain, and Annandale can still prove themselves as an above average team in the district if they manage to win some more games.
“I’d like to pull the team out of this dry spell, by winning a couple more games,” said junior Cole Cardwell, who’s played baseball throughout his entire high school career. As the team has not tasted victory in almost 3 weeks, they yearn for change, aiming for a fresh start, and hopefully winning a good amount of the final games of the season.
The Atoms, going on a devastating five game losing streak, hope to finish the season strong with some late wins. “This year has been full of potential, so it would be amazing to catch some more late-season wins.” said sophomore Colton D’Ambrogi.
On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the Atoms took a loss to the Mount Vernon Majors, which they still consider to be a game well played. The Atoms lost 14-8, but Cardwell explained, “We got a lot of runs, and we ran the bases in a strategic way. We probably would have won that game had it not been against such a strong team.” The home field advantage definitely helped the Atoms play well, but they just couldn’t pull out a win, further extending their devastating losing streak.
Junior Connor Delaney blames this drought of wins on a lack of effort, “We’ll need to start working harder and being more disciplined,” said Delaney, “we’ll also need to change our hitting approaches, because we swing on bad pitches too often.”
With a very encouraging baseball team, a lot of performing pressure is taken away, because they know that their teammates will support them either way. “The baseball team this year is a really fun environment to be a part of. Everyone on the team is friendly and that creates a positive atmosphere full of camaraderie,” said D’Ambrogi, “but we’ll definitely need to improve upon things like accountability, perseverance, and commitment. Those attributes will help us succeed in games where we have been either missing throws, striking out, or making other mistakes.”
The baseball team is full of mentally strong players, ready to overcome any obstacles that they may run into, on or off the field. “Personally, I think I’ve done a good job of being accountable on and off the field as a teammate and putting in hard work to fix my personal errors.” D’Ambrogi said. As a coach and a teammate, having a player who can take accountability for their own mistakes and the mistakes of others can make your duty a lot easier, not having to worry about cleaning up somebody else’s mistake. While baseball can be quite physically demanding, the sport also requires a lot of mental toughness. Dealing with pressure situations, learning how to handle mistakes, and staying focused are all important skills that players can learn through baseball. “Baseball has also taught me the importance of staying composed. I’ve learned that you can’t always act how you feel, don’t argue with the umpire, your coach, or your teammates.” Delaney said.
While the season may seem like it’s only beginning, we are approaching the postseason. “We will have to lock in and step our game up. We’ve been able to get away with a lot of mistakes and laziness, but the playoffs will leave little room for error,” Delaney said. Five tough games stand in between the atoms and the postseason. The Atoms will have to face off against the Hayfield Hawks, the Woodbridge Vikings, the Woodson Cavaliers, the Lewis Lancers, and finally, the Edison Eagles. Four out of these five teams currently hold a better record than the Atoms, so these certainly won’t be easy wins, the Atoms will need to dig deep and play to the best of their abilities.
With only two sophomores, the team is swarming with upperclassmen. “We usually have a lot more experience than the other team, most of us have already been playing high school baseball for three to four years. This should give us a bit of an advantage over the younger teams, who might be nervous playing in front of a crowd,” Cardwell said. “Very few of us are nervous come game time, because our team is so supportive, they know that their teammates won’t think of them any differently if they have one bad game, so it gives everybody a sense of freedom.” There is certainly a sense of comfort when you have so many amazing teammates surrounding you.
“It’s a really exhilarating feeling to be able to showcase what I’ve worked so hard on in front of a crowd. The atmosphere in the stadium is always electric, with students and teachers cheering us on and the adrenaline pumping as we chase the victory.” Cardwell said.
While this season so far has not been the most successful, it’s been an experience that these players will never forget. “We’ve grown so close together as a team, and we have fun at every game and practice. I love to have fun, but as a competitive person, I’d much rather win and be sad than be happy and lose,” Delaney said, “If we want to win some more games and finish the season strong, we’ll need to toughen up. We need to stop going into games goofing around. Even though there is not much pressure anymore, there still needs to be a sense of urgency.”
Baseball is a demanding sport, and no player can win a game by themselves. Baseball needs trust and communication between players, which is where the chemistry comes into play. Having good relationships with your teammates can make on-field communication much easier, and can help you to be on the same page.
