Since the start of the baseball season in the middle of March, the baseball team has been working hard to achieve their goals and make it to the playoffs. Going into May with a 6-7 record, the baseball team sought after a winning record to rebound from their record of 6-12 from last year. In order to do this, the team would need to work hard and play to the best of their ability to make that happen.

To start off the month, the baseball team faced off against Shady Side Academy at home on May 1. While the team let up six runs in the first inning, they managed to score two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning with two RBIs from senior Noah Yeck. The team would give up six more runs throughout the game, losing the game 2-12.

Looking to rebound from the previous game, the team travelled to take on North Catholic on May 3. Scoring ten runs in five out of the seven innings, the team was a powerhouse with batting, winning the game 10-1.

To finish up their last week of the regular season, the team took on New Brighton at home for their final home match. Before the start of the game, the team honored all of the seniors on the team for Senior Night. These seniors included Noah Henderson, David Jansen, Riley McIlvain, Zachary Rosa and Yeck. This game would be the last game the team would have at home as varsity baseball players.

“One thing I’ll miss is having fun at practice, talking to my coaches and winning games. My favorite memory is making our playoff run sophomore year and going out to eat five times during playoffs,” Yeck said.

During the game, the team started off strong with a steal at home from Yeck. With six more runs throughout the course of the game and strong fielding, the team went on to win 7-4.

On May 7, the baseball team went to Beaver Falls to take on the Tigers. With Henderson pitching strong throughout the entire game, the team was up 2-0 at the top of the seventh inning. From there, the team went on a streak and scored eight runs, with RBIs from Henderson and sophomores Cole Beck and Brett Boyd.

The final game of the regular season for the boys baseball team was on May 8 against Hopewell, which was the final game over the span of three days. While the team lost to Hopewell earlier in the season 0-19, they managed to lessen the gap this game, losing 1-8. This left their record for the season at 9-10, giving them close to a winning season.

For their section, the team finished third behind Hopewell and New Brighton, but also tied with Ellwood City with a 6-6 record in the section, but with a better overall record of 9-10 compared to Ellwood’s 8-9. With these standings, Freedom was paired to go against Waynesburg Central on May 15 for their first game of the postseason.

“By the end of the year, our team gained a lot of confidence. It has helped us play a lot better,” Yeck said.

The team traveled to Waynesburg Central for their game that was set to start at 7 p.m. with Freedom as the away team and Waynesburg Central as the home team. Scoring in the top of the first inning was Henderson after being driven in with a hit from Beck. This would be the only run for Freedom the rest of the game. The team gave up eight runs throughout the course of the rest of the game, resulting in a loss of 1-8, eliminating them from the playoffs.

While the team may have been eliminated from the playoffs, this doesn’t dampen their spirits for their hopes of being even better next year. The team will once again compete in the 3A division, as they are reorganized every two years.