Senior-led Hand Baseball Team Seeks Second State Championship : by Jackson Kilduff
The Daniel Hand Baseball Tigers begin their season on Saturday, April 4, at 2 p.m. at Governors Field against Ridgefield. Led by a group of 10 returning seniors, the team is entering the season with confidence and a focus on setting the tone early with a competitive schedule ahead.
Senior Captain, and second baseman Robert Reh looks to ignite the Tigers early.
“We are looking to set the tone,” Reh said. “Obviously, win the game in a dominating fashion, you know, it's an FCIAC (Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference) game, and I think it's a good game to prove the SCC (Southern Connecticut Conference) is the best conference in the state”.
The Tigers have high expectations for their season and hope to defeat Ridgefield and carry the momentum throughout the season.
Senior leader and relief pitcher Drew Horn said he is hoping they'll win as many as 17 of their upcoming 20 regular-season games.
\“I feel like we're looking good.,” Horn said. “We got a lot of seniors, which is really good. I think we should be around 15-5, hopefully, 17-3.”
A major difference between this season's team and last season's team is the senior presence, which has already impacted leadership and team culture.
“I've felt a sense of desperation as a senior,” Reh said. “It's the last season ever, and I think the fact that we have more seniors, we're gonna play harder, knowing that's the last time we're gonna play together.”.
The Tigers are looking forward to playing Amity-Regional High School at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford, Connecticut, April 10 at 3:30 p.m. More information about upcoming matchups for the Daniel Hand Baseball team is available on their Instagram page @DHHSBaseballteam.
With the season opener rapidly approaching, it remains to be seen whether the Tiger seniors will be able to lead the team to the state championship. The success of the seniors will be paramount in finishing the season with a positive result.
“I just think all the seniors are really impactful on the team,” Horn said. “ I think the younger kids look up to us.”