RCDS/RHS Baseball
Wildcats Sweep Garnets to Kick Season into Gear

– By Melanie Cane –

Rye County Day School got the best of the Garnets in early season action April 7 and April 9, defeating the Garnets 2-1 and 4-2.

In the first contest, the Wildcats visited Rye at their home field in Disbrow Park on a chilly Saturday morning. The Garnets were able to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by sophomore Mike Amaturo. The hit drove home Paul Derderian, who had doubled, but RCDS answered with a run of their own to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Rye's junior starting pitcher Matt Dunn gave up the tying run.

With the game knotted at 1-1 heading into the seventh, the Wildcats scored the go ahead and eventual winning run when senior pitcher Daryl Berke drove home junior Evan Oleson with a single.

In an attempt to exact revenge for the loss, the Garnets headed to Rye Country Day School April 9, for game two. Unfortunately for Rye, a close game unraveled in the late innings, and the Garnets fell, 4-2. The pair of losses to the Wildcats put Rye's record at 0-3 at that point. But, the team showed its resiliency in the next two games, as they defeated Albertus Magnus (8-7) and Blind Brook (8-4). In their most recent action, they lost to Port Chester, 5-2, April 14, on the road. The Garnets now stand at 2-5, with their next action coming Friday, April 20, at home against Edgemont.

Amaturo leads Rye in batting, as he's hitting at a .412 clip thus far on 17 at bats. Junior Kevin Kennedy, who is batting .333, has a team-high four RBIs.

After starting the season 2-2, the Wildcats parlayed their pair of victories over Rye into a four-game winning streak. In subsequent action, Rye Country Day defeated Hamden Hall (4-1) and King & Low-Heywood Thomas (10-9) to move to 6-2 on the year.

In 21 at bats, junior John Wulf is smacking the ball to the tune of a .429 average with two RBIs and an on-base percentage of .520. Oleson leads the team in RBIs, with six. He also has stolen three bases.

Up next for the Wildcats is a road match against St. Luke's Friday, April 20.