Baseball Team on Track for State Playoffs
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Many people say that the DHS Baseball Team is overshadowed by that of the nationally-ranked lacrosse boys, but in recent years, baseball has enjoyed very little success. Members of the team can’t even remember the last time they qualified for the state or FCIAC playoffs like they have this year.
“We were really close to making FCIACs for the first time in 16 years,” says star pitcher junior Devin Burke. Burke is the ace of the Blue Wave’s pitching rotation, and is the only member of the team to be nominated for the all-state team. “It came down to our last game of the year, when we lost to a strong Norwalk team with a very good pitcher.”
This year’s team broke the losing spell the Darien Nine had become all too familiar with. This year’s team wrapped up the regular season with a record of 12 wins and eight losses. It was good enough to qualify for the state playoffs, but they came just one win short of the last spot in the FCIAC playoffs.
The team showed some significant potential for growth since only two seniors, Jamie Russell and Brett Kelly, are on the roster.
“I’m really impressed with the way our younger kids have improved over the course of the season,” Russell, the lone captain of the team, said. “Sophomores like Jake Archey, David Hickey, John Gardner, and Ricky Hodges have played extremely well for us this year, and then you have all of the juniors who have really helped carry the team.”
Those key juniors, pitcher Teddy Malley, outfielders Kevin Sousa and Ryan MacDonald, catcher James Patton, shortstop Chris Bruno, and first baseman Mike Alfieri, spent most of the season last year on the junior varsity team. This year, not only do all five of them start, but they are some of the reasons that the team is as successful as it is.
“It was a fun season,” Alfieri said. “We were playing good baseball throughout the entire season, and it’s a testament to our hard work that we’ve qualified for states. We played well in our playoff game, but unfortunately we ran into a good team. We hope to go deeper in the playoffs next year.”
Along the way, the team has had some very fulfilling victories. Their big wins came against Staples and New Canaan. They beat Staples on the road, 4-3, and when they defeated their neighbors to the north for the first time in six years, 7-1.
Though the team is content with their progress this season, they know the challenges they face are far from over. “We had an extremely successful season by qualifying for the state playoffs,” Burke said. “We hoped to beat our first round match up against Jonathan Law, but it was a very close game that came down to the wire.”
The first round of the State Playoffs against Jonathan Law was held on May 28. The team dropped the game, 2-0, but ends its season with a winning record (12-9) for the first time in five years.
