After a tough season last year, going 10-10, the Blue Devils baseball team enter 2025 looking to show how much they have improved over the off-season. The Blue Devils seem to be in for a great year with some key players returning. These returning players would include the big bat of Hunter Kyle, the speed of Zach Gonzalez, and their star pitcher/shortstop Matt Berkowitz.
Over the course of the off-season, the Blue Devils were preparing for the first game, and their preparation paid off with a 7-6 win over Williamsburg this past Monday. It was highlighted by a walk-off hit from a Blue Devil freshman.
After just 2 innings of baseball, Bellwood led Williamsburg 5-4. Hunter Kyle played a huge part in the win, driving in an RBI and 2 hits. Catcher Camden Swogger also played a part in the win, driving in 2 other runs. Speedy Zach Gonzalez would step on the mound to showcase his pitching arsenal, relieving Curtis Sherlock. Gonzalez would go on to strike out a whopping 8 batters over 4 innings.
Even though Bellwood came out on top, it wasn’t without a challenge. The Blue Pirates out-hit Bellwood 8-6, with 2 hits from Jace McCall, 2 hits from Anthony Neri, and 2 hits from Preston Long. McCall of Williamsburg would also drive in a run in the top of the 7th inning to tie it all up at 6. Then with bases juiced, one out, and the bottom half of the order coming up, freshman Landon Sneath stepped into the batters box. After falling behind in the count 0-2, Sneath smacked a line drive over the second baseman’s head, driving in the game winning run.
When asked how he did it, and what his thought process was during this intense moment, Sneath replied, “I just went up to the plate thinking the same thing as always, put the ball in play”.
After getting such a confidence boosting win, the Devils short with a 18-8 loss over Hollidaysburg in Tuesday. The Golden Tigers would record 20 hits in 6 innings of play.
Golden Tigers Cayden Gibbons notched 3 hits and 6 RBI’s, while teammates Jay Albarano and Robbie Mullin tacked on 8 hits and 6 RBI’s.
Josh Banks would also play a part in the Tigers big win, accounting for 3 hits and 2 RBI’s.
The Blue Devils didn’t give in without a fight, scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning. Matt Berkowitz launched a 2-run homer in the third, shortening the Tigers lead to 3 runs.
Both teams would score their fair share of runs in the fifth. After B-A tied the game at 7-7, Hollidaysburg put up 4 in the bottom of the frame to make it 11-7.
The Golden Tigers would pounce on the Blue Devils in the sixth, scoring 7 more runs, causing the score to jump to 18-8.
Bellwood will use this game to focus on what mistakes they can fix, as their record moves to 1-1. The will play Huntingdon on Friday.
