In the past two weeks, the Chesterton Varsity baseball team worked tirelessly to reign victorious over their opponents; Merrillville, Michigan City, and Hammond Morton. The boys played six games total and had some impressive moments.
On April 9, the team ventured to Merrillville High School and beat the Pirates 11-0. On defense, sophomore Troy Barrett executed an outstanding performance on the pitching mound striking out 18 Pirates, beating his record from his JV season last year against Valparaiso when he struck out 15 Vikings in just six innings. On offense, the game was slow and tied at 0 until the fifth inning when the Trojans brought the score to 4-0 with runs from senior Vincent Fox, senior Jake Pacillio, junior Nick Foust, and senior Hunter Leech-Griffin. In the top of the 6th inning, Fox scored once again as well as Leech-Griffin, freshman Caden Hackett, junior Brady McCormack, and Foust ending the inning 9-0 in favor of Chesterton. In the 7th, Foust scored sophomore Rob Czarniecki on a sacrifice fly, and McCormack finished the game with 3 RBI after scoring Leech-Griffin to win the game 11-0!
The next day, the Trojans hosted the Pirates and beat them once again with an outstanding score of 13-2. Troy Barrett’s older brother and senior, Brayden Barrett, pitched this game and struck out ten Merrillville Pirates during his time on the pitching mound. At the top of the 1st, two Pirates made it to home plate but the team had no luck on offense for the rest of the game. In the first frame, Czarniecki hustled home after a sac fly by senior Jason Bogner. The Trojans then concluded the inning behind in the scoring column, with the Pirates in the lead 2-1. The team quickly took over during the second inning after scoring seven runs and the Trojans finished the home half of the third with five runs bringing what would be the final score, to a phenomenal 13-2.
The following week on April 16, the Trojans battled the Michigan City Wolves away during the first matchup of the series and won the short, five-inning game 13-0. T. Barrett was the starting pitcher for the third time this season and struck out twelve of the 17 Wolves who stepped up to the plate. On offense, the Trojans racked up multiple runs during the third and fourth innings after a singular run in the first and second frames. Top scorers for the game included senior Greg Guernsey with three runs, along with seniors Matt Sandrick and B. Barrett with two runs a piece. T. Barrett hit a grand slam during his third plate appearance in the fourth inning and left the visitors’ side of the spectators cheering loud and proud.
The Trojans continued to extend their winning streak the following day when they played the Wolves again, this time at home, during a rematch and beat them 10-0. B. Barrett owned the pitching mound this game, striking out eleven Wolves in six innings and only allowing one hit the whole game. Offensively, many Trojans made it to home plate numerous times. Guernsey scored three runs, Fox and Leech-Griffin scored two, and Pacillio, Hackett, and Bogner all scored one run tallying the score 10-0 in favor of Chesterton by the sixth frame. This Trojan victory marked the fourth consecutive win for Chesterton’s Varsity Baseball team.
Just a few days later on Saturday, April 20, the Trojans beat the Hammond Morton Governors twice in the first doubleheader of their season. In the first, 5-inning game, the Trojans quickly beat the Governors 15-0. Czarniecki took over the pitching mound for the Barrett brothers and tossed 28 strikes out of 39 pitches before handing the ball over to senior Caysen Bontrager who threw 13 strikes out of 15 pitches. T. Barrett and Czarniecki are just two Trojans who had outstanding performances at the plate during the first game on Saturday. T. Barrett went 3-4 at bat and scored three runs while Czarniecki went 2-3 at bat with three runs and the Trojans extended their winning streak once more. After a short intermission, the Trojans and Governors came back out onto the field to fight one last time on that chilly afternoon. The Trojans defeated the Governors a second time in a six-inning game and won 14-1. Czarniecki was no doubt the star of the game after he went 3-5 at bat, tallying six RBI, including a home run! Czarniecki led the Trojans to their sixth straight win with his amazing performance.
Coach John Bogner, the new Varsity head coach, has high hopes for the Trojans this week to keep up their success.
“The goal is to keep winning, keep doing what we’ve done, and keep buying into our hitting approach. The kids will do exactly what they need to do and we will keep playing good baseball,” Bogner said.
This week, the Trojans will face the LaPorte Slicers on Tuesday, April 23 at 4:30 p.m. at the Chesterton Baseball field and Wednesday, April 24 at 4:30 p.m. away at LaPorte. The team will also play the Hobart Brickies at home on Friday, April 26 at 5:00 p.m. Will they keep up their winning streak? Come out to support the team at their games and find out for yourself!
