-Hawks Walk Away With Baseball Title

The Charlotte Amalie Chickenhawks may have walked away with the baseball championship title this year, but Kean High’s Devilrays made them work plenty hard for it.

"Win or lose, I'm always going to be a Ray," said senior Aseah Thomas. Not having to worry about Carnival cutting the season short this year, both Eudora Kean’s Rays and CAHS’s Hawks were looking for a complete season. The Rays and Hawks have had an ongoing rivalry, being the only two teams in the district.

Junior Emari Mills was pegged to be Kean’s upcoming star this 2012-2013 varsity baseball season, and he showed his talent early on. With Mills as the winning pitcher, the Rays kicked off the season with a win against the Hawks.

The Hawks, not pleased with their opening game loss, came back fighting in next game. Rays’ sophomore Caleem Serrant and freshman Kelani Luke were unable to hold off the Hawks as Kean lost 11-4. Coach Jackson told the team “You can’t expect us to win the championship constantly making little team errors.”

Keeping their heads high, Kean fought off the Hawks in game three, shutting them out in a 13-0 victory. Fans from both schools expected a “back and forth” series between the two teams, and once again the Hawks came back fighting in the following game and won. The two teams were now tied in first place, so the winner of the next game would be the territorial champions.

St. Croix’s two public schools, Complex and Central High School, were set to come over on January 25, but only Complex made it. Central students had exams, and therefore were unable to come. Serrant was set to pitch against Complex, and did a great job allowing no runs to score.

Senior Omar Emmanuel had the only RBI (run batted in) for Kean that game as the Rays won 1-0. “I knew I was long overdue for a hit this season, so I did what I had to do to help my team,” said Emmanuel. That game pushed Kean ahead of CAHS, but the Hawks also defeated Complex which tied things back up.

It was the moment of truth as the Rays and Hawks were set face off one more time to determine the territorial champions. Senior Devon Williams was a high-prospect pitcher for the Hawks, but seemed to be unable to deliver that game.

Kean had a 6-4 lead over the Hawks, but young Luke became tired on the mound walking five batters. The Rays began to lose hope after their errors made them lose the lead. CAHS managed to score nine runs in the fourth inning which gave them a 13-6 lead. Unable to make a comeback, the Rays lost, making Hawks the territorial champions once again.

Both teams from St.Thomas went to St.Croix to finish up the season on February 1. Kean once again defeated Complex with an ending score of 4-2 on Friday. CAHS also won their game on Friday with a victory over Central High. Kean’s pitching was once again the problem when they played Central as they took an early one-run lead in the first inning. The Rays put up a good fight throughout the game but ended up losing 5-4. Complex managed to defeat the Hawks 4-2 after a clutch base hit.

A three-game championship series was held the next weekend on St. Croix between CAHS and Complex, and CAHS won.

The “Mighty Rays” finished their season second in the district and third overall with a 4-4 record. “I’m looking forward to next season with this year’s rookies leading the team next year,” said senior Jared Hanley.