Niskayuna Baseball is Back

by Brenna McLaughlin

Niskayuna baseball has returned to the field after the hiatus the team took last year at the hands of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. While this year's season is shorter than most years and with a different set up for the sectional championship, the team is still excited to be back on the field. This year's schedule is packed with games occurring almost everyday to allow for a similar amount of game time within this shortened season. In the 2019 varsity season, the Niskayuna team, made up mostly of players who have graduated in the last two years, was runner up in the Section 2 tournament to rival Shenendehowa. That game has been on the Niskayuna program’s mind for the past two years and now the team finally has a chance to end their season on top.

So far the Niskayuna varsity baseball team has won their first game against Bethlehem 8-7 and lost their second game against Columbia 8-2. Some of the highlights from their winning game was a two run single by Brody Johnson to pull the team within two runs of their competitors and a single hit from Kevin Abatto that scored another two runs to tie Niskayuna with Bethlehem. In the last inning Trey Lavigne hit another single allowing Max Rowden to score a run and give a lead to the Silver Warriors which they would hold onto to win the game.

I asked two of the seniors on the team about their goals for this season and how they have continued to stay ready to play.

Brenna McLaughlin: “It’s been two years since you’ve played for Niskayuna. How has this affected the team chemistry?”

Aidan Graham: “I think we’ve got a lot of new younger guys this year, but most of us have played together at least once before in years past so I think having that experience with each other has helped us gel as a team so far.”

BM: “Any goals for this season?”

Kevin Abatto: “Our goal is the same this year as it is any year. We want to win the last game we play. We want to win the sectional title.”

BM: “What does the post season look like?”

AG: “Everyone is making the playoffs this year, which is different than in years past. We want to put ourselves in the best position to be successful in the sectional tournament. We just need to take our schedule one game at a time. We kept our focus and rallied hard from behind in our game against Bethlehem. I think if we can keep that up and carry on our momentum we will be a tough competitor in our section.”

BM: “What are you most excited for this season?”

AG: “Honestly I think we’re just excited to be back together on the field. Not being able to play last year was really tough because it took away a full year of varsity experience for all of us. Most of us were able to play for a club team in the summer and/or fall, but varsity baseball is a whole different environment. The competitive caliber is much higher than summer leagues. Every team shows up to win, including us. We have a combination of strong utility players and reliable play-makers that I think can bring us a lot of success this year.”

Coming up, the team will play against Guilderland, Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa, hoping to better their season record. Let’s go Silver Warriors!