Baseball Seniors Strikeout

The George W. Hewlett High School Boys’ Varsity Baseball Team had a very strong senior class coming into the 2020 season. The team had been working out together multiple times a week in the off-season and kicked off the season with a great dynamic. With the uncertain fate of the season due to the spread of coronavirus, here are some of the thoughts of this year’s senior class.

“I have been looking forward to my senior season since I started playing as a freshman at Hewlett High School. I always wondered what it would be like to take that last walk from the on-deck circle to the batters’ box. To look up into the stands to see my family there, one last time. To see my teammates cheer for me to get a hit, one last time. To stare down the pitcher, one last time. Unfortunately, I do not know if I will ever get a chance to have this moment.” - Theo Franks

“As a senior, it really hurts knowing that your season is being held on by a thread, especially for the seniors who are not as fortunate as I am, [since I am] playing for another four years [in college]. It stinks that we will not be able to lead the team and go out with a bang.” - Sam Kelstein

“The [reality] of losing my senior season of baseball has been terrible. Getting the chance to go out there with some of my closest friends that I have made through this team for the past three years has been something I have been looking forward to doing throughout all of high school. For that to be taken away from myself and the rest of the seniors on the team has really been something that has affected all of us. For most of us, this was our last opportunity to play the sport we love, competitively as a team, and for that to be taken away has really taken its toll on all of us.” - Brian Norman

“As a senior at Hewlett High School, all I looked forward to was the baseball season. It is a time where a great group of guys come together, form a bond, a friendship, and battle throughout the spring. After playing with some of these guys for three years, we have created an unbreakable bond that I can be proud to call a family. This is not just a team to some. It is a family. To not be able to play truly hurts and it is something I think about everyday. I consider every season a war, and each game is a battle that my brothers and I go out and fight in to accomplish a goal that we set for each other in the beginning of the season. For the freshmen who still have another three years, I am happy to say they have the opportunity to fulfill this goal, but for us, seniors, this is our last chance to achieve that goal we are all hungry to accomplish.” - Antony Isayev

“If the baseball season gets canceled it would be very hard for me. I have been playing baseball my whole life, and I have been playing for the district since seventh grade. After having an older brother who played for Hewlett High School, it made me very excited for all the events that seniors went through such as Senior Day. If the season was to get canceled, it would be very sad because it is my last opportunity to play baseball because I am not playing in college. This year I would have started at my dream position and knowing that just makes it harder for me to see the season go.” - Shawn Azerad

“When I was little, I remember the Varsity Team coming to Hewlett Elementary School and reading to us. From that day on, I knew I wanted to play at that level. Our junior year was great and we had a lot of success but for my senior teammates and I, this is our last chance to play with each other. I have played with all of these guys since we were kids, and knowing there is a chance I do not go out with them on Senior Day is tough to swallow. Baseball has given me some of the best memories in my life and the chance of not playing hurts my teammates and I everyday.” - Liam Kaminsky