By Hayden Ronga

Sam Newell Stadium at Collegiate’s Robins Campus. Photo courtesy of Collegiate School.

This season, the Collegiate varsity baseball team had a record of sixteen wins and seven losses throughout the regular season. The team returned nearly every starter from last year, something that has not happened in previous years. Co-captains this year are Eric McDaniel (‘22), Donovan Williams (‘22), and Hank Shield (‘23). Last week, McDaniel stated, “We have the ability to beat anyone on our schedule, with a more experienced lineup than previous years. If there is a year that I’ve been at Collegiate to win a state championship or even Prep League, this would be the year to do it.” McDaniel has been a four-year varsity baseball player since coming to Collegiate his freshman year, playing pitcher and right field. 

With high expectations going into the season, this team had drawn attention as a potential Prep League powerhouse, something they was looking to become. Three seniors—Pearse Riendeau (‘22), McDaniel, and Williams—will continue their baseball careers playing in college and look to lead the team with their knowledge of the game. 

When it was time to play cross-town rivals, St. Christopher’s, Riendeau and company knew what they had to do in order to come out on top. Collegiate was ranked 7th in the state going into the first matchup between the two at home on Sam Newell Field at Robins Campus on Wed., April 27, while St. Chris was 2nd. With Riendeau on the mound, the Cougars allowed zero runs, scored five, and defeated the Saints 5-0. This was Collegiate’s first win against St. Chris in baseball since 2018, which was an impactful moment for this team. Following the win, Collegiate had momentum going into their second game that following Friday, where they were confident in their ability to beat the Saints again. 

Going into the second matchup between the two, the Cougars stood at 12-6 overall. Friday, April 29, just two days after the teams’ previous matchup, they faced each other again, this time at St. Chris’ home field. With Hayden Rollison (’23) on the mound for the Cougars, they were looking to complete the series sweep against their nemesis. The Cougars started out strong, with a single-shot home run from Collin Kimball-McKavish (‘23). The game came down to the wire, but ultimately the Cougars fell short in a last-minute steal home in the bottom of the seventh. The final score was 6-7. Rollison said, “It was a tough loss, and [it] always stinks losing to the Saints.” 

Photo credit: Eva Russo via The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Following the loss, the boys bounced back with a 10-0 win against a Prep League rival, Trinity Episcopal. 2nd baseman Silas Gwathmey (‘23) said, “I felt confident in my team’s ability to compete and play as who we are as a team. We had a slow start to the year, but after this win, we realized that we could beat anyone in the state.” The following week, Collegiate defeated St. Anne’s Belfield on May 10 with a score of 10-0, and then on again on May 13, 7-4. With these two wins, Collegiate was named Co-Prep league winner, alongside St Christopher’s. With the regular season done, and the playoffs nearing, the Cougars have the momentum to make it to the state championship. 

Celebrating the win against Benedictine. Photo credit: Eva Russo via The Richmond Times-Dispatch.

5th seed Collegiate faced 4th seed Benedictine College Prep in the first round of the playoffs yesterday, winning 5-3. Their next playoff matchup will be against Cape Henry Collegiate this Friday, May 20, at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights at 4:30 p.m.