The men’s varsity lacrosse and men’s varsity baseball teams both played in GDS’ triannual Sports Saturday on April 22. The women’s varsity lacrosse game, the women’s varsity softball game and part of the second varsity men’s baseball game were canceled due to weather concerns.
Men’s varsity lacrosse played Bishop McNamara in the morning, losing 13–2. Men’s varsity baseball had a scheduled doubleheader against Sidwell and lost the first game 6–3. Their second game was cut short due to rain.
Coach Taylor Brown praised the lacrosse team’s performance, saying that “we might have lost on the scoreboard today, but we weren’t out of hustle, and I’m proud of their efforts.” He added that he was especially pleased with their goalie, freshman Benjamin Kanter.
Kanter said that he thought “defensively we played a great game.” Looking toward the end of the season, both Brown and Kanter spoke about the importance of consistent practice and improvement. The team is 2–2 for the season, with four games remaining. Kanter said he is looking forward to one in particular, a rematch against DC International, who beat GDS 7–6 on April 13 in a hard-fought game.
The team is small this season, and Kanter cited not having substitutes as a challenge for the team in Saturday’s game. The team is also relatively young, with five of the twelve players on the roster being underclassmen, according to the roster on the GDS website.
At 10:30 a.m., the men’s varsity baseball team started their first game of the scheduled doubleheader at Sidwell. GDS players hollered to their teammates as they were up to bat with different cheers: “I wouldn’t want to see him on October 31st.” They also called out, “He is the most feared on Wisconsin Avenue.”
GDS scored their first run in the second inning after giving one up to Sidwell. By the end of the second inning, Sidwell scored again to make the score 2–1. The score went back and forth during the first few innings. Sidwell ended up winning the game with a score of 6–3 at the end of the seventh inning.
“It was a good baseball game,” head coach Todd Carter said. “There was a lot of good situational hitting.” He pointed out junior Matt Del Guercio, the starting pitcher of the first game, as a standout, and said that he “pitched his best game of the year. We just didn’t come out on top.”
“It was a tough loss obviously. The boys played pretty well,” assistant coach Jack Conway said after the game.
The second game started at 12:50 p.m. but got cut short in the second inning because of rain. The score was tied 0–0 when it was called off, and it is scheduled to continue on Monday, April 24.
Approximately 20 GDS fans showed up to watch the baseball games. “I like supporting my school team,” senior Elena Forlini said. “Sidwell is definitely a big rival so [we] definitely wanted to come out and see them beat Sidwell.”
The women’s lacrosse team’s game was canceled the day before because their opponent, Washington Latin Public Charter School, didn’t have enough players. The team was going to scrimmage on Saturday in lieu of the canceled game, but due to storm concerns they were unable to take the field.
The team captain, senior Asha Adiga-Biro, spoke highly about the team’s progress this season, saying that it has improved greatly as a “second-half team.” Though the team does not have a winning record, she said that “not everything has to be defined by the score,” and that she is proud of the team’s perseverance.
When looking toward the next few years, Adiga-Biro said she is optimistic. “I think the freshmen feel really comfortable, and they feel included in the environment, and I think that that’s been a really important step just looking at the future of the lacrosse team.”
The women’s varsity softball team’s game against Madeira was canceled due to potential rain. The team is 3–2 so far this season, and Forlini, who is a co-captain of the team, said she is optimistic for the end of the season. She said the team has been “on a come-up this season” and was ready for the game against Madeira. Forlini added that the team will work on making routine plays to prepare for the ISL tournament at the end of the season.
Fellow senior and softball co-captain Mackenzie Williams said her goal is to boost the energy of the team, saying that “Elena and I are trying to build that up and get people excited during the games.”