There’s not really a much better way the Silver Lake high baseball team could have started their season, especially after graduating a talented senior class last year.
No, they are not on their way to an undefeated season anymore, but they still have one of the best records in the state.
Beginning the year with seven wins in a row, the Lakers took their first loss of the year Monday, April 24; they fell 6-3 to the Hanover Indians.
Regardless, the Lakers have plenty of reason to be confident this season. After all, their record speaks for itself.
For starters, their starting pitching core is strong. As expected, junior Dan Collins has emerged as the team’s ace.
He won each of his first three starts. Each time, he hurled a complete game and in the process, struck out a total of 33 batters.
Complementing him is a freshman southpaw, Nolan Hughes, who has picked up wins in both of his career varsity outings. He tossed complete games in both of those outings and in his most recent win he struck out eight batters. Senior Trevor Dennett gives the Lakers another particularly strong arm in their rotation; he threw a two-hitter against Duxbury on April 14.
At the plate, three-year varsity starter Josh Harvey has consistently been one of the team’s top bats, showing off extra-base power.
Speaking of which, their senior center-fielder, Aidan O’Neill, blasted a home run earlier in the season.
Junior shortstop Mike Quigley, who had an RBI in the team’s win over Bridgewater-Raynham last week, is another key piece of the team’s lineup.
The same could be said for Collins when he is in the lineup, manning third base and junior outfielder Alex Bejarano, who began the year hitting .471 (8-for-17).
The Lakers next game is this Friday, Apr. 28, at home against Scituate High School (4:00 p.m.).