![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Varsity boys baseball defeated the Jefferson Grizzlies 17-0 on May 8 at Washington Park.
Harker dominated the top half of the first inning on defense, with pitcher Mason Brooks (10) striking out two batters in a row and preventing Jefferson from scoring any runs. Although Harker’s leadoff hitter Jackson Powell (11) bunted out to Jefferson’s pitcher in the bottom half, captain Aarav Borthakur (12) secured the first point for the Eagles off a triple from Mason.
The Eagles continued their defensive pressure during the second inning. With two runners on base, Mason secured the third out to prevent the Grizzlies from scoring any points. Striking out nine batters over the course of the game, Mason played a vital role as a pitcher in preventing Jefferson from accumulating points.
In the bottom half of the second inning, Harker made a breakthrough on offense. Shaurya Jain’s double allowed a run each from Jackson and Aarav. The Eagles success in scoring resulted in the inning concluding 6-0.
Head coach Jon Cvitanich attributed the team’s early lead in points to their recent work on batting in practice.
“We’ve been working a lot on our hitting recently,” Cvitanich said. “We’ve been having a rough couple of weeks in practice, with lots of hitting drills in the cage and on the field, so I was really encouraged to see that we were swinging the bat well, hitting the ball hard and just taking an early lead and momentum in the game.”
Point gains for Harker slowed down from the third to fourth inning due to Jefferson catching fly balls, but the Eagles continued to shut down the Grizzlies defensively. Shaurya took over as pitcher for Mason near the end of the fourth inning, accumulating two strikeouts. With the bases loaded, Harker sealed two force outs at first base and home plate in a single play to end Jefferson’s possession in the fourth inning.
The Eagles scored an inning high for the game of seven points during the bottom of the fifth, with a double from Pedro Castro III (10) allowing Saahil Herrero (12) and Vidwat Shekar (9) to tally runs. Jackson noticed the team’s high performance batting during the game.
“We got a lot of big hits,” Jackson said. “We had some mishaps running the bases, which isn’t great, but when we hit the ball, we hit the ball hard. Pedro, Aarav and Shaurya had nice doubles.”
Before the top of the sixth inning, Harker switched pitchers again to Aarav, who struck three batters throughout the rest of the match. Cvitanich admired Aarav’s performance, despite this game being his first time pitching.
“I’m really psyched to see Aarav pitching because he’s been wanting to do that for his entire time with us, all 4 years, but he had arm issues and wasn’t in the right health space,” Cvitanich said. “Seeing him be able to finish the game with two strong innings was really exciting.”
The game concluded 17-0, with Harker preventing Jefferson from landing any runs. After the game, Aarav credited fielding as the team strength that resulted in their victory.
“The biggest thing is when you play good defense, you can win any game,” Aarav said. “Although the score is 17-0, we’re a very defensive team, so if we just make the routine plays, we’ll win.”
Varsity boys baseball finished their season with a a record of 13-9
