Lily Peng

Senior Gabe Sachse and sophomore Shaurya Jain hug after winning the game. “I don’t want to say goodbye because [the seniors] are my friends outside of baseball as well,” Shaurya said. “Either way, I wanted to go all out for the seniors.”

Varsity baseball bested Crystal Springs Uplands 6-5 during senior night on May 13 at Washington Park.

Before the game, head coach Jon Cvitanich introduced seniors Aarav Bhorthakar, Shiv Deokar, Saahil Herrero and Gabe Sachse. They took pictures with their friends and family as Cvitanich gave a short speech to each of them. The team ended the ceremony with the senior night pre-game tradition: parents of the seniors threw baseballs for each senior to catch. 

“I don’t want to say goodbye because they’re my friends outside of baseball as well,” pitcher Shaurya Jain (10) said. “Whenever I see them in the hallway, I wave or smile, but they’re going to college, so they’ll be fine on their own. Either way, I wanted to go all out for the seniors.”

Shaurya started on the mound with Jackson Powell (11) as catcher. Even after Shaurya struck out the third batter, two Gryphons remained on field, so more players took to bat, allowing Crystal Springs to gain an early 1-0 lead. At the bottom of the first inning, all three Harker batters were unable to advance the score. 

In the second inning, Shaurya threw fastballs to strike out three batters. At the bottom of the second, Shaurya hit the ball and ran to first base after two strikes and three balls. Because of a caught ball and strike-out, Harker was unable to score by the end of the inning. 

At the top of the third, Shaurya struck out one batter, and first baseman Matt Macmillan (10) tagged out another one at first base. Crystal Springs scored two runs after strong hits by the next two batters, bringing their score to 3-0. Infielder Aarav ended the Gryphon’s possession by jumping and catching the sixth batter’s hit. During the bottom of the third, none of the Eagle’s batters were able to make it to first base. 

“It was a lot of joyous celebrating of our four seniors in a very difficult game,” Cvitanich said. “The Crystal Springs pitcher was pitching excellent, and they got a lead pretty quick. I told the team I was very proud of them because they were starting to disappear and lose their fun. I told them it’s alright, just chip away, get a couple runs here, and we’ll be right back in it.”

In the fourth inning, Matt caught a hit from the final opposing batter to prevent Crystal Springs from reaching first base. Batter Ryan Pham (10) kept steady and did not swing at the opposing pitcher’s throws. After four balls, he walked to first base. Aarav and infielder Mason Brooks (10) followed with successful hits, allowing Ryan to move to third base. However, the Gryphons quickly took control once again, tagging Harker out on all three bases. 

At the top of the fifth, the Crystal Springs’ first two batters scored a run, bringing the score to 5-0. Frosh Vidwat Shekar started as batter, but the Gryphons caught Vidwat’s first hit. Crystal Springs quickly struck out Harker’s next two pitchers, keeping the five point lead. 

“At first, I felt like I was just gonna give up, but I thought we might still have a chance,” Shaurya said. “I changed my mindset from trying to go for strikeouts or throw as hard as I could to trying to make effective pitches and get some ground balls that my defense can make a play on. We were able to come together even outside of baseball, and that really helped us grow.”

Early in the sixth inning, Aarav dove to catch a Crystal Springs hit to right field, securing the first out. Shaurya then struck out the second batter with three consecutive pitches. Vidwat fielded the final hit and threw to Matt at first base, thwarting the Gryphons. 

In Harker’s turn to bat, the opposing pitcher threw eight consecutive balls, walking both Jackson and Saahil to first base. Ryan hit a grounder to right field, advancing both runners.  Jackson ran home after Aarav’s hit, scoring Harker’s first run. Straight hits by Mason and Shaurya brought Saahil and Ryan home, ending the inning at 5-3.

Saahil reflected on the team’s comeback in the sixth inning, which motivated them to make strong hits until the end of the game.

“I had no hope that we’d come back, but then we started a good run in the 6th inning,” Saahil said. “We finally got some runners on base, and that made us believe that we could actually come back. From there we started hitting it well, we just got a bunch of runners on base and the rest is history.” 

Harker carried their momentum into the final inning. After Matt retired the first batter with a force out at first base, Shaurya struck out the second batter. Vidwat put the ball in play off of Shaurya’s fastball, throwing across the diamond to Matt and ending the half inning. Pedro, Jackson and Saahil followed with successful hits, loading the bases. With one ball and one strike, Ryan connected with the ball and allowed Pedro to score a run. Mason advanced to first base after four balls, bringing Jackson home and tying the game at 5-5. 

The pitcher threw three balls when Shaurya was at the plate, prompting the Gryphons to call a timeout and switch their pitcher. As the crowds in the stands cheered on the Eagles, Crystal Springs threw another ball, allowing Saahil to score the last run, closing the inning and securing the tight victory at 6-5. 

“This last game is a great way to go out,” Aarav said. “After four years I couldn’t have envisioned a better senior night, a better last home game. Because we know this is a big game, we’re down five, and there’s always a chance, so we stayed in it. I think a lot of the non-seniors wanted to send the seniors off in the best way they could, so they really rallied for our sake.”

Cvitanich highlighted this game as one of the best he’s coached, second only to when Harker’s baseball team won CCS last year. He commended the seniors for sticking with the baseball program and their efforts to achieve the victory.

“Each of them did something in the game to contribute,” Cvitanich said. “They were with us for the last four years, when we weren’t sure we were going to have a program two years ago, just because we didn’t have the numbers. A win like this justifies their commitment to the team and makes everybody super pumped.”

The team ended their season third place in the league, with a 13-9 overall record.