Polytech baseball team excited to get off to a winning start
WOODSIDE — Polytech High’s baseball players had a long busride home from Wilmington on Tuesday night.
But they weren’t complaining.
After rallying to edge Woodbridge, 5-4, …
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Polytech baseball team excited to get off to a winning start
By Andy WalterWOODSIDE — Polytech High’s baseball players had a long busride home from Wilmington on Tuesday night.
But they weren’t complaining.
After rallying to edge Woodbridge, 5-4, at Frawley Stadium, there was a lot to smile about.
“We were all pretty pumped on the bus, yeah,” said junior Ryan Zimmerman. “Me especially. I was really excited to pull that out. After all the anxious moments we had in the game, I was glad we got it done.”
The Panthers, who scored twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to grab the lead, will happily take the victory, of course.
Tuesday’s win left them with a 3-2 record, the first time they’ve been over .500 at any point in a season since 2019. Polytech hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2018.
But, since ending last season on a three-game winning streak, the Panthers have won six of their last eight games.
Because Tuesday’s contest was played at Frawley, it felt a little more memorable.
“Being on the big field, under the lights for a night game is always something special,” said junior first baseman Asher Grubb. “It’s always fun just being out there.
“Sometimes you don’t win them all. But we pulled it out last night. We played hard and kept fighting through all seven innings.”
“We fought to the end and didn’t give up on our teammates,” agreed junior Elijah Benton. “Playing at Frawley is special. It’s fun to play there because it gives us a taste of something bigger.”
The Panthers have only four seniors on this year’s squad: Tyler Brown, Michael Brubaker, Aiden Durham and Joshua Fredericks. They’ve been on varsity since they were freshmen.
But Polytech has a big junior class with 12 on the roster. Veteran Panthers’ coach George Eilers — like other coaches — thinks the small senior class is at least partly the result of the COVID pandemic wiping out the spring season when this year’s seniors were in eighth grade.
“I didn’t realize how bad COVID was going to be with athletics,” said Eilers. “But we’re bouncing back, as other schools are. So that’s a good thing.
“I think they’re definitely enjoying the season,” he said about his players. “You play in the Henlopen North and that’s a juggernaut. ... We were able to get on the winning side of the thing (against Woodbridge). We were excited.”
In Tuesday’s victory, the Panthers got their two runs in the sixth when Blake Knight doubled and scored before Zimmerman singled home Brubaker with the winning run. Knight also had a triple in the game.
Polytech hasn’t made the DIAA state tournament since 2021. The good start to this season has left the Panthers optimistic that they can be competitive in more games this spring.
A year ago, Polytech finished 7-11.
The Henlopen North boasts two of the state’s top two teams in Cape Henlopen and Sussex Central. The Panthers already lost to the Golden Knights, 6-1.
Eilers knows there’s no such thing as a guaranteed victory on the schedule.
“We’re trying to have a blue-collar work ethic,” he said. “We’re going to grind out at-bats. As fortunate as we were (on Tuesday), we could have been on the other side of that thing very easily.
“Staying humble.... every year, that’s our goal.”
Still, there’s something to be said for the confidence that comes from winning.
The Panthers are just happy to have a winning record right now.
“Every game we win, we know we could do better,” said Benton, who came from the Lake Forest School District. “I grew up with most of them so we all are pretty good friends. We even hang out with each other on weekends, outside of school.”
“I’m excited to see what we can do,” said Zimmerman, who is from Milford. “I think we can make a good run this year.
“We’re taking everything game by game, trying to play our best ball. We’re going to see what happens.”
“I think we can keep growing together, as long as we keep playing as a team,” said Grubb, a Viola resident “Everybody’s kind of looking down on us. We’re just here to prove them wrong.”
Extra innings
•Each of Polytech’s last three games at Frawley Stadium have all been decided by just one run.
•In a 15-8 win over Seaford on Tuesday, Dover gave up seven runs in the fourth but answered with nine runs in the fifth. Kole Turner went 3-for-4 with a grand slam while Ryan Perkins added a two-run homer.
•Cape Henlopen hosts Conrad on Saturday at noon in a non-conference test. The Vikings are in a stretch of playing seven straight home games. They play six of their last eight regular-season games on the road.
•Caesar Rodney plays a 1 p.m. contest at Wilmington Charter on Saturday to end a streak of five straight road games.
