Each pitch he threw came with precision. Each batter he faced on Tuesday evening came with a different card dealt out of his pitching arsenal. Senior right hander Casey Edwards’ seven strikeouts through six innings pitched silenced rival Sidwell Friends in a home shutout win, 6-0.
“A lot of stuff was working today. I definitely felt very confident with my fastball, I felt like they just couldn’t catch up to it, so I kept throwing it by them,” said the captain Edwards. “Curveball was pretty nasty, I felt super comfortable flipping it in for a strike in any count. [I] also threw a couple change-ups, which I have been working on.”
The senior only allowed four walks and three hits over 106 pitches, and held the Quakers to their second consecutive shutout this season, and the second against JR in three years. After coming off of a 9-1 loss to DeMatha Catholic High School (Mar. 12), where Edwards allowed five runs and three walks, he made sure he didn’t get rattled against Sidwell and kept his approach the same.
“The approach never really changes on the mound, I had a rough one against DeMatha, but I tried to not let it get to me, and just focused on the next start,” he said. “[Tuesday] I was just trying to be on the attack, and limit the free passes via walks or hit by pitches.”
That philosophy extends to the rest of the Tigers when on the diamond: keep things simple, which can sometimes be easier said than done. “What I saw at the plate is what we had worked on all week,” said head coach Robinson Mateo. “Not trying to do too much at the plate, staying opposite field [with contact] and swinging at good pitches. What led to the shutout was Casey being able to let his defense work and hitting his spots when he needed to.”
The Tigers combined for nine hits, and drew a team total of four walks. “Our approach going into big games like this is to just stay within ourselves. As a team we really place an emphasis on trying not to do too much, and playing loose,” said junior second baseman Evan Rosario, who went 2 for 2 and had two RBIs. “When we do that, that’s when we’re our best.”
The Tigers are 2-2 when playing against private school programs this spring. Just this past weekend, the team split in their doubleheader against Gilman School (MD), where they won game one 6-4, but fell in the second, 14-11. Beating Sidwell Friends was not only a rebound for the Tigers, but also a minor benchmark game, to see where they measure up against the area’s best. “[Tuesday’s] win showcases what kind of team we are, and what we’re about,” added senior first baseman Jack Jannsen, who recorded a base hit single. “A good pitching staff with great arms like Casey and a sound small ball offense [is the formula].”
Up next for the Tigers is a road game against former two-year varsity head coach Henry Martinez’s the Landon School (MD) on Thursday. “Tuesday’s victory gives us momentum going into competing against a very talented Landon team at their house,” said coach Mateo. “They are having a great start to their season, so it will be a very competitive game.”
The Tigers (5-2, 3-0 in-conference) will play the Bears (4-1, 0-0) at 4:30 pm, Thursday afternoon. In their “something to prove” ‘24 spring, they’ll look to avenge a loss to Landon, 7-6, last season. This time, they’ll do that against a familiar face in Martinez in their seventh game continuing the month of March.
“[Tuesday] says a lot about this squad. We were having fun, we were competing without any fear, and it felt like the other team had no chance,” said Edwards. “Confidence is up right now after that win, but we all know we can’t get comfortable, and we have to keep riding this momentum into Landon [Thursday] and then Spalding [Saturday] as well.”
