A six-run fifth inning propelled the Wolverines to a 7-2 win over Canyon Crest Academy, March 23. Centerfielder Eli Irvine (11) started the rally with a single to the right. From there, Westview loaded the bases and continued to hit. Baseball was able to extend its winning streak to seven in a row.
“We strung together a bunch of hits,” Irvine said. “Hitting is contagious, as they say. It all just flowed together. Six out of our seven hits came from [this] inning, and it felt great.”
In the fourth inning, CCA scored twice to take a 2-1 lead. At that point, the Wolverines knew that they had to bear down. Catcher Elijah Whelan (11) said he felt a shift in their performance as the team pressed onto the later innings.
“We took the game for granted at first,” he said. “We started off really slow, and we were even losing at some point. But we got our stuff together and rallied back to secure the win. We learned that we should never take any games for granted and to always play to our level, not the other team’s. I’m definitely proud of our bounce back.”
Irvine said that due to their win record, the team felt confident going into the game. Despite this, the lack of energy early in the game became an issue.
“Compared to more recent games, it was not as good as we would [have] liked it to be,” Irvine said. “We still won, [which] is always good, but there was just a bit less energy. When the [spirit] is not there, things just don’t work. It’s hard to start something out of nothing.”
Whelan said the team was able to hype itself up after getting motivation from the coach.
“Our coach was getting us rallied up, as we were really down in energy,” Whelan said. “Him picking us up really changed the atmosphere, which I believe led us to the win. We [have] this goal to keep a high-intensity environment during every game. This heavily affects how each game is played, which leads to different outcomes.”
Even outside of practices and games, the team strengthens its bond by spending a lot of time together. Whelan said that the team’s chemistry makes each game smoother and more fun.
“[Our] team is more than just some guys I play with,” Whelan said. “Everyone on our team is my friend. We hang out almost every weekend even though we see each other five other days of the week. With all of this, our team chemistry is through the roof, which I believe has been one of the biggest contributing factors to our success this season so far.”
Whelan said he is looking forward to a promising rest of the season.
“One of our biggest goals for this season is to finish with a 20 or more win record,” Whelan said. “We have a special team this year, as we are filled with talent. Therefore, we also want to win the CIF championship.”
