On March 24, the Phoenix baseball team had its first home game of the season, which ended in a 12-10 loss to the Falls Church Jaguars.

In the first three innings, the Phoenix and Jaguars went back-and-forth until an RBI from junior outfielder Benjamin Mueller created a two-run separation going into the 4th inning. 

At the beginning of the 4th inning, the Jaguars brought in a new pitcher, hoping to end the Phoenix’s rally, but as freshman Zach Neach stepped up to the plate, he proceeded to hit an RBI single, bringing in junior Ben O’Connor, making the score 3-2. Though the Jags had hopes of ending the rally, the Phoenix continued with a deep, RBI single from junior Alex Alkhal, who also started the game on the bump for the Phoenix, which made the score 4-2 heading into the top of the 5th. 

Starting the 5th inning, Alkhal returned to the mound, but not for long. A slew of hits resulted in a deep RBI double and then immediately another RBI single, resulting in a score of 4-4. Freshman reliever Callan Murphy replaced Alkahl, but after a wild pitch, the Jaguars scored two easy runs. Murphy was able to muster up a combination of pitches to lead his team into the bottom of the 5th inning.

The Phoenix came into the next inning, immediately gunning off the back of a deep drive by junior Saketh Allam, starting a long inning for the Phoenix. At the very next at-bat, junior Ismail Ahmed brought in three runs, giving the Phoenix a lead of 10-6.

After a tough start to the season, Ahmed was happy to finally notice improvement.. “[My favorite moment was] getting my hit,” Ahmed said. “I didn’t do great in our first game, so getting that hit in that game really kind of helped me as a player, so that felt pretty good…progress is progress.”

In the top of the 6th inning, Murphy threw two back-to-back fly balls, following them with a ground ball to get the Jaguars in-and-out. However, in the bottom of the 6th inning, the Jaguars’ pitcher struck three hitters out in a row, but momentum remained with the Phoenix.

Murphy surrendered two hits to start the 7th. With the Jaguars back at the plate, he left a pitch over the middle of the plate that was driven into deep left field for a two-run double, and at the very next at-bat, an error from the former pitcher and new first baseman Alkhal brought in another run, finishing the top of the inning at 10-10.

In the extra inning, the Phoenix were unable to get a hit. Neach felt the team was riding low after the error that brought in two runs, lowering the morale of the Phoenix. “I definitely felt like Alex’s error decreased our momentum as a team because we needed one more out to win, but we let that get the best of us, and I feel like if we kept our heads up and moved on to the play, the outcome would have been better,” Neach said.

Junior Ismail Ahmed felt the same about the mentality of the team. “I think near the end, they kept their vibes a little bit more positive than us, and I think that’s kind of what messed us up, because baseball is a very mental game, and we, near the end, weren’t in the best mental spot,” Ahmed said.

The Jaguars started the extra inning with two quick hits and runs, closing the last inning, keeping the Phoenix scoreless, and ending the game. 

Neach believes that instilling more positivity in the team’s mentality is what will help them improve in the future. “This loss I feel won’t affect me as much,” Neach said. “It was 100% a winnable game, but we as a team need to move on from the loss and look ahead for this season. The team’s reaction throughout the innings is that we were happy about how we were playing for the majority of the game, but when we got to extra innings, it felt like we all shut down.” 

The Phoenix’s next chance to earn their second win of the year against the Loudoun Valley Vikings is on April 16 at The Rock.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Josiah Anderson

Freshman Zach Neach slides into home plate, breaking the long-lasting tie and shifting the momentum over with the lead.