Nouvel Baseball Early Season Update

Photo by: NouvelSports.com

Jonathan Tunney ’22

Staff Writer

It’s the start of a wonderful spring sports season here at Nouvel, and the baseball team has kicked off what is sure to be another great year! The last time Nouvel baseball was able to finish their season, they made it to the state finals! A mix of returning players such as senior SS/P Jack Kujawa, junior P/2B/SS Liam Simerson, and junior catcher Sammy Bartels and new faces like sophomore 3B Hayden Simerson, freshman infielder Preston Otter, and junior outfielder Dylan Kingsbury look to fuel the Panthers this season. The team was 1-5 headed into the Friday’s double header vs. Valley Lutheran, having lost twice to John Glenn, twice to Millington, and going 1-1 against MLS. This slow start can mainly be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After missing most of the early season due to Covid-related issues Bartels and Kujawa returned against Valley Lutheran, but seniors Ben Clevenger and Tim Bohlman as well as juniors Matt Garcia and Danielle Kricher are still quarantined. Despite the early hardships the Panthers came out swinging in game 1 with Dylan Kingsbury, Preston Otter, and sophomore outfielder Noah Stewart all totaling 1 RBI while Hayden Simerson batted in 3 runs! Liam Simerson pitched a complete game and the Panthers pulled out a tough 6-4 W. The second game quickly became a pitching duel with Jack Kujawa on the mound. Despite good pitching from Kujawa the offense just couldn’t get going. Liam Simerson scored on a past ball after getting on base with a double and Noah Stewart trotted in after Valley Lutheran walked him home.

Unfortunately, that was all the Panthers could muster and they lost the second game 3-2 in 6 innings. The game lasted only 6 innings because after the Panthers came away empty-handed in the top of the 6th, the umpires called the game due to darkness. Now sitting with a 2-6 record, the Panthers play a doubleheader at home against Ithaca on Tuesday with the first game starting 4:00 P.M. The weather is looking absolutely beautiful on Tuesday with a high of 79. If you can, come out on Tuesday to watch some Panther baseball on a beautiful day!