Varsity baseball continues to climb the rankings after defeating Kellam High School 6-0. The Dolphins are ranked third in the region with a current record of 7-2, according to MaxPreps.com.

“We had a really good trip to South Carolina over spring break, which improved our confidence,” coach Nicholas DiNapoli said. “There was good momentum throughout the team. Confidence was really high coming into the game.” 

Sophomore Daniel Hamilton pitched for the entirety of the game with seven strikeouts and only allowed two walks and two hits.

The Dolphins and the Knights were both scoreless for the first three innings. Despite the lack of offensive action in the first half, Daniel threw four of his seven strikeouts in the first half of the game. 

In the top of the second, with one out, sophomore Turner Kuhle and juniors Tre Hamilton and Brady Nagle made a double play, securing the final out of the inning.

During the fourth inning, the Dolphins were finally able to get a point on the board.

Turner hit a double to right field for his first hit of the game. Senior Ryan Gocio then hit a sacrifice bunt, advancing Turner to third. Then, senior Austin Crew hit a line drive to left field, bringing Turner home.

They were able to maintain a strong defense throughout the top of the fifth, leading to an exciting bottom half.

Brady reached second off an error from the Knights. He advanced to third base off of a sacrifice bunt hit by junior Ben Menesses. Junior Greyson Walsh then hit a single, allowing Brady to score.

With sophomore Seinko Augins pinch running for Greyson, he and junior Connor Mais double stole during Tre’s at-bat. Tre then hit a three-run home run which extended the Dolphins lead by five runs.

“My home run set the tone for the game because we were struggling early in the game and needed a big push,” Tre said. “It was super relieving because I knew I had to come up big for my teammates.”

In the sixth inning, the Knights reached first base but were unable to get into scoring position. The inning ended in a double play made by Daniel, Tre and Brady.

In the top of the seventh, Daniel had back to back strikeouts and then a ground out to end the game. 

“I hope to keep rolling throughout the season. I want us to keep playing great baseball for the rest of the season,” head coach Peter Zell said.