Falcons Baseball Rounding Into Form

Over the course of a baseball season, there are bound to be ups and downs. It’s just the nature of the game. And nobody knows that better than Severna Park.

The Falcons were upended 10-4 by Chesapeake, and they took two more losses in a three-week span. But they headed into the final week of the regular season at 11-4 after winning seven of their 10 games.

They opened the stretch by beating Arundel 12-1, then followed that with a loss to Chesapeake. But they beat Glen Burnie 13-2 and Broadneck 10-2 to right the ship, before falling to Crofton 14-4. They finished the stretch by winning four of five, falling only to Archbishop Spalding 7-0 in a rescheduled game that was rained out in early April.

Severna Park won its four public school matchups in that run of five games, beating Northeast 4-2, Old Mill 3-0, Baltimore Polytechnic 8-6 and Annapolis 14-5.

The biggest win of those, by far, was the win over Broadneck, which came on April 12 and helped start a renewed focus on the season. Angel Santiago-Cruz blasted two three-run homers, and Charlie Hartman added a solo shot. That came in support of ace pitcher Sean Williams, who yielded a home run in the first inning but settled down the rest of the way.

“Especially with our field, giving up home runs is an easier thing here, so for us, getting that lead can kind of limit the pressure,” Williams said. “If they hit one out, and it’s a solo shot, it’s not going to kill us. I can pitch to more contact and let my defense work. They can barrel up some balls and they can get on base, but I can relax and know that if the runner from second scores, it’s not going to hurt us too much, and we can still go on to win the game.”

That kept the Falcons from losing back-to-back games, which is one of the key points of focus in a grinding game like baseball. But it also gave them the balanced perspective that they can use as they continue to move forward to the rest of the regular season and postseason.

“You look at our team on paper and it’s a good group of guys. That experience against Chesapeake motivated us to come out and do the best we could,” Santiago-Cruz said. “Anyone can win a baseball game. The best team in the nation can come out and make errors, not be hot at the plate, something wasn’t clicking, and the other team can come in and roll right through them. The better you understand that, the more you have to prepare yourself every day to perform the best you can. That means taking warmups seriously, stretching seriously, getting your reps in the cages seriously, so you can perform and feel comfortable, and replicate your mechanics to the best of your ability.

“We know we have the talent, ability and work ethic to perform.”