On March 27, the Varsity Baseball team played their first game of the season against the York Technology Spartans. Terrific offense paired with senior pitcher Cole Sinnott’s perfect game led the Rams to a 12-0 win to start the season.

Two games were initially scheduled before the game against the Spartans, but they were both rained out and officials had to reschedule them.

Looking back at the game, head coach Blake Knecht said, “I thought the game went well for the first one of the year. The guys seemed relaxed and prepared. It was a great way to build confidence and get comfortable.”

In the top of the first inning, Sinnott struck out two batters as he began what eventually would be a perfect game.

Additionally, in the bottom of the first inning, senior infielder Garrett Lowe started a two out rally with a base hit and later scored on an error. The Rams lead 1-0 at the end of the first inning.

Sinnott had another good inning and added one more strikeout to his total in the top of the second inning.

Additionally, by the bottom of the second inning, the offense manufactured one more run, which was a RBI on a base hit from junior designated hitter Collin Griffin. Griffin also managed to make it to third base after two steals, but he did not score, leaving the Rams lead at 2-0 after two innings played.

Sinnott tallied five strikeouts by the end of his third inning pitched of the game. “I honestly didn’t even know it was a no-hitter/perfect game until the bottom of the third. From then onward, I just tried to stay focused on hitting my spots and being consistent when on the mound,” Sinnott said.

While the offense started off a little slow for the Rams in the first two innings, the Rams’ offense exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the third inning.

In that third inning, with two runners on base, junior catcher Garrett Meckley contributed a RBI on a ground out, 3-0 Rams lead. Soon thereafter, Lowe stole home to extend the Rams’ lead to 4-0.

Then, sophomore right fielder Jason Williams hit a two-run home run to make the lead 6-0 over the Spartans. “[Williams] has come a long way and still has a lot of room to grow. Great confidence booster for a first year Varsity player,” Knecht said.

The Rams were then able to score a run after York Tech made a few errors on a later play, extending their lead to 7-0.

Next, junior center fielder William “Max” Cooper hit a RBI single, raising the lead to 8-0. The next at-bat resulted in a double for junior infielder Wyatt McCleary, and he would advance to third base on an error. Cooper also scored on that double from McCleary, making the score 9-0 in the Rams’ favor.

Lastly, Lowe hit a double, which included the final RBI of the inning, making the score 10-0 at the end of the third inning.

Sinnott was able to keep his perfect bid after four innings of play. “The message to him was to slow down and get comfortable. There were a few innings where he was all over the plate and out of rhythm. The message to him in the last inning was to command the zone and keep his pitch count low to be more effective, and that’s what he did,” Knecht said.

Then, to start the bottom of the fourth inning, Knecht put junior pitcher/first baseman Constantine Gereny in as a pinch hitter for senior first baseman Timothy Grimsley. Gereny got on base with a walk in his at-bat.

Next, Knecht put in senior pitcher/outfielder Luke Moscynski in as a pinch hitter for sophomore left fielder Tyler Nagel. In Moscynski’s only at-bat of the game, he hit an RBI single, taking the Rams lead to 11-0.

For what would turn out to be the last run of the game, Cooper contributed again with another RBI single, making the score 12-0. The Rams won in five innings due to the ten run mercy rule.

Senior Matthew Tracey said, “Everyone had a good approach at the plate and it showed on the scoreboard. We took advantage of runners in scoring position and jumped out to a lead and never looked back.”

To finish out the game, Sinnott completed the perfect game, which included nine strikeouts. “[The perfect game performance] gives me a lot of confidence and hopefully it was a moral booster for the team to see what we can really do as a team to accomplish our goals this year,” Sinnott said.

Sinnott, who will be attending and playing baseball for Alvernia University next year, also commented that the perfect game made him feel really good, and he hopes to keep getting better as the season progresses.

Additionally, Tracey said, “[Sinnott] set the tone for the year. It’s not very often you see a guy get a chance to throw a perfect game, let alone in his first start of the year.”

Amongst the leaders in hits, Lowe and Williams were both three for three. Williams had a single, a double, and a home run. Lowe had a single, two doubles, and two steals.

Griffin also had a solid game, going two for three, having two singles and three steals.

Furthermore, Williams and Cooper lead the game in RBIs, each contributing two.

Tracey added that it was very encouraging to see how the underclassmen played.