Phillips Andover, defending Central New England Prep Baseball Champions, came to Deerfield Academy on Saturday to face a Big Green squad that continues to show improvement. Facing a deep Andover pitching staff, (4 pitchers committed to Division I schools), Deerfield found it difficult to generate runs. Andover took both games by scores of 4-1 and 5-0. Nevertheless, the crowd of spectators saw two well-played baseball games, with Deerfield earning a ton of respect from their opponent. Deerfield never made it easy for Andover to get untracked. Freshman, Henry Gustavson pitched Game 1, and battled back from an early, first inning 3-0 deficit with a poised, competitive outing. Jared Pantalony ’18 came in relief and threw three outstanding, shutout innings. The defense played well behind SS Chris Camilio ’18 and an outfield that tracked down several hard hit Andover balls.
In Game 2, the Big Green battled against Andover’s formidable lineup and pitching staff for the second time. Sammy St. Jean ’18, Griffin McDowell ’18, and Nick Solberg ’18, all contributed solid outings with good defense behind them. Unfortunately, Deerfield could not break through the Andover pitching despite fine play and a gritty, competitive, afternoon of baseball on Headmaster’s Field.