The Lady Dragons are ready to move upward

HSMSE girls' softball team - HSMSE PTA 

The HSMSE girls' softball team finished the 2013 season undefeated and will most likely advance to the Manhattan B division next spring. They were placed in the developmental league because they were a relatively new team in the PSAL but should be moving up since they finished the season with a great record.

In the 2013 season the team had six seniors, which made up more than a third of the team. Fortunately, a majority of underclassmen will make up for the loss of the seniors.The new athletes this season showed their dedication to the team and proved that they are ready play next season.

“The freshman are devoted, they come to every practice and even our games to show their support.” said coach Crystal Downey.

Of the underclassmen this season, freshman Taylor Faulds stands out from the rest of the team, mainly because of her experience as a softball player. Her pitching has been consistent, and made a difference on the team. She ended this season with a 0.70 ERA, which contributed to their undefeated season by giving the opposing teams a hard time to scoring.

The team is putting in more effort with Coach Downey, who is a big factor in their great record this season.The team doubled their practice time from two days a week, to four days a week and even started practicing on the weekends.

 “Ms. Downey is a much more thorough coach and always makes sure we are ready for the games,” said second basemen Katherine Marlowe.

contributed by Nasif Chowdhury 

Dragons shutout in first season

Baseball / Wikimedia Commons

Moving up from the PSAL Developmental league to the Bronx South Division, the High School For Math Science and Engineering baseball team faced a rough 0-13 season. Elevating to a higher league did not play in the Dragons favor. This season there were several factors which affected the team’s performance, one being the change in division, which led the team to play twice as many games as last season. After the loss of last year's seniors the team acquired new players who had little to no previous experience in the sport.

This season the team had half the amount of seniors compared to last years roster. The seven seniors that played in the 2012 season had important positions on the field. The team lost most of their starting infield and outfield players. As a result they needed players to step up in order to have the necessary amount of athletes.

“Since we lost a lot of seniors last year, we had to get a lot of people who either haven't played baseball or weren't used to the game so getting to know each other and getting to work together with new players was pretty difficult,” said senior outfielder Kyle Grasing.

The baseball team also struggled this season because the players lacked motivation and the skills required at this level of competition. This was due to the fact that players found the early morning practices very inconvenient. These sessions affected the productivity level of the team and limited the team’s improvement to the few who dedicated their time.

“If someone really wants to play and if someone really wants to work hard, they’ll come no matter what time it is to improve himself,” said coach David Scheiman.

With a higher level of competition, the baseball team had trouble adjusting to the difficulty of the B-Division. They weren’t able to hit against the better pitchers and they weren't able to field the ball well during important situations in the games.

“I think we can definitely improve in our fielding, situational hitting, and in general hitting,” said Scheiman.

The baseball team will need to continue to improve and develop their skills in order to elevate their performance level to meet the demands of their league. They will need to show their commitment and dedication towards the team and attend practices so that they can improve between games. Players should also take the initiative to practice on their own time and go above and beyond league requirements. They have to find a way to navigate through the upcoming season and motivate each other in order to do better next season.

Contributed By Anya Batista and Din Islam 

Will the HSMSE baseball team come out strong?

The High School of Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ baseball team was mediocre in their debut season last year, but this season they’re looking up. They started their first season in the developmental league and finished with a 3-4 record. This year they enter the developmental league again, and must try hard to make it to the "B" league.

Last year the team had a rough start, not used to playing against other teams. As the season progressed, they became more confident and played better. They won one of their last games 33-7 against Wingate Educational Campus’ team. “Last year the players were nervous, but the more they played, the better they got,” said senior pitcher Leonardo Pena.

This year the team has less people as compared to last year, but this will just make each person try harder to prove themselves. Coach David Scheiman said, “We have a shot to compete and be better than last year.” They know that they can improve if they play hard. Since they are in the developmental league, there are no playoffs to compete in. They must look forward to making it to the "B" league next year.

The "B" league will offer tougher opponents and the team has to improve before next season. One problem will be that the majority of the team this year are seniors. “We are worried about the lack of players after this year,” said Scheiman. Without their experienced seniors, the team will need to make players step up and help incoming freshmen. “It’s possible to make the "B" league, but we have to be over .500 [record] and show that we competed in every game,” said Scheiman.