On Tuesday the 17th, the Hawks opened their season against the Kamiak Knights with a huge 7-1 win at home. Outstanding teamwork and some great pitching by the Hawks helped them prevail over the Knights on this drizzly Tuesday afternoon.

Coming off of a playoff season last year, the Hawks baseball team is in an interesting situation. Team leaders from last year like Dominic DeMiero have moved on, and the Hawks must quickly find a new sense of leadership. Although it may be challenging at first, it will not be a hard feat to accomplish with such a senior and veteran heavy team.

When asked about who is filling the void, junior Alex Hussey mentioned seniors Jaden Yackley and Jason Shevenko.

“Those guys are doing a good job of helping lead the team,” Hussey said.

Not only are they filling the role as leaders of the team, but they are doing the little things that have been helping the team improve.

“Jaden Yackley is full of energy. That is how he motivates us,” Hussey said.

Ready to start their season on a good note, the Hawks came determined to win Tuesday afternoon.

Despite a slow start for both teams in the first inning, the Hawks kept pushing, determined to win. Senior Jesse Prothero put up the first point of the game with a run from third base. This put the Hawks up 1-0 at the bottom of the second inning.

In the next inning, junior Drew Serres had a huge impact with a great play at bat. He smashed the ball into the outfield for a triple, turning it into a home run after an error by Kamiak.

Following Serres’ lead, the Hawks didn’t look back and started to take a demanding lead. Big plays in the bottom of the fourth inning increased the lead even more. By the start of fifth inning the Hawks were up 5-0.

With some superb pitching by senior Ben Reijonen and his backup pitchers, the Knights were limited to only a single run that came in the seventh and final inning.

“With good pitching and good defense you’re going to win most of your games,” Hussey said.

Despite such a big win, the Hawks still have some improvements to make.

“Like Coach Waters talks about, we need to work on the little things. . . Things like throwing strikes and putting the ball in play,” Hussey said.

Ready to keep up the momentum, the now 1-0 Hawks will head to Snohomish High School on Wednesday for their next game. The Panthers are hoping to start their season off in the same fashion the Hawks did as they get ready for their first game of the season. The game is set to start at 4 pm.