With a final record of 11-9, RHS varsity baseball ended their season as sectional champions and regional runners-up. The team beat Magruder HS 11-1 in the sectional finals but lost 1-0 to Huntingtown HS in the regional finals.

RHS went into regionals feeling confident and hopeful. “We expect to do well because when you play good competition you play up to your competition,” senior captain Mickey Van Gieson said before the game. “We definitely have improved on our pitching, but we still need to work on our situational hitting.”

The Rams ended the game scoreless after being unable to take advantage of scoring opportunities in the 1st, 4th and 5th innings. Huntingtown took the one point lead in the first inning and held it for the remainder of the game.

Head coach Farron Riggs said that overall, he is satisfied with how the season went for the team. “Words can’t express how happy I am for the boys, especially those eight seniors. They worked hard all season long to get better and to put themselves in the position that they were in. We all just wish it would have turned out differently,” Riggs said.

The Rams’ 11-9 season included a six game winning streak towards the middle of the season and shutouts against Wheaton HS and Magruder HS. The regular season ended with three losses to Churchill HS, Paintbranch HS and Walt Whitman HS, all of which Riggs believes helped to prepare the team for what was to come in the postseason.

Riggs attributes the team’s success during the regular season and ability to get far in the postseason to senior leadership, a strong all around work ethic and a roster full of experienced players.

“We played very well the last part of the season leading up to the playoffs. We played some real good teams that prepared us pretty well for what we were going to face in the playoffs. The team didn’t do anything differently than they had done all season. We focused on the things that we needed to do in order to win, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way Friday,” Riggs said.