SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville varsity baseball team enters 2023 with both high hopes and high expectations, coming off an appearance in the Class B state championship game last year.
The Black Horses won 20 games in 2022, defeating Ichabod Crane for the Section 2 Class B Championship before advancing to their second state championship since 2019. Head coach Darrin Renner said the deep postseason runs can act as a “program builder” for the team.
“Any time you can take a team that far, it’s really a program builder,” said Renner. “Which is basically what we saw in 2019. A lot of these guys were young and watched that. The hunger was there last year, we were able to pull the team together and go and have that success again.”
Senior outfielder Ashton Morris said it was “unbelievable” to experience last year’s playoff run.
“This team has come together so much,” said Morris. “Everyone pushes each other to their limits and look where it got us.”
Brenden Steinberg, a junior pitcher, said he felt the team gained valuable experience during last season’s run.
“It was an amazing experience,” Steinberg said. “I think as a whole team, we learned a lot, and we’re ready to come back this year.”
Now, the Black Horses enter 2023 having graduated only three players from last year’s squad. While Renner acknowledged the three were “some valuable guys,” he said the team still has “a lot of guys who have gone through a successful season.”
“So far, the work ethic and leadership has been really spot-on of what we were hoping for and expecting,” said Renner.
Renner said Steinberg and Luke Sherman, along with Trevor French, will be key pieces of the Black Horses’ pitching staff this season. He also named senior first baseman Anthony Luzadis, junior third baseman Griffin Brophy, and Morris, the centerfielder, as other key players.
Renner said the team’s goal every season is simple: qualify for sectionals, and go from there.
“Last year, we had back a team that was 6-10 and ended up going all the way to the state championship game,” said Renner. “I think it also adds a nice element to the program, that the guys saw that we had so much success after a season where we were down. I think their expectations of themselves become higher. I think that’s a good thing.
“But as we go into this, we’ll think about sectionals first. Once we get there, we’ll take the next goal into consideration.”
