By Quinn Donovan and Domenic Casparriello

The Westborough High baseball team’s season is underway, and the Rangers are looking to build off a successful season from last year. A year ago, the Rangers advanced to the district semifinals after upsetting #2 seed Algonquin 7-1 before falling to eventual state finalist St. Peter Marian.

This season led by senior captains Dan Lis and Dylan Kehoe, the Rangers are hungry for more success this season. The team lost just two starters from last year’s 11-11 playoff team, and come back with plenty of talent and experience. This year’s squad will be made up of nine seniors, six juniors and one sophomore, all of whom will make an impact for this promising squad.

One spot the Rangers have needed to fill is on the pitching staff, considering that they have been without their ace pitcher Lis due to injury.  Lis says, “I want to come back as early a possible, but I know this team can strive without me.”

So far, the Rangers have gotten great contributions on the mound from pitchers senior Jason Lu, junior Kyle Clarkson, and senior Cavan Crowley. Defensively, the Rangers are very well-balanced all around, showcasing their scrappy infield, and speedy outfield. Seniors Cailean Duckett and Anthony Casparriello anchor the outfield with junior Matty Ruhl while Crowley, Clarkson, Kehoe, and sophomore Dylan Connors have been locking down the infield. The Rangers have an extremely high ceiling this year, and have their sights set on taking the league championship.

Westborough is often thought of around the league as the underdog, but teams from all around the state certainly have the Rangers on their radar this year. The Rangers currently have a 4-5 record, and four of their five losses have come to league opponents. The Rangers opened the year with a 5-4 loss to Shepherd Hill before beating Quabbin 12-3. After dropping two games in a row, the Rangers bounced back with a 15-3 blowout of Holy Name. Westborough fell to Marlboro 3-2 on Saturday, April 23, which set them up for a huge rivalry matchup with Algonquin in a rematch of last year’s district quarterfinal matchup.

The game was a big-time pitcher’s duel, as Jason Lu only surrendered two runs, however, Westborough was only able to plate one run off of Algonquin, falling 2-1.  They followed that up with an underwhelming 8-1 loss at the hands of Groton-Dunstable.  The Rangers were able to get on track with a huge 4-2 victory over league leader Leominster, in which Kyle Clarkson shut down the Leominster lineup in a complete-game performance.

The team has been getting very solid pitching performances, but must look for more offense as they approach a crucial point in their season. The Rangers have scored an average of two runs per game in their last four, which will put them in a tough position to win come playoff time if they can’t turn it around.

Lis comments, “We’re at a crossroads in our season right now. The season hasn’t exactly gone the way we had initially hoped, but we are still in a good position to make the playoffs and contend for the district title.”

In order to be in the playoffs, the Rangers must reach at least the ten-win mark to qualify. The team barely squeaked in last year, winning exactly ten games entering the postseason. This year the Rangers do not want to be just a .500 team, they want to be something more. The determined squad is looking to build on their current .500 record and reach their full potential. The team must win at least six of their last eleven games in order to qualify for the postseason.

Lis remarks with hope, “We have to take it one step at a time; one at-bat at a time, one play at a time, just take it game by game.  As a team, we need to make sure we’re together on and off the field. Not just as a team, but as a family. We know that we have a chance to make districts and potentially win it all.”