The Y-D Red Sox’s win count entered double-digits Saturday night with a 7-5 win over the Falmouth Commodores. Out of Y-D’s 10 wins, seven have been comeback wins with the team initially being down at the beginning of the game. This lineup knows how to pull through when a game is down the wire — each night featuring clutch moments from players across the board.
Brady Neal, a second-year player for Y-D, generated a clutch moment for the team in Saturday’s game. The catcher from LSU cranked out an impressive go-ahead, two-run homer, giving Y-D the lead for the rest of the night and securing the win. Although he said he struggled a bit at the plate at the beginning of the season, Neal has recorded at least one hit per game these past few days, including his first home run of the season on Saturday.
“I’ve been making some adjustments after school ball, so I did not expect to come off to a really hot start after I've been working on some things,” Neal said. “But it's all about confidence and being confident myself — and then translating it up there in the box.”
Neal, who also hit an RBI double in Friday’s game against Chatham, added that he wants to focus on going for the right pitch at the plate and not getting too consumed with the outcomes.
“I think the biggest thing for me is not to judge my bats on the result, but judge it on if I swim with the right pitch or not,” Neal said. “It’s about not getting too caught up in the hit, but focusing on the next one with the right pitch to get ahead.”
Picking the right pitch to hit has been a common theme for Y-D’s hitters as the team has pooled together close to 100 hits this season already. Offensive leaders for the team include Oklahoma’s Easton Carmichael, who leads the team with 16 hits, and Arkansas’ Wehiwa Aloy, who follows Carmichael with 13 hits.
New offensive power has also come from South Carolina’s Ethan Petry and UNC’s Gavin Gallaher. They lead the team with batting averages of over .450, respectively, and they both have slugging percentages of .800 and above. Gallaher said trust in the staff and team is an important part of the success that happens at the plate.
“The Y-D staff has done a great job preparing us to face different pitchers in the time I've been here,” Gallaher said. “It’s all about trusting what they're telling me and staying quiet in the box.”
Now 13 games deep, the team is starting to collaborate and bond as a unit, contributing to their dominance on the field. According to Neal, this team in particular is special, and even though Gallaher has only been with the team for a few games, he added that they brought him in with open arms.
“From what I've experienced, everybody just gets along great,” Gallaher said. “There are no bad guys on this team, just a great group of guys and they've all welcomed me. We are all having fun, so it's easy to go out there and just play loose.”
Photo by Sophie Solarino
