By Sports Editor: Danielle Hamilton

The Howell varsity baseball team played their first doubleheader on Monday, March 31. Howell played Northville at Eastern Michigan University.

Unfortunately, Howell fell in both games. The scores were 7-3 and 8-3, respectively. But the team and coaches are not allowing these losses to get them down.

“Northville is a great team. I think they were a little more prepared than us. We are a good team and I believe in us. We will get our chance to prove ourselves,” says senior captain James Edwards.

Senior pitcher Alex Duffy started the first game. He struck out the side and then his team went to work in the bottom of the inning. Howell took the lead in the first when senior Ben Balgaard scored on a base hit to left by Edwards.

Balgaard hit a triple and scored on a throwing error to make the game tied at two runs. In the bottom of the fourth, Howell had the lead by one run. In the remainder of the game, Northville came through with key hits when needed, while Howell struggled to do so. In the second game, Northville jumped on the ball early and scored three runs in the first inning.

“Getting some games under our belt is nice. We now know what we need to focus on a little more and what we need to do to be successful” says Duffy.

This year’s team has a good portion of players who were on the varsity team last year. Howell has made it to the Final Four the past two years, so the majority of the players know what it takes to be a playoff team.

Howell will be playing in a tournament in Indianapolis on April 4, 5, and 6. They will be competing against some of the best teams in Indiana, as well as a couple other teams from Michigan. Despite the recent loses, Howell is looking to have a successful weekend.

“This weekend should be fun. We just have to keep working hard like we have been and keep our confidence up,” says Edwards.