The new baseball field has been completed, and the Trojans returned Monday, Oct. 20, to have their second practice on the new field. The batting cages have yet to be finished, but the team is still very excited to finally be free from the track, where they have been practicing since their off-season training started earlier this fall.

Head coach Tony Brunicardi said he was glad the team could finally begin practicing on the new field. Usually around this time in the fall, he said, practices and training would have already been routine for awhile and things would be repetitive. However, now that the new field is open, there is an excitement to begin practice because the team has more range to practice the way they want.

“It’s given our guys a new sense of excitement,” Brunicardi said. “The amount of reps and what we can do on a baseball field compared to the soccer field, it’s huge.”

Sophomore third baseman Makai Susor said practicing on the track was suitable as a temporary resource, but having access to the baseball field is far better.

“We had about a month and a half of practicing on the soccer field, and while we were able to get in some work, it just wasn’t really like a complete practice, so now we can really dial in on the new field,” Susor said.

Sophomore pitcher Joaquin Baranchuk said a turf mound has also been added to the field, but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference. 

“I’m most excited for the turf mounds,” Barunchuk said. “Before they were dirt, and I think it’s really good to have turf mounds, and it’s really good to have that consistency over and over again.”

The batting cages are still under construction, but the team will not continue going to Game Prep Baseball Academy for batting practice, because they have way more space for open hitting and a temporary tunnel they could use on the field.

In the second practice on the new field, players have earned their Skyline gear after putting in months of sweat and grit. Brunicardi, a former Trojan himself, said that the team earning the uniforms has created a sense of brotherhood and they have become a reflection of the baseball program. 

“You see guys walk around with a sense of pride and it’s really created a camaraderie,” Brunicardi said. “They’ve created a family environment, and that was really the goal of it. To have a sense of pride in this place and a sense of pride for each other.”

With a new field and new team, sophomore outfielder Derek Waldvogel said the team is once again gearing up for success this season. 

“Once we all get on the same page, I think we’re going to do some really big things this year, and we’re going to replicate what we did last year.”