Sturgis Baseball Wins Three Games in Historic Week

By Jacob Tobey, staff reporter  

VIDEO: Kyle Garvey strikes out a Sturgis West batter.  Video taken by Jacob Tobey. 

The Sturgis East baseball team had a rough week of play before February vacation. They had high hopes before the season began, but what they hoped to be wins starting off the season became losses. The Storm started off by playing in Nantucket and just could not get anything done offensively, as the opposing pitcher threw a no-hitter (the pitcher did not allow a hit throughout the whole game) in the 5-0 defeat. Sturgis lost their next game in a 14-2 blowout against Pope John Paul, with their defense and pitching out of sorts this time.  

After a week off to regroup and talk about what they needed to do better, the Storm played their rivals, Sturgis West, on Monday, April 22, and won easily 12-0. Senior captain Kyle Garvey was on the mound and pitched masterfully the whole game, collecting seven strikeouts. A milestone was also made by Garvey as he became the winningest pitcher in Sturgis East history with eight wins. Senior captain Ben Duncan was a big contributor with three runs batted in (RBI) and with a great performance at first base. Junior right fielder Austin Taubert was also a factor in the boys’ win as he went 3 for 4 with two singles, an RBI double, and a stolen base. Sophomore Ryan Havey and junior Luke Chevalier were great defensively at second base and shortstop, respectively. 

On Wednesday, the Storm played Nantucket again at their home field of Lowell Park in Cotuit, and beat the Whalers 6-0, becoming the first Sturgis sports team in school history to ever defeat Nantucket. Chevalier pitched a superb complete game shutout, recording nine strikeouts and two walks. Sturgis’s defense was back to its best, committing no fielding errors during the game. Austin Taubert and sophomore left fielder Kevin Agostinelli aided the Storm’s offense, each having two hits and one RBI. 

Connor Bryant commented on how it felt to beat Nantucket in his senior year at Sturgis, “ It was incredible. We had been talking about it for years and had always been on the verge of winning, but always losing at the last moment. To finally pull out the win just really speaks to how good this [Sturgis’s] team is.”

The Storm finished up the week at Upper Cape Tech on Friday, April 26. Coming in with a two game winning streak, the boys wanted to finish the week strongly. They won 3-0 as Garvey pitched another fantastic complete game shutout, striking out 6 batters and improving his win-loss pitching record to 2-1 this season. Agostinelli had two RBI’S and junior Ryan Bracken had one RBI, as well as an outstanding catch at second base to prevent a line drive single. 

Despite the successful week, the Storm was met with very bad news on Thursday, having learned that they will be without their starting second baseman Ryan Havey going forward. Havey is out indefinitely with what seems to be a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. He was having a strong debut season as he just transferred to Sturgis this year, via the lottery, from Sandwich High School. Havey will have a MRI early next week, so look for an update on his status in the coming days. 

Havey discussed his injury with Stormwatch reporter Jacob Tobey, “Well, I’m angry that it happened but I think everything happens for a reason. I think Ryan Bracken will step up [as the new second baseman] and really contribute to the team in a positive way. I’m going to go to physical therapy and try to come back faster and stronger for next year.” 

Having already benefited from a “do it for Havey” mentality against Upper Cape Tech, the Storm will continue to use this injury as motivation to work hard and win. The Storm will look to improve on their current record of 3-2 against Pope John Paul II, clearly the toughest opponent left on the schedule, today at Lowell Park.