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.

Sturgis Baseball Targets “More” Success in 2013

By Jacob Tobey, staff reporter

It’s that time of year again, and opening day for Sturgis baseball  is just a few days away. After a respectable regular season record of  8-8 followed by a loss to West Bridgewater in the state tournament last year, the Storm will seek victory as they open up against Nantucket away this Saturday.

    One of the keys to success this year for Sturgis will definitely be senior captain Kyle Garvey, who has been quite the player in his Sturgis career and looks to continue his excellence in his final season.

    “Well, I think we will go 10 and 6 this year,” Garvey projected in an interview with Stormwatch reporter Jacob Tobey.

    Garvey did not shy away from sharing his own lofty goals for the season as well:  “Personally, I am trying to win 8 games as a pitcher, hit .600 [batting average], make states, and win in the states. I also want to set the Sturgis pitching record for most wins.”  

    Ever since Sturgis baseball has been around, several teams have made it to the state tournament but have never moved on past the first round.  

    Senior captain Connor Bryant commented on this annual obstacle, “We have always said, ‘we need to make the tournament' and we do, but we never get past that first game. This year, our coach's idea for a word to describe our season is ‘more.’ We need to want more, no matter how far we go. This year, our goal is not only to make the tournament, but to be the first Sturgis team to win a game in the tournament."  

    That desire that the team holds will take them a long way and hopefully propel them to success in the tournament. Bryant preaches leadership as he will try to direct a team with three underclassman in the starting lineup and seven underclassmen on the varsity squad overall.  

    "I try my best to lead by example, but I am not the most athletically talented kid, per se, but on the field, I try to be loud, always cheering on my teammates and just giving instructions.”

    With a ratio of eight upperclassmen to seven underclassmen on the varsity roster, chemistry is another big piece of the puzzle in putting a winning team out on the field. Bryant stated, “The team this year is the closest one I have been a part of in my four years [at Sturgis]...Chemistry is key for our team; it is what has made us successful in the past when our level of talent was lower. Now, our chemistry is what is going to put us over the top this year."  

    The Storm clearly want to do well this season, as last season was a disappointment in some of the players’ eyes because Kyle Garvey had injured his back in the first inning of the state tournament game and couldn’t pitch the rest of the way. Sturgis went on to lose 10-2 to West Bridgewater.

    When asked about which game he looks forward to the most, Garvey answered, “Probably Nantucket because we have never beaten them and we should have last year, but we never did”  (Sturgis lost 5-3 and 6-2 last year). Seeing that this is the first opponent on their schedule, Saturday’s game should be one to remember as the Storm travel across Nantucket Sound, ready to check off their first win of many in 2013.

Model United Nations: An Incredible Experience

By Katie Curran, staff reporter

From March 6-9, 2013, 55 Sturgis students, 41 from Sturgis East and 14 from West, attended the 39th annual National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN) Conference in New York City. MUN delegation leader Mr. Fetzer , hotel/transportation coordinator Mr. Hyer, and two Faculty advisors, Ms. Roselander and Ms. Cavanaugh, also went on the trip.  

Every March, NHSMUN hosts 3,000 participants from 150 schools from over 20 countries to represent certain countries’ delegations in the United Nations. This year, Sturgis East represented Sudan and Yemen.  During this conference, these delegates participated in simulated committee meetings and plenary sessions. During the course of the four-day conference, each committee debated and discussed solutions to topics that the actual UN was facing, and each country had to collaborate with other delegates to come up with a draft resolution to the topic.  

I personally represented the delegation of Sudan in the committee of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, otherwise known as UNIDO.  

Each committee took part in high-level debates during the sessions, providing everyone with an unparalleled opportunity to experience the theory and practice of international relations first-hand. It was truly an eye-opening experience that gave me an insight into the United Nations.  

I also attended various committee sessions similar to mine, in which we discussed “Sustainable Development in Developing Sub-Saharan African Countries.”  During moderated and unmoderated caucuses, delegations worked together to create a resolution paper that would address the issues that their committee was working on.  

We spent 3 days in committee working together and finally came to a consensus on the final day.  All of the delegates went to the United Nations and voted on which resolution papers would be passed.  To conclude the conference, students spoke about the papers they had drafted and the countries voted on which resolutions the Model United Nations would pursue.  The opening and closing ceremonies were held in the UN General Assembly chamber, where actual UN diplomats convene every year.

In addition to the actual committee sessions, we heard a speech from Jim Ziolkowski, the founder, president, and CEO of “buildOn,” a non-profit organization that builds schools in developing countries while also running after school service programs in America’s toughest inner-cities.

On the last night, students were invited to the “Delegate Dance”.  Delegates dressed up and had one last hurrah with their new friends.  In addition to these events, Sturgis went out to dinner at Rockefeller Center. W had been staying at the beautiful Hilton Hotel on the Avenue of the Americas.  

In all, simulations such as NHSMUN are invaluable educational tools, as they teach our future leaders about the United Nations and the international community through intensively researched debate with their peers in a setting moderated by students from the most elite universities.

NHSMUN was an incredible experience, and I will definitely return next year.  If it wasn’t for Sturgis, I would never have been offered this valuable and rewarding experience.