Friday, April 23rd the Pennridge Rams took on the Quakertown Panthers in a tough battle at the Reading Phillies Stadium. The Reading Phillies Stadium, also known as the FirstEnergy Stadium, is home to the Reading Fightin’ Phils. The stadium was voted the second-best place to see a baseball game by Minor League News in 2006 and can seat almost 70,000 people. Quakertown rented out the stadium this month in honor of their seniors for their senior night and asked Pennridge to play them, as Pennridge is their number-one rival.  Before the game on Friday night the Pennridge Ram’s overall record was 2-6 and their in-conference record was 1-4. The Quakertown Panther’s overall record was 4-3 and their in-conference was 2-1.

Senior, Ryan Healy, plays middle infield, second base, and shortstop. When asked what it means to be a part of this team he answered, “It means a lot. There are a lot of very talented players on this team and we have the potential to be very successful”. He plans on leaving his mark on the Pennridge Baseball team by always doing his best and giving his all to the team. Another Pennridge senior, Gavin Baranowski, is unfortunately out due to an injury but has been a great asset to help the team in any other way possible. Gavin’s injury has made him realize how much he enjoys playing in the games and being around his teammates. When asked if he has seen improvement in the team he states, “Yes, I have seen some improvement especially in the team atmosphere. We are playing more for each other I think, and staying engaged and focused the whole game”. 

The game unfortunately did not end in the Pennridge Rams favor, but it was a very close game as they were able to put up a good battle. The game ended with a score of 4-3 with Quakertown taking the win, but it was not an easy win as the score was 3-3 until the bottom of the sixth inning when Justin Butler broke the 3-3 tie. The Pennridge Rams hope to make it to the playoffs this year still, but realize that they will have to win almost all of their games left to make it. Their main area of improvement would be to work on their approaches at the plate, but there have been improvements made throughout every game this year according to Gavin Baranowski. The team’s 100% effort has what it takes to win, however, they have to just keep playing their hardest to make it to the playoffs this year.