The Jesuit High School Sacramento varsity baseball team split its first two games of the season — defeating Alpha Charter School 6-5 on March 31 and falling 15-3 to De La Salle High School on April 1. 

Against Alpha Charter, Drake Bicknell ’21 got the start — allowing one run on two hits over five innings, striking out seven. Chase Hamilton ’23 took the mound after Drake, but didn’t have much success — surrendering three runs and Jesuit’s lead in his one-inning of work. 

The Marauders would regain their lead after a three-run sixth inning as third baseman Brett Griffiths ’22 and shortstop Jack Williamson ’22 drove in runs with singles, and designated hitter Andrew Sloan ’22 hit a sacrifice fly to bring another run home. 

Coming in to pitch the final inning, Harley Sherman ’22 gave up a run, but still managed to close the game for Jesuit. 

First baseman and Pepperdine University signee Devon Walczykowski ’21, who had two hits against Alpha Charter, was complimentary of Drake’s outing on the mound and happy with the way his team put runs on the board. 

“I think we played a great first game against Alpha Charter,” Devon said. “Drake Bicknell pitched a good game and the offense was really working well together. We had great team at-bats and we were able to score some runs.”

Ranked No. 5 in the North Coast Section and full of players with college offers and others who have already committed or signed to a college, De La Salle proved to be a tougher opponent for Jesuit. 

USC commit junior Eli Gennis was the starting pitcher for De La Salle. Gennis struggled to command his pitches in the first inning, walking in a run and giving up an RBI single to Jesuit right fielder Carsen Keim ’21. 

After a rocky first inning, Gennis would settle in and not allow another hit in his three innings of work — being credited as the winning pitcher. De La Salle would use four more pitchers in the game, three of whom allowed no hits or runs. Jesuit’s only other run came in the top of the fourth inning when Jack Williamson singled on a ground ball to center field which scored catcher Jake Moreau ’23. 

Colton Wuelfing ’21 was the starting pitcher for Jesuit. Against what might be the best lineup Jesuit will face this season, Colton gave up seven hits and seven earned runs in one and a third innings. Pitcher Dylan Burke ’23 followed but surrendered seven runs across the three and two-third innings that he pitched. 

The only Jesuit pitcher not to allow a run was Devon, who took the mound in the bottom of the sixth inning and struck out two batters and allowed one hit. 

Despite losing by a substantial margin, Devon isn’t discouraged by the loss.

“The game against De La Salle was expected,” Devon said. “They are a great offensive team and we left some pitches up in the zone that they were able to hit. We know what we need to do better, and I’m confident that we can get those things done. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Carsen Keim also reflected on the De La Salle game along with playing against Alpha Charter.

“I would say that our performance versus both teams was very helpful,” Carsen said. “We always know that De La Salle will give us a tough game if we don’t play our best. As far as the Alpha Charter game, it was nice to start off the season strong. But it was super fun to finally be back on the field.”

After starting the season with a 1-1 record, Jesuit will look to get over .500 in their next game against the Granite Bay High School Grizzlies on Tuesday, April 6. The game will be at Jesuit with the first pitch at 4 p.m.

The Grizzlies are 4-1 and are ranked No. 1 in the Greater Sacramento area by the Sacramento Bee. It will be a tough test for the Marauders, but they’ll be well prepared after playing the best team on their schedule in De La Salle.