Baseball Recap: Westchester Country Day Takes Down Salem Baptist Christian in a Playoff Battle

Wildcats

Margin (Wins)

02/28/25 vs Salem Baptist Christian	17
04/08/25 @ Greensboro Day School	13
04/23/25 vs Gaston Day	11
05/08/25 vs Salem Baptist Christian	10
05/02/25 vs Caldwell Academy	10

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Westchester Country Day walked away with it. They beat the Salem Baptist Christian Vikings on Thursday by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 11-1. Considering the Wildcats have won seven matches by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.

Ricky Velez was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double. He has become a key player for Westchester Country Day: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 4-10 otherwise.

In other batting news, Westchester Country Day let Kaline Burr-Ellis and Jesse Covington run wild. Burr-Ellis went 3-for-4 with three stolen bases, three runs, and one RBI, while Covington went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs. Westchester Country Day is 6-1 when Covington posts two or more runs, but 2-10 otherwise. Ryan Engle was another key player, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

The win (which was Westchester Country Day's fourth in a row) raised their record to 8-11. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Salem Baptist Christian, their loss dropped their record down to 6-10.

Westchester Country Day wasted no time getting back out on the field and has already played their next contest, a 4-0 win against Greenfield on the 10th. Salem Baptist Christian does not have any more games scheduled as of now.