The Norwalk High Bears baseball team is BOOMING! At the midpoint in the season the Bears hold a 15-1 record and currently hold the #2 spot in the GametimeCT weekly rankings. The Bears were unranked coming into this season and were “just looking to play the game we’ve always played” says 2021 state champion head coach Ryan Mitchell. Coach Mitchell is no stranger to losing, In his first year coaching in 2021 he had given the Bears baseball program their first state championship banner and hasn’t dawned a losing season. Mitchell has coached some dominant teams that all have one thing in common, flamethrowers. Since taking over as head coach, Mitchell has always had a prestigious “Ace”, from the names of Alistar Morin, Derron Koppel, Chase DePalma, Jaxon Ermo, and even the freshman sensation Gavin Chakar, this team seems like any other winning season, but one thing stands out…
In past years, the media, fans, and even students and staff have doubted the Bears offensive side. The Bears bats in the past couple years have been inconsistent and seemed to go cold when the team needed them most, which seems to be the difference this year.The Bears have been booming in the box this season with a combined team average of almost above .300 and have been a scary lineup to face for opposing pitchers. Every position has been producing from the top of the lineup like Kevin Gordon and Antwan Cardona, all the way to the bottom like Jaiden Singh and Frank Bergin (who leads the team in homers!). The bears have scored a total of 100 runs through the first 16 games of the season and it all comes with the spark plugs at the top of the lineup.
Kevin Gordon has had big shoes to fill since stepping foot on any type of field for Norwalk High. “Gordon” is a name that has been heard since before COVID-19 with his older brother being the Bears starting quarterback and an elite baseball player on the diamond. Although the shoes are huge, Kevin has really grown into them well, becoming the WR1 for the Bears and being the consistent leadoff hitters for the Bears since his sophomore season! Behind him is 2B, Antwan Cardona. “Twan” for what his teammates call him, has been one of the most consistent hitters in any lineup that Coach Mitchell has made. Twan just recently broke the school record for stolen bases which just shows how much he gets on base. Cardona has earned some type of All-FCIAC recognition since freshman year. In the 3-hole is Jacob Fields. Jacob is a proficient power hitter for the Bears, he is second in team home runs behind Frankie Bergin.
The 4-5-6 spots in the lineup can easily be the 1-2-3 as well, Jaxon Ermo, aside from being a star pitcher has been dominant at the plate hitting almost above .350 and coming up clutch when needed the most. After him is David Harry, 1B, David has had near zero strikeouts this season and had been great at the plate. Putting the ball in play is very important in baseball and David is really good at that. In the 6-hole is the trusty captain, Matt Rinaldi. Rinaldi has been a practical singles hitter by getting on base and being extremely smart on the basepath.
Jaiden Singh, Dylan Izzi, and Frank Bergin close out the lineup and are not a doubt to it either. Them combined batting .315 and not letting the fastballs by them. The bears are on roll looking to enter the playoffs as the 1 seed and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Behind an incredible pitching staff and a improved hitting lineup, the bears look to circle back to 2021 where it ended with the bears climbing the mountain and holding up the plaque that says “state champs”.
