Oakton’s baseball team has faced its share of adversity this season. And that was before it played a game.
The Cougars lost three starters to injury during preseason practice last month, including senior third baseman Curtis Eward, who has signed to play baseball at George Washington. Eward dislocated his right shoulder diving into second base on a pickoff attempt and is out for the season. Also, senior catcher Carmine Cafiero broke his ankle while running the bases and junior outfielder Mike Uffelman broke his hand diving for a ball.
The rash of injuries has left Oakton with six freshmen and sophomores regularly in the starting lineup. But the Cougars have remained competitive with a 2-4 record entering this week’s Beach Blast tournament at Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach. Oakton beat Herndon, the Concorde District favorite, 6-5 on April 4 and has lost three district games by two runs or less.
“We thought we’d have a veteran team comingback. It just hasn’t worked out that way,” said Oakton coach Scott Rowland. “But we’ve had a chance to win every game. If we can find ways to pull out more of these one-run games when we get back from spring break we’ll be right there.”
