Sidwell dropped its season opener to Riverdale Baptist, 3-12. At this early point in the season, the Crusaders, with no errors and aggressive approaches at the plate, looked more polished than the Quakers.

Nonetheless, Sidwell settled down after the first few innings and played some good defense: routine plays were made as well as a few outstanding ones. Notably, Luke Friedman snagged a ground ball hit hard up the middle and made a quick and strong throw to easily beat the runner at first; Matt Romansky made a diving catch on a slicing line drive hit to center field; and Shane Tierney threw a dart from deep right center to nail a Riverdale baserunner trying to stretch his hit into a double.

Offensively, Sidwell struggled to adjust to live pitching, only recording three hits. On the mound, the Sidwell pitchers, Friedman, Matt Levy, and Romansky, did fine even if undistinguished work. Moving forward, it is clear that Sidwell has plenty of potential -- but also a fair amount of work to do in order to be prepared for when the season begins in earnest after spring break.