All or Nothing: Irish Look To Go All Out in 2023 Campaign

SEATTLE – It’s that time of the year and O’Dea baseball is back and ready for the start of their 2023 campaign. After the disappointing end of last year which had the Irish upset in the Metro Tournament to low-seeded Ballard, they have their sights set on the bright season coming up.

The Roster

As what happens in most years, teams lose important pieces to their roster who contributed in the past years. This past year, some key losses for the Irish were catcher Joe Githens, first baseman Asa Reese, and pitchers Simon Adams and Max Read. The biggest losses were Reese and Adams, with Reese hitting around .300 and Adams’ ERA under 1 on the year. These losses certainly will take a toll on the team but the Irish definitely have replacements on board for this year. These including returning junior pitcher Patrick Galvin, junior catcher Luke Klooster, junior first baseman Andy Strathy, and senior pitcher Jeffery Woods. For the pitching rotation, the team looks to build around community and unselfishness.

“Some personal goals I have is to be the best team player I can be and help the team win in any way possible,” Woods said.

This type of method really can create team chemistry which provides clutch wins later in the season.

The Schedule

Per usual, the Irish have a tough schedule this year due to the amount of competition that is stacked in the Metro League. Along with that, the Irish have some tough competition in the non-conference games. Their season opener is against the Eastlake Wolves on March 16 at Eastlake. The wolves are expected to be one of the best teams in all of 4A and have a dominant pitching force. One of these pitchers is freshman Keegan Matson who has touched 90 MPH at one point which is extremely impressive for his age.

Onto the Metro League where there will be some opponents that will give the Irish some trouble this year. These teams are the West Seattle Wildcats, Lincoln Lynx, and the Lakeside Lions.

The West Seattle Wildcats are led by dominant senior pitcher Miles Gostozla who can touch 89 mph and is dominant on the mound. Surely expect the Wildcats to put him on the bump against the Irish’s offense this year. The next team is the Lincoln Lynx who are once again led by senior pitcher Bjorn Johnson, who is an Auburn University commit. Johnson gave the Irish offense problems last year, stifling them in a complete game shutout.

“The toughest competition has got to be West Seattle or Lincoln. They’re pitching is lights out which is very important at the high school level. Hopefully we can get past them this year which we weren’t able to do last year.

The senior heavy Irish have a lot to look forward to including hopefully bring another state title to 802 Terry Ave. Go Irish!