La Palma, CA — For those who have followed the progress of the Kennedy Fighting Irish this year, it has been a journey of revelation and delight. When the season started, it was uncertain what would be in store. Managing only an 11-17 record the previous season that included but 1 win in league, they started off winning 3 of the first 5 games. That put them above .500 and their fans were hopeful that they could put together an improved season. By the time they opened play in the Lions Tournament on March 23, losing to West Torrance by a score of 7-0, they still had a respectable record of 8-5. While no one would have said they were of championship caliber, they were playing increasingly better baseball and demonstrating a growing team chemistry and unity. And there were a variety of players who were stepping up at different times to help bring home victories. But then something happened. It would seem that as a team they begin to mature into a unit that believed in themselves and became convinced that they were never out of a ballgame. Their pitching, which was always good, begin to reach a new level. And their bats came alive in explosive fashion. They defeated Gladstone High School in the second game of the Lions Tournament by a convincing 12-2 margin and came right back in the next game to trounce Wilsonville 23-4. That was the beginning of a nine game winning streak and an incredible 12 victories in the next 13 games. When they welcomed rival Cypress to their home diamond Wednesday, they were just a game behind the Centurions in the Empire League chase with a 5-1 record. Cypress, Empire League perennial champs, were undefeated at 6-0. The game was expected to be a pitching duel with both schools sending their aces to the mound. Those expectations were more than met. Wyatt Johnson held Cypress scoreless for 4 innings, allowing 2 hits and striking out 3. The Irish were the first to score when Sebastian McSherry, who played a career game, led off with a double. Then, with two outs, second baseman Jaelyn Edds blasted a ball over the left fielder’s head to one-bounce the wall. McSherry coasted home and the Irish led 1-0. McSherry came up again in the fourth inning and worked the count full before roping a line drive that cleared the wall in left for a home run. Kennedy now led 2-0. Cypress got things going in their top of the fifth when a hit, an error and a controversial out of bounds call netted the Centurions a couple of runs to tie the game at 2-2. That is how it stayed until the final inning when Tyler Chafee led off for Cypress with a double. It looked as if Johnson was going to pitch his way out of the spot when he retired the next two batters, including his fifth strikeout. But, Braden Murphy doubled in a two-out go ahead run. A walk and 2 singles later, Cypress led by what would be the final score, 5-2. Cameron Reppetti went 6 strong innings for Cypress, scattering 7 hits, striking out 7 and limiting Kennedy to the two runs. Besides the fine pitching performance by Johnson, McSherry shined both on offense and defense. The catcher was one hit short of a cycle, singling, doubling and homering in his 3 trips to the plate. He also threw out two runners trying to steal and almost picked off another runner at second on a play that most of the crowd felt that he had actually succeeded. We have already mentioned the RBI double with which Edds brought in the first run in the second inning. In addition, Albert Munoz, Tyler Beckler and Jason May also hit safely to bring Kennedy’s hit total to 7. In spite of the loss, Kennedy showed that they deserve a place on the field with the best that Southern California High School baseball has to offer. They fought Cypress on even terms literally to the final out. They played well enough to win and showed that they do, indeed, have championship caliber potential. They continue their post-season quest on Friday when they journey to the Cypress home park to renew their rivalry. Game time will be 3pm.