Baseball season is approaching, and the Antioch Sequoits are still looking for someone to replace last year’s catcher, alum TJ Schuyler. Antioch’s 2023-2024 baseball season kicks off on Feb. 26. Last year’s senior captain, Schuyler, led the Sequoits in almost every statistical category. On the batting side alone, Schuyler led the team in batting average, on-base percentage, extra-base hits and stolen bases.
Schuyler made a drastic impact on the Sequoit baseball team. Through his leadership skills and unmatched performance, many of the underclassmen quickly began to look up to him in each game. As the baseball team looks to fill Schuyler’s shoes junior, Mason Willis is a strong contender. Willis was an underclassman during Schuyler’s final season and he learned a lot from him and recently spoke very highly of him.
“He was a guy that people would look up to because he was the best person to come through the school since Paul DeJong,” Willis said. “People just wanted to be like him and do what he did.”
Schuyler was extremely supportive and was somebody that everyone could look up to. He was the upperclassman on Antioch’s baseball team that everyone could model. He pushed last year’s team to their limits to help produce the best version of themselves.
Willis also said that although he might not do as good of a job as Schuyler did he will play to the best of his ability with the amount of work he has put in. Willis is a great baseball player who has played with varsity since his freshman year. He’s been waiting years for the opportunity to show that he isn’t just in Schuyler’s shadow, and that opportunity is finally here.
Senior Jake Erikson is the other main catcher for the Sequoits this season.
“While his talent isn’t replicable, the leadership he showed in the program is. The older guys in the program need to step up and lead the younger guys. We need to strive to help every guy in the program develop as a player and motivate them to continue to work harder every day,” Erikson said.
He believes that the seniors will be able to work in unison to help the younger athletes, just like Schuyler once did for them. The Sequoits had a total of nine seniors graduate last year and have seven juniors who will be returning for this year’s season. They will be at a disadvantage with having less experience but the seniors are up for the immense challenge.
Both Willis and Erikson speak very highly of Schuyler and for significant reasons; he has set the bar over the top for the future catchers and team captains who pass through Antioch’s baseball program.
