With the spring sports season approaching, the Hillbillies baseball team is ready to go, as their season opener is right around the corner. 

Captain Ryan Radigan, who plays third base and shortstop, looks to capitalize on the maturity of this year’s team and looks forward to working with a “great group of guys.” One of his favorite high school memories is being in the locker room with his team, as they’ve created a special bond and acknowledged that “it’s more than baseball for all of us.” With a team that is comfortable with each other and has years of experience playing together, there are strong relationships on and off the field. 

Radigan thinks that the Hillbillies have an “energetic” team compiled for this season that’s ready to bring more excitement to the sport. He mentioned that he knows many people think baseball is boring, but with the rivalry game against Cedar Grove returning to the Yogi Berra Stadium at Montclair State University, he thinks that could definitely be a point of attracting more students to the sport. 

Although he does not have a favorite team to play against, he enjoys playing in a more competitive and high-energy environment. He mentioned that this kind of atmosphere is generally found when playing against teams such as Cedar Grove and Glen Ridge, who are considered to be some of Verona’s rivals.

As for Ryan’s personal goals, he hopes to have fun for his last year while also doing his best to win every game. Because this will be his third year on the starting varsity roster, he knows that winning is not always going to happen, but putting in the effort and staying determined is key to his success.

Along with his personal goals, Ryan’s game day prep consists of listening to calming music and things that are going to keep him the most motivated, as he says it’s all a part of his “mental prep.” Eating is also a big part of this, and as he mentioned, if he’s hungry during a game, he feels like he’s not playing to his full potential.

Because of his passion for the sport of baseball since the age of four, Ryan committed to Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania where he will be continuing his athletic and academic career. His motivation to play college baseball was not necessarily influenced by his coaches, although they’ve always been very supportive of him. Ryan is and has been determined to push himself even further and wants to be more than a high school athlete, as he plans to take that work ethic with him.

Ryan mentioned that Arcadia is a “good D3 program.” Additionally, he mentioned that the connections he has made with the coaches so far as well as the campus have given him a “when you know you know feeling.” He also likes that it is a good distance away from Verona.

The Verona Hillbillies first game of the season is on April 1st at West Orange, but you can catch their home opener at VHS on April 3rd against Bloomfield. Follow @vhs.baseball24 on Instagram to see the full schedule.