The Saint Paul’s CORE Pack Wolves (the school’s program for students with special needs) traveled to Coquille Parks and Recreation and defeated the Archbishop Hannan Hawks in a kickball game, winning 22-19 on Sept. 19, 2025.

The memorable day began with a team meeting led by CORE Pack moderator Mrs. Carla Barwick, who reviewed the rules and proper behavior for both mentors and CORE Pack members. Following that, CORE Pack’s Coach Jamar Mitchell delivered a rallying and inspirational speech, discussing how they had prepared and the game plan going into the matchup.

After this, everyone walked to the bus where coach Kristian Gibbe was waiting in the driver’s seat, greeting all the players and mentors. Once everyone was seated, the team was ready to rock n’ roll.

The bus ride there was not the smoothest, to say the least. A few bumps on the road gave everyone on the bus some airtime. Still, the team was in good spirits, filled with laughter and confidence, with William Narretto, one of Saint Paul’s Core Pack students, claiming he would hit three home runs (he did not, but he tried his best).

Upon arrival, the Hannan Hawks delivered a warm welcome with music and a tunnel of people. Following that, the rosters of both teams were called out. Next, Saint Paul’s Core Pack junior Gary Miller led both teams in a group stretch to prevent injury and get ready for the game. Finally, there was a prayer, praying for both teams to come out uninjured and to have fun.

As the national anthem played, the tension rose, and both teams went to their respective dugouts, ready to play kickball!

The Wolves were first at bat, and they came out swinging. For a team to get out of the outfield, they either had to get three outs or the batting team had to go through their whole batting order. Kaden Vicknair hit a triple in the first at bat to get the Wolves up and running, and the team would continue through the entire batting order, with the other team only getting two outs.

The final batter in the batting order was John Martinez, who hit a grand slam, putting four more runs on the board. “It felt good. I’ve been practicing really hard with CORE, and that’s about it. Practice makes perfect.” Martinez excitedly told others in the dugout.

An interesting development in the game was that Saint Paul’s senior Hunter Marchand had a family member on the opposing team. This left him stuck rooting for both teams. “I want both teams to do well. I’m cheering for Saint Paul’s, but I really want my cousin to do well and for her to be happy,” Marchand stated.

Saint Paul’s led comfortably for most of the game with everyone being calm, collected, and focused. Still, as much as everyone was focused, they were having just as much fun. For the entirety of the game, it seemed there were good spirits all throughout the dugout and on the field.

The practice was paying off for the Wolves, as they showed tremendous improvement from last year’s game, in which they were blown out by the Hannan Hawks. John Fitzpatrick made the improvement from sitting down in the outfield to standing up and being ready for action (everyone was very proud).

What won the game was the Wolves’ ability to get three outs before the Hawks could go through their full batting order and their consistency at the plate, as almost everyone was getting on base.

The two key defensive players were Kaden Vicknair and Dylan Dishon. Both showed tremendous calmness in the infield and outfield, no matter what came their way. They caught multiple outs for the Wolves, contributing to their path to victory.

John Martinez was considered the team MVP by many in attendance, as he stood out when he was on the plate with only five at-bats; he hit two grand slams and a homer, racking up seven runs for the Wolves in total.

Two other highlight players were Andrew Adamcewicz and Christopher Bonanno, who brought energy to the dugout. Adamcewicz seemed to always be in a positive mindset, cheering for his teammates, while Bonanno got everyone pumped up with his dance moves at the plate.

One player, Gary Miller, was struggling to get on base, striking out in his first two at-bats. Then, after some instruction from Coach Jamar Mitchell and some mentors, he walked up to the plate for his third at-bat and had a contact hit that got him onto base with everyone cheering him on as he sprinted down the baseline.

Another player to note was Matthew Seal, also known as “Mr. Consistent.” Every at-bat, Seal got a hit, getting on base before they could throw it to first almost every time to help keep the steady momentum going for the team.

Nearing the end of the game, the Wolves led 22-15 in the bottom of the last inning, with the Hawks up to bat. The Wolves only needed one out to seal the deal and walk out with a victory.

In a high-scoring game like this one, it felt like anything was possible, and the Hawks were not ready to accept defeat. They came out swinging, trying to make the comeback, and they would cut the difference to 22-19 until the Wolves got their out at first base to end the game.

The two teams shook hands and said, “Good game,” since there was no bad blood between them, and both had a great time. The teams returned to their dugouts to clean up any trash, leaving it cleaner than when they arrived. Nothing but joy filled the air as the wolves celebrated their hard-earned win.

Finally, there was a team photo to commemorate the day the Saint Paul’s Wolves avenged last year’s loss.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Carla Barwick and Haleigh Habisreitinger