Youth has been the story for Eagles’ baseball in 2025, and a pair of underclassmen are in the midst of breakout seasons.

Sophomore Amond Sands and freshman Tripp Swords have provided a jolt for the Eagles’ lineup and pitching staff.

The pair have been heating up as of late, but the two ball players go way back despite being in different classes.

The two have played together since their days in recreation baseball when they were ages eight and nine. Now in high school baseball, Sands shared how this game has been a part of their lives for a long time.

“I have been playing since I came out,” Sands joked. “It’s been a long road. I have been with him [Swords] most of the time.”

Now in the Eastside green and white, the two are having strong starts in their first true seasons as starters.

Sands has been on a tear at the plate, with the sophomore collecting multi-hit games in four of the Eagles’ last five games.

The approach at the plate for Sands has been simple.

“I have been slowing the game down, trying not to do too much,” Sands said. “Stay within myself and help my team win.”

Sands leads the Eagles in almost every offensive category. On top of a staggering .565 batting average, Sands also leads the team in runs(six), hits(13), RBIs(4), doubles(two), on-base percentage(.600), slugging percentage(.652) and on-base plus slugging(1.252).

The sophomore has also shown off his speed on the basepaths with three stolen bases.

For Swords, the freshman has been dealing the mound in his recent games.

In his most recent outing against Monroe Area, Swords pitched a complete game shutout that saw the freshman strikeout 13 batters while only giving up two hits across seven innings.

According to Swords, the success is due in part to his confidence level.

“Honestly, when I get up on the mound I just feel like I am the guy — I am going to strike him out,” Swords said. “I never really lose my confidence on the mound. I think when I hit, but when I am on the mound I just throw whatever is on my mind.”

The results have spoken for themselves for Swords on the mound. Prior to the stellar outing against the Hurricanes, Swords struck out six batters against Social Circle through 5.1 innings of work.

On the season, Swords currently holds a team-best 2.27 earned run average among starters. Additionally, Swords leads the team in innings pitched(12.1), strikeouts(19) and opponents’ batting average(.156).

With a young core overall at Eastside, the pair did not shy away from expectations in the years to come as well as where this current Eagles team can go this season.

“We are so young, we only have about two seniors leaving,” Sands said. ‘Next year, watch out. It is going to be a show. Even later this year.”

Sands’ sentiment is shared with Swords.

“We are just trying to build off it, I think we are going to be really good next year,” Swords said. “We can only get better with how young we are.”

With this season’s future still up for grabs, the pair shared what parts of their games they have been working on.

Even with the success at the plate, Sands has still worked on driving the ball.

“I have gotten to where I am hitting the ball harder than I ever was,” Sands said.”I can hit it up the middle a lot more [and] to the opposite field. Not being just a pull hitter.”

Sands noted how the team’s at-bats as a whole have taken a step up in recent games, too.

“As a team we just haven’t hit the ball well,” Sands said. “Last night [against Evans] we had two doubles, a bunch of singles and a triple. We are starting to come around and hit the ball which helps break out a season.”

With the recent success for Swords on the mound, the freshman spoke about his pitch mix and some things he has been working on to elevate his repertoire.

“Right now I am working with a changeup, fastball, and a curveball,” Swords said. “Ever since I started throwing my curveball I kind of let up on the changeup, so I am trying to get that working again. I can locate my fastball well right now, I am just working on that.”

Another thing for Swords has been the adjustment to the high school level.

Although he played with the Eagles as an eighth grader, the freshman shared how there has still been an adjustment to his every-day role.

“Definitely the pressure,” Swords said. “With being so young, you have a lot of eyes on you so you feel like there is a lot of pressure on you. I am just trying to not think about it and just play.”

Even with that, Swords made sure to emphasize just how important his current playing time has been to his overall development as a player.

“It is a blessing,” Swords said. “I get to see all this good talent so early and I can definitely build off it in the future. It will help a lot in the coming years.”

With a pair of underclassmen breaking out for a young Eagles team in 2025, they will look to begin region play 1-0 when they take on Walnut Grove Tuesday, March 11 at 5:55 p.m