When worlds collide; how friendship changed baseball for two young men

     The North Harford Baseball team defeated Harford Technical with a score of 7-2 on April 28, 2021 however this was not the only victory in favor of the Hawks.

     Garrett Reinecke, junior at North Harford, won big during this game as he beat long-time friend and rival, junior Zack Rives of Harford Technical.

     Reinecke spoke on the win claiming “it was just another game to me” while also claiming the results for their rematch on the 21st of May will remain the same quoting “ I think we still win because I think we are more skilled” 

     Reinecke’s claims do not go unbacked however as North Harford (10-1) sits at number 2 on Maxpreps Maryland High school baseball power rankings, placing only behind Archbishop Spalding (17-4-1) while Harford Technical places 38 at a record of 4 wins and 7 losses.

     Reinecke spoke on his rivalry claiming “Friendly rivalries are a lot more fun because it is a lot more competitive [to play] against people you know” as well as stating “one thing I envy [about Zack] is his passion for the game and my only advice I’d give is to not get in your own head”

     Reinecke put emphasis on keeping things friendly claiming “Zack is my hubby” as well as stating “ I think Zack could definitely go to college for sports and potentially even the league, baseball or football, he has a fire that not many others have”

     Now we have heard Garrett’s side of the rivalry, let’s flip the script onto Zack Rives. Rives had the utmost respect for Reinecke claiming “Garrett and I have become better friends through baseball, which then pushes me to be a better player and competitor” as well as stating “Our friendship did not make the game more important to me, only because of the predictable outcome. If the skill level between teams were more balanced, that would be a different story”

     Rives had a lot to say about his friend and fellow competitor, using words such as “hustle” and “discipline” to describe Reinecke. Rives claimed “From sprinting to every ball to make the play, to backing up his teammates in a play, he always knows where to be and he gets there as quickly as possible”

     Rives wanted to leave his talks about Reinecke positive and kind, when asked about a piece of advice, Rives claimed “As for a piece of advice, I would say to keep working on the physical aspect of the game. He is very talented at playing the game and has the mental discipline [to make the league], but nobody is perfect.”

     Rives left the interview in good spirits, leaving the remark “Keep grinding, and never let the pedal off the metal. One day you might be as good as me” in good fun towards his competitor and friend, Reinecke.