Baseball teammates often grow as close as brothers. But four players on the Riverhawks squad really are brothers.

First-year players Will and Jackson Burchick and Alejandro and Sebastian Casanova joined the team this season and said they practice with each other on and off the field.

Left fielder Will Burchick said he likes to face live pitching against his brother, a pitcher, outside of practice. 

“It’s always a competition to see if [he] can get a hit off me [or] if I can strike him out,” Burchick, a business student, said.

Alejandro and Sebastian Casanova said they take reps at a batting cage outside of AACC.

“We live in our apartment [and] next to our apartment we have a baseball field with cages,” Alejandro, a right fielder, said. “And we will go there and practice every day we have off and we will get our work in there.”

The Burchick brothers both attended Mount Saint Joseph High School. The Casanova’s were born in Puerto Rico and attended Annapolis High School. 

“It’s nice … growing up [and] playing together,” Will Burchick said. “It is cool to keep playing at a high level and playing with someone as close as your brother.” 

Head baseball coach Nick Hoffner said it “feels good [to coach two sets of brothers]. I’ve had brothers on the team before. … Those guys always have familiarity with each other.”

Alejandro Casanova, an engineering student, said his favorite baseball memory is of playing in a tournament with Sebastian.

“Our team from Puerto Rico was [in the] top three in the tournament,” Casanova said.

But the Burchick brothers said playing together isn’t always easy.

“Since we are brothers, we are pretty harsh on each other,” Will Burchick noted. “But that’s for the best, because that’s how the both of us know that we can continue to become better.”

Alejandro Casanova said he’ll never forget the experience playing alongside his brother.

“We learned a lot of valuable life lessons from baseball,” he said. “And [we’ll look back on] all the memories we had together since we were 4 years old. … We talk about it every day.”

Jackson Burchick agreed.

“It’s fun having somebody like your brother you’re playing with all this time,” Burchick, a transfer studies student, said. “Then you go home and talk about it. There is a good amount of banter that still goes on. So, you know, it keeps things competitive, which is nice.”

Sebastian Casanova, a second and third baseman, said the team has welcomed him and his brother. 

“They’re great teammates,” Casanova, a business student, noted. “They help us … feel at home. So it’s like a family.”

Casanova added: “You never know when will be the last time we play together.”