Seniors and faculty members prepare for their clash on the softball field.

On Friday, September 21, the Regis community celebrated its annual Bear Mountain Day. Trading in pencils and books for bats and balls, faculty members and students boarded buses and set out for what promised to be a fun chance to escape the bustle of the city for the day.

“The plan is, as always, simple," said Christian Mariano '99, Assistant Principal for Student Life and Formation. “Let's load a bunch of buses and head north."

“As was typical of the day," Mariano continued, “Students enjoyed a myriad of activities like hiking Bear Mountain, fishing, football, and Ultimate Frisbee." All could be seen smiling and having a great day of no classes.

To round out the festivities, the community gathered around to watch the annual faculty/senior softball game. It was shaping up to be an epic clash: youth vs. experience, student vs. teacher. Though the seniors had plenty of confidence on their end, Athletic Director and umpire Kevin Cullen remarked prior to the game that the faculty team was “the best faculty team I've seen in my years here."

That pregame assessment proved to be very accurate. Though the seniors fought hard, they were no match for a barrage of home runs (including three still in orbit from Team Captain Sal Annunziata) and a demoralizing, stalwart defense from the faculty. When the dust finally settled, the faculty handily defeated the seniors by a final score of 15-4.

After the game, the buses were boarded again for the return trip to school.

“The day was a complete success," said Mariano. "The greatest spectacle was reserved for the afternoon when the faculty cruised to a victorious win in the now-annual Seniors vs. Coach Annunziata Softball Game."

Students enjoy the views at the summit of their hike. Photo courtesy Luis Gomez '14.

Though he normally teaches students that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, biology teacher Mr. Xavier Simon '05 was instead a powerhouse himself for the faculty team during the game.

Ad victoriam! Latin teacher Mr. David Bonagura '99 takes a swing.

Members of the English Department, Dr. Allison Tyndall and Mr. Joe Quinn '04, remember that old adage: “The pen is mightier than the sword, but the softball bat is far mightier than both."

Things weren't all bad for the seniors; they did score 4 runs. Unfortunately for the seniors, they were not playing golf, so the lowest score did not win on this occasion.

Math teacher Mr. Brendan MacDonnell P'16'20 exchanged his protractor for a mitt on Friday. Luckily, he didn't forget what he knows about angles. Mr. MacDonnell was a force in tracking down ground balls in the infield.

AMP Mentor Gordon Farley '14 puts his 4 years of Regis baseball experience to work, driving home one of 14 faculty runs.

Though he normally helps seniors get into college, today senior guidance counselor Mr. Christopher Febles only helped them to get into the 'L' column.

The faculty team was all smiles on Friday. Here, they celebrate Math teacher Mr. Tim O'Reilly '91's home run. His three run homer helped the faculty to score a whopping 14 runs. Team Captain Sal Annunziata, left, can be seen laughing about how far his next home run will travel. Did we mention that the faculty scored 14 runs?

After a great day at the mountain, the students make their way to the buses to head home.