Hit, Run, Florida!: On the Road to the CACC
By: Michael Schauder ‘20
Another year of baseball season beings, and again, the College’s baseball team will travel to Florida to start their journey to the CACC.
Last year, the Griffins finished two games over .500 at 23–21. Their first game this year will be against a familiar opponent, Florida Memorial University.
Last year the team suffered two losses and one victory during a three-game series. This trip will allow the coaching staff to work with the roster and see how the team will collaborate during the season.
Griffins’ first baseman, Grant Schwartz ’21 believes that he and his team will play well this season and trusts that the competition will help the team out.
“I’m really excited to head down there with a great group of guys and play baseball,” Schwarts said. “We’ve worked really hard this offseason and we are ready for this trip.”
Relief pitcher Gerald Mangan ’20 brings some experience to the bullpen and will help the new pitchers grow.
“ Were dealing with a lot of injures, so its going to be a challenge,” Mangan said. “I’m really excited to see what the future holds for us when we get healthy.”
“Our expectations remain the same as they have been for many years — improve with each inning played,” said Coach Robert Spratt.
The baseball team has always used the play time in Florida as a challenging warm-up before their conference season starts.
“I am most looking forward to getting the team outside in great weather competing against great competition,” Spratt said. “It has been a long time since we were on a field together playing baseball.”
Unfortunately, with the loss of eight key players, the team is slowly scrambling to make sure those spots are filled. Florida will give the coaching staff a chance to look at which young players have the ability to fill these spots.
“The biggest difference is the loss of our seniors from last year,” Spratt said. “You don’t replace Alec Craig (who in my opinion was the player in the CACC last year), Matt Owens, Andrew Sibson, Pat Kelley, Evan Grimes, Demetrious Isaac and Pat Geraghty.”
Alec Craig ’18, one of the many who graduated this past year, was one of the College’s most successful baseball players in history.
Craig had a single-season batting average mark (.403) and matched his own single-season walk record (38). With a .971 fielding percentage (209 total chances, 70 putouts, 6 errors) and a league-high 133 assists, Craig left a huge gaping whole to be filled.
“Each one of those guys holds a special place in our program,” Spratt said. “That group was very successful and set the ground work for the returners to continue on that path of returning to a CACC Championship.”
Hopefully with the legacy in which the seniors have left, the underclassmen and returning seniors will take on the role and use Florida as a launcher for another successful season.
Spratt said that the leadership provided by returning seniors, including Eric Gilham, Eric Small, Dino Cattai, Tim Casey, and Matt Kress will be essential in fostering a successful season for the team.
The boys will compete in a double header in sunny Florida on Saturday, March 2 at 12:00 p.m. against Florida Memorial University.
