Today we have had some wind and some rain, thus our doubleheader against Hope College has been postponed until Tuesday, May 10th at Adrian College. We are still traveling to Hope tomorrow to play two games of the four game series. As always, when you love getting out there and competing on the baseball field, it is a bit of a disappointment to have games postponed. And when a team has been playing as well as we have, the players and coaches just want to get back out there to get at it again. But of course, some things are out of our control, so we had a practice and can get prepared to play two games tomorrow.
Fortunately this week we were able to play two non-conference games at home against Siena Heights University, a school and baseball program that I love. We started two freshmen on the mound, with local right hander Rylie Robinson throwing a complete game shutout in a 2-0 first game victory. Rylie has improved throughout the season, especially with his efficiency, as he threw first pitch strikes to 21 of the 28 batters he faced (75%). Getting first pitch strikes and getting leadoff batters out are two of the main things we have talked about throughout the season, and in doing those two things well a pitcher can make things easier for himself and his defensive teammates.
In game two, Brent Greenwood had a rocky first inning with some bad luck, and gave up four runs, two of which were unearned. But to Brent's credit, he pitched the next five innings without allowing a walk and giving up only one more hit. It says a lot about a pitcher when he can bounce back from sucha rough first inning and pitch like a champion for the rest of the game!!
Brent was relieved in the 7th inning by Lucas Willitzer, a converted catcher who earned his first college pitching victory by throwing a scoreless inning. We scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to get a walk-off win as Jake Cappellety drove Brian Bilius home with a two out single up the middle.
Bilius made a major league play at third base during the game, and for him that is just 'business as usual'. He has been making great plays all season, saving runs for us and helping to keep pitch counts to a minimum. With the combination of Brian's leadership, defense, and hitting, I think it would be a shame of he does not get named as the MIAA player of the year when the coaches get together to vote.
I have enjoyed reading quotes from our pitchers in the local paper this season. On just about every occasion they mention that the defense had been great behind them. Having faith in teammates and remember that it is always 9 against 1 when we are on the mound helps to make pitching a lot easier than it might otherwise be!!
Hopefully this dreadful spring weather (though I am grateful to be out on the field!!) will change and we can play in nice conditions tomorrow and for the rest of the season. Our guys have final exams next week and then they can really focus on daily baseball improvements and achieving our team goals. We can't take anything for granted, and we must continue to compete and be grateful for the opportunity to have fun on the baseball field.!!
Since today is Good Friday, I would like to end this post with a quote from St. Thomas Aquinas: "To one who has Faith no explanation is necessary. To one without Faith no explanation is possible."
Fortunately this week we were able to play two non-conference games at home against Siena Heights University, a school and baseball program that I love. We started two freshmen on the mound, with local right hander Rylie Robinson throwing a complete game shutout in a 2-0 first game victory. Rylie has improved throughout the season, especially with his efficiency, as he threw first pitch strikes to 21 of the 28 batters he faced (75%). Getting first pitch strikes and getting leadoff batters out are two of the main things we have talked about throughout the season, and in doing those two things well a pitcher can make things easier for himself and his defensive teammates.
In game two, Brent Greenwood had a rocky first inning with some bad luck, and gave up four runs, two of which were unearned. But to Brent's credit, he pitched the next five innings without allowing a walk and giving up only one more hit. It says a lot about a pitcher when he can bounce back from sucha rough first inning and pitch like a champion for the rest of the game!!
Brent was relieved in the 7th inning by Lucas Willitzer, a converted catcher who earned his first college pitching victory by throwing a scoreless inning. We scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th to get a walk-off win as Jake Cappellety drove Brian Bilius home with a two out single up the middle.
Bilius made a major league play at third base during the game, and for him that is just 'business as usual'. He has been making great plays all season, saving runs for us and helping to keep pitch counts to a minimum. With the combination of Brian's leadership, defense, and hitting, I think it would be a shame of he does not get named as the MIAA player of the year when the coaches get together to vote.
I have enjoyed reading quotes from our pitchers in the local paper this season. On just about every occasion they mention that the defense had been great behind them. Having faith in teammates and remember that it is always 9 against 1 when we are on the mound helps to make pitching a lot easier than it might otherwise be!!
Hopefully this dreadful spring weather (though I am grateful to be out on the field!!) will change and we can play in nice conditions tomorrow and for the rest of the season. Our guys have final exams next week and then they can really focus on daily baseball improvements and achieving our team goals. We can't take anything for granted, and we must continue to compete and be grateful for the opportunity to have fun on the baseball field.!!
Since today is Good Friday, I would like to end this post with a quote from St. Thomas Aquinas: "To one who has Faith no explanation is necessary. To one without Faith no explanation is possible."
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