Success

So another season ended yesterday, but it's never really just another season.  It is a journey that includes so much more than competing against opponents on the field.  A season is like an adventure with a group of guys who are all in it for like reasons, to have each other's backs and to succeed in reaching common goals.

This season and this team were similar to past seasons and past teams, only different.  As is the case every year, this particular group of guys have only one year together.  Eight of them graduate and move on, and next year some new players will join the core group of returning players.  This isn't anything new; it takes place every year for every team in America.

This season was filled with success.  Some people didn't expect this team to be as good as it was, due to the graduation of several of the league's top players last year.  Personally, I expected nothing but success and expected to compete for the NCAA DIII National Championship.  The fact that we were eliminated from the Mideast Regional Tournament on Friday means that we will not win the National Championship, but by no means was the season a failure.

We can measure success in many different ways.  This was a team which was among the DIII statistical leaders in several categories, such as batting average, slugging percentage, scoring, triples, earned run average, pitchers' walks per game, and strikeout to walk ratio.  But those statistics are not what made the season a success.

Several individual team members set or broke team and MIAA Conference records as well, in hitting and pitching categories, and five guys were named to the Mideast All Region teams.  But that really isn't what made this team successful.

This year's Adrian College Baseball Team won 37 games, setting a school record and giving this senior class the most wins of any class in Adrian Baseball history.  It also won it's fourth straight MIAA regular season championship and became the first ever MIAA Conference Tournament Champions.  Successful?  Yes, but not due to on the field performance.

The great success of this squad has more to do with a group of college student-athletes who cared about the team more than they cared about themselves.  They were friends and mentors, teachers and students, companions and warriors.  They put the team ahead of themselves and nurtured positive relationships with each other.  They trusted each other and knew that when they stepped on the field for practices and games they were going to help each other improve as teammates and as players.

Most importantly, they gave everything they had for each other, and expected nothing in return.  By expecting nothing in return, they were rewarded with a lifetime of brotherhood and memories.  For that reason, they were so very successful.  I congratulate them and love them!!

Efficiency at its best

After game two of the 2012 season, we have won both of our games and are feeling pretty good this morning as we wake up and prepare for game number three.  After coming from behind to win our opener against Blackburn College in a game that we didn't play very well in, yesterday's victory against the #4 ranked team in DIII gave us an opportunity to see and feel what it is like to successfully compete against top teams.
On Sunday we had some struggles with all aspects of the game--- potching, hitting, defense and baserunning.  We fell behind 4-0 in the second inning.  To the credit of our players, nobody pressed any panic buttons and we came back to win the game 8-7.

As far as piching is concerned, we learned first hand that it isn't easy to execute pitches to close out a long inning. We threw over twenty pitches in each of our first two innings, and the difficulty of pitching well and maintaining a proper and positive demeanor when some bad luck occurs was apparent to me, especially in the second inning.

After two quick outs, Blackburn hit a bloop single, then a base hit that traveled fifty feet and then a bunt single.  A bases loaded walk resulted in a run, and some negative thinking ultimately led to two more walks before we went to the bullpen to get out of the inning.

Two senior pitchers finished the game and our offense scored plenty of runs to start the season on the right track.

Yesterday against #4 Christopher Newport University, senior Jason Fryman found himself in a pitcher's duel.  Though he hit CNU's leadoff batter, he cruised through the first three innings without allowing another baserunner.  We gave up a run after they hit two doubles in the fourth, both of which I still feel were the result of poor pitch selection by the pitching coach, whoever that clown is!!
Ultimately, Jason was so efficient and allowed only one infield hit the rest of the game and had no walks, throwing only 98 pitches in nine innings.
Last night Jason told me that on the night before, he kept visualizing the execution of all four of his pitches.  The result was really a sight to see, as almost every pitch he threw hit the spots that he was trying to hit.  He got ahead of hitters, got leadoff batters out, and competed like it was business as usual as our defense made every play and our offense scored three big runs in the 8th to secure a 3-1 victory.
This was an almost perfectly pitched game, but as good as it was, today is a new day and when we get to the park we're going to have to compete with another nationally ranked team on their home field.
We haven't made an infield error yet. With that kind of defense and a team of battlers, we're anticipating another successfully competed game today!