2008 Woodie Awards
Baseball has 99 problems but a pitch ain't one
Mark Meagher
Issue date: 4/13/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Junior baseball co-captain Lucas Einstein and his teammates could have given up after a forgettable year as a 1-28 squad.
It lost varsity status and has been a club level sport for two years until recently named Division III. The team will play in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) next spring.
Of the players who stuck together and kept baseball alive at Emerson, perhaps Einstein sums it up best.
"I've been playing baseball my whole life, so I didn't know anything else," he said.
Their offense has been a reason why Emerson has been playing well.
As of April 5, six players were were batting over .400 and eight over .300 and the team batting average is .385.
Junior outfielder Glenn Hyatt, who is hitting .579, said he is impressed with the offensive outburst from the squad.
"Everyone's seeing the ball well and hitting it on a line," he said. "We get hits in key spots and we're not leaving many guys on base."
Sophomore catcher/designated hitter Zach Wintrow, who is batting .476, attributes the hitting success to having a better cast than in years past.
"I think the biggest change is the fact that our lineup is static," Wintrow said. "The last two seasons, we've had to start guys in positions where they didn't necessarily belong and guys weren't playing the same position every day, so it was hard to get in the groove, so to speak."
Hyatt said that part of the reason the squad is hitting so well is because the pitching the Lions have faced is not overwhelming, as it has been in the past.
Last fall, the team competed in the New England Club Baseball Association (NECBA). This semester, however, the majority of the team's games are against local community colleges.
But Einstein said he is impressed with the team's record because of an improvement in the level of play of their opposition.
"I would say [the competition] is a little bit better," Einstein said, noting tough teams such as Diviston III Mitchell College and Quinsigamond College, a top-ten junior college in the country. "These are a little better teams we've faced. Just overall competiton-wise."
It lost varsity status and has been a club level sport for two years until recently named Division III. The team will play in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) next spring.
Of the players who stuck together and kept baseball alive at Emerson, perhaps Einstein sums it up best.
"I've been playing baseball my whole life, so I didn't know anything else," he said.
Their offense has been a reason why Emerson has been playing well.
As of April 5, six players were were batting over .400 and eight over .300 and the team batting average is .385.
Junior outfielder Glenn Hyatt, who is hitting .579, said he is impressed with the offensive outburst from the squad.
"Everyone's seeing the ball well and hitting it on a line," he said. "We get hits in key spots and we're not leaving many guys on base."
Sophomore catcher/designated hitter Zach Wintrow, who is batting .476, attributes the hitting success to having a better cast than in years past.
"I think the biggest change is the fact that our lineup is static," Wintrow said. "The last two seasons, we've had to start guys in positions where they didn't necessarily belong and guys weren't playing the same position every day, so it was hard to get in the groove, so to speak."
Hyatt said that part of the reason the squad is hitting so well is because the pitching the Lions have faced is not overwhelming, as it has been in the past.
Last fall, the team competed in the New England Club Baseball Association (NECBA). This semester, however, the majority of the team's games are against local community colleges.
But Einstein said he is impressed with the team's record because of an improvement in the level of play of their opposition.
"I would say [the competition] is a little bit better," Einstein said, noting tough teams such as Diviston III Mitchell College and Quinsigamond College, a top-ten junior college in the country. "These are a little better teams we've faced. Just overall competiton-wise."
Be the first to comment on this story